Celestia for Mac

If you've been gripped by space-travel fever or just want a simple but effective way to learn about the universe then Celestia is a superb learning tool. Celestia gives you a superb overview of the bigger picture out there by allowing you to explore the universe from the comfort of your armchair. It works by allowing you to navigate your way around the universe using your mouse and when you discover something of interest, you can use your mouse wheel to zoom in. You can also zoom right into planet surfaces or zoom out far enough to see the entire Milky Way.

Obviously, there's no A to Z map of finding your way around the universe and so fortunately Celestia has a "Go To Object" tool found under the "Location" bar. Type the name of the planet or solar constellation you want to see and Celestia magically whisks you there a la Google Earth. I'd recommend running the demo for starters because it takes you on a quick guided tour of everything Celestia can do.