Eyes on the Solar System: NASA New Internet Tool to Explore the Solar System

NASA is giving the public the power to journey through the solar system using a new interactive Web-based tool.

It is a new tool for space explorers, using video game technology, called 'Eyes on the Solar System'.

"This is the first time the public has been able to see the entire solar system and our missions moving together in real time," said Jim Green, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division at the agency's Headquarters in Washington.

It requires an app that can be downloaded right from the site.
I was all excited about it, but it seems I'll need some time to find my way around it.
Nevertheless, the interface looks great, and I expect a new bright generation of doom and gloom YouTube videos, all in 3D-real time-interactive settings. It will be a pleasure to watch....

"You are now free to move about the solar system," said Blaine Baggett, executive manager in the Office of Communication and Education at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. "See what NASA's spacecraft see -- and where they are right now -- all without leaving your computer."

I was also hoping to see that sneaky thing Elenin and take a pic of it, however it is right now: whole, split in two, four or whatever, spaceship, brown dwarf or a simple comet. Couldn't get to it yet....it must be a conspiracy

So those of you who are more handy at this kind of software, dive in and enjoy.

Link to article.

Direct Link to NASA site.

And bring me that Elenin rogue!

I only got one problem with this.

They say it's in real time, but let's go "Back to the future"? Seems shady and not real at all. Looks more like all animation.. Even the asteroid didn't look real.

Tried this out.. Screenshot of Apophis in 2029.. Scary close.

reply to post by Manhater

That's because it's all artistic rendering. Not real photography

combines video game technology and NASA data to create an environment for users to ride along with agency spacecraft and explore the cosmos. Screen graphics and information such as planet locations and spacecraft maneuvers use actual space mission data.

and "Eyes on the Solar System" also allows them to travel through time. The tool is populated with NASA data dating back to 1950 and projected to 2050.

- there is the "back to the future"

reply to post by Sporatux


That's beautiful, thanks for posting it.
And how's Elenin doing?

Originally posted by Manhater
I only got one problem with this.

They say it's in real time...

No, they don't. The exact quote is,

" See the entire solar system moving in real time."

That means that if you want to watch Io move slowly into eclipse behind Jupiter, you can, just as though you were there (without taking 250 rads/minute from the jovian Van Allen belts). It will be an animation and not a still like you would get from JPL's Solar System Simulator. However, the rendering of Io's surface will be based on 30-year old Voyager imagery with - perhaps -some 15-year old data from the Galileo probe.

Like Google Earth/Moon/Sky, "Eyes on the Solar System" is meant to be an educational toy for exploring and learning about our local neighborhood, and promoting interest in space exploration in general.

Like Google Earth/Moon/Sky, "Eyes on the Solar System" is NOT intended as a serious research tool, nor is it designed to show up-to-the-minute imagery of what Io's volcanoes are doing this week (or this year, for that matter).

Enjoy "Eyes on the Solar System", but don't expect it to do things it was never designed for. If it doesn't meet your expectations, then try to learn from these guys.