Solar Walk is an astronomy app from the developer of Star Walk. Instead of exploring the night sky, with this app, you get to tour the solar system.
While travelling through the solar system with your finger, you can tap on any planet you are interested in. This will take you close to it, and you can spin the planet to get a view from any angle. You can select a particular date and time to get a view of the planet in the past or in the future, and it will show the location and orientation of the planet at the specified time. It also provides information of each planet, such as size, gravity, and composition.
There is a 3D mode that allows you to explore the solar system in 3D. You can even connect the app to your TV to see the 3D effect on the big screen. Although they say it requires an Apple TV, other people had connected to regular HD TV. I did not try the 3D mode, so I am not sure about this. You do need a pair of cyan-red 3D glasses for the 3D mode.
Main Features from the App Store:
• GALAXY view – absolutely magical zoom out to view the whole galaxy option.
• TIME MACHINE – set any date you want including even minutes and take a travel through space and time.
• MOVIES – explanatory movie collection about the Earth’s phenomena.
• SATELLITES – real-time trajectories of the most interesting artificial Earth’s satellites.
• LOCATIONS – arrow will show your current position on the globe, plus names of the biggest cities of the Earth, as well as sights of the Moon, Mars and Venus.
• INFO about all planets – general info, its name, its mass, radius, distance to the sun, internal structure with the picture and science missions.
• MOONS of DIFFERENT PLANETS: select a planet like Earth, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars or Urano and observe how many moons they have and their track around the planet. Select one of the moons and learn.
• MIRRORING – wirelessly mirror the screen to an Apple TV 2.
• No Internet connection required.
This is a great educational app that explores the solar system. With detailed images and just enough information, it is a good learning tool for kids or adults.
It works on iPhone, iPad, and iPod.
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For more science apps for kids, check out Best Science Apps for Elementary School Kids