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Educational: 5.0
Overall Design: 4.8
Ease of Use: 4.5
(4.0 = good, 4.5 = very
good, 5.0 = excellent)
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Program Description Commentary Who Is This Program For
Why We Selected This Program Computer Requirements
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1990 was a pivotal year in the field of Astronomy; the much-anticipated Hubble Space Telescope was launched into orbit above the Earth. With this amazing piece of technology, humans were suddenly able to peer farther and with more clarity into the vastness of space than ever before. The new program, Deep Space Explorer, successfully captures the excitement of venturing further out into the cosmos, far beyond the familiar constellations of our Milky Way galaxy and into corners of space one could scarcely imagine.
A while ago, I had the pleasure of reviewing Starry Night Backyard, a highly informative and interactive software program that focuses primarily on the basics of our own Milky Way Galaxy. The same creators have produced Deep Space Explorer, so it was with some anticipation that I looked forward to clicking my way around this new program.
Just as the Hubble Space Telescope offered a new and deeper perspective of our visible universe, Deep Space Explorer offers the user an opportunity to gaze out on a grander scale, at galaxies hundreds of millions of light years away. But unlike the Hubble Telescope that views distant galaxies from a fixed position in space, the Deep Space program enables the user to travel to these outlying regions of space, revealing details about objects encountered along the way. Essentially, one travels out aboard a simulated spaceship, which can be steered, rotated and accelerated during the journey.
Prior to my simulated venture to far-off galaxies, I began Deep Space Explorer by viewing the entire selection of multimedia presentations that are included (19 in all). These offer a great overview of current information about the known universe and are interspersed with comments from featured astronomer Brent Tully. The presentations cover such topics as black holes, eclipses, planets beyond our solar system, births, deaths and collisions of galaxies, dark matter, and possible fates of the universe, to name a few. The graphics are terrific, the narration captivating and the explanations generally very good. In fact, once I began viewing the presentations, three hours went by before I noticed the time! These segments certainly pique one’s curiosity and are worth the price of the program itself. I would recommend going through them for a good general synopsis before exploring the other mains features of the program by “spaceship”.
One of the primary destinations the spaceship can be directed to is what is labeled the “Tully Collection”, an accurately distributed three-dimensional array of approximately 28 000 nearby galaxies, compiled by astronomer Brent Tully. One can navigate in and amongst these galaxies, opting to focus on spiral, elliptical or irregular shaped varieties and their subspecies. On-screen information accompanies the different galaxies as they are selected. For those that still want to examine aspects of our own Milky Way galaxy and solar system, there is still plenty of information to cover this area, although the true beauty of this program is the ability to probe further out into space. Deep Space Explorer also has the added feature of enabling the user to make and save movies of their own specific voyages, which can be used to help in teaching situations, post on web sites, or e-mail to friends.
In short, Deep Space Explorer helps to put the entire universe into perspective. By placing the user in a front-seat position to navigate and become more familiar with the vastness of space, it instills a sense of awe with regard to the sheer scale of our known universe and the comparatively minuscule corner we occupy within it.
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Our system from 56,000 light years
The Big Bang
The Milky Way from 183,000 light yrs
Space Station Alpha
Spiral Galaxy
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"I really enjoyed the easy navigation of Deep Space Explorer. It allowed me to pop in the CD and start exploring immediately, without getting frustrated at complicated controls or having to read through a manual. The amount of data that Deep Space Explorer covers is absolutely amazing. It includes more of the universe than I have ever seen before in a program. The video segments are also great as they give you a quick summary of all different aspects of space. Online links to more data are also nice to have if you ever wanted to know more about the areas of space you were exploring.
- Rory O'Connell, grade 11 physics student, Crescent School, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
"Deep Space Explorer is an incredible companion to Starry Night. It will give a full sense of the breadth of the system we are just a minuscule part of. As an inspiring learning tool for those interested in space, this program is unique"
- Dan Lang, Learning Village
"For sheer entertainment and educational value, Deep Space Explorer is a quantum leap ahead of any other multimedia astronomy programme."
- Astronomy & Space
"I consider Deep Space Explorer more a tool for exploring the places where traditional planetarium software cannot take us, and it serves the need very nicely."
- Sky & Telescope
Basically, any amateur Astronomy buff would love this program. While most amateur astronomers may be quite familiar with the constellations seen in our own region of the Milky Way galaxy, the ability this program offers to move to distant galaxies is a fresh and stimulating experience for anyone.
Deep Space Explorer is well suited for users of high school age and up (i.e. 14 years of age and above). From a more specific educational perspective, this program could nicely enhance both high school and university Astronomy units and courses (for example, from the Astronomy unit in the Ontario grade 9 Science curriculum to an introductory course in Astronomy at the college or university level).
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As a grade 9 Science teacher, this program offers a nice enhancement to many of the topics covered in the Astronomy unit. Obviously, during the typical daylight hours when most high school classes take place, it is impossible to go outside and view stars in our own cosmic neighbourhood, not to mention those in distant galaxies. Even if a nighttime environment is possible, having the real equipment to examine far corners of the universe is unrealistic, so having a program like Deep Space Explorer offers the next best alternative. It’s ease of use, eye-catching graphics and variety of applications, as well as comprehensive selection of multimedia presentations make it a highly useable, informative and enjoyable way of learning more about the universe we inhabit.
Reviewed by Greg Michalski, Science teacher, Crescent School, Toronto, Ontario
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Pricing and Online Ordering
(or call toll free -1-800-250-9229 )
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Windows: PC with a Pentium or higher processor, Windows 95/98/ME/XP/NT 4/2000, colour monitor, CD-ROM drive, sound card and . Requires 32 MB of RAM and 150 MB of hard disk space.
Macintosh: Power PC or better, System 7.5 or later, colour monitor, CD-ROM drive, sound card, and . Requires 32 MB of RAM and 150 MB of hard disk space.
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or to see other science programmes
My Amazing Human Body - ages 5-10
Magic School Bus Explores Bugs - ages 4-9
Zoology Zone - Raptors/Spiders/Bears - ages 6 -9 (see video clips)
The New Way Things Work - ages 8 - 15
Pinball Science - ages 9-15
Field Trip To The Rainforest - ages 9 - 16
Starry Night Enthusiast - ages 12 & up
Science Matrix (cell biology) - ages 12 & up
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