The 3D model in Solar Walk is a scaled reproduction of the real Solar System and the latest update is designed to explore not only the Solar System, but the whole Milky Way Galaxy. Among then most interesting features are the ability to view the biggest cities on the globe, the 10 most interesting Earth satellites and points of interests on Mars, Venus, and the Moon. In addition, there are educational videos to inform you on certain aspects of the universe.

You can click and explore just about anything although some stars aren't clickable. Some dwarf planets, moons, satellites and asteroid belts are also missing but in general, the level of detail is superb. The lack of information may be because Solar Walk - 3D Solar System Model was originally released on iPhone and iPad and hasn't been fully developed for the larger screens on Macs.

Solar Walk - 3D Solar System Model is a superb educational tool for anyone with an interest in the universe.

Download Solar Walk - 3D Solar System Model 1.6.2 in Softonic

Celestial 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 Celestial 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 Celestial 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 Celestial can do.

There are a few drawbacks to Celestial. It would have been useful to have annotation of the solar system so that you can see which planets you're approaching or looking as it does get rather confusing browsing through the stars. Also, the level of detail of planet surfaces is a bit disappointing. It's understandable considering the lack of data we have about all the planets but even the Earth has very little detail. However, it should be noted that detail can be expanded using the "Celestial Motherlode" which is a collection of extensions from planet detail to space craft which can be downloaded.

Overall however, Celestial is an excellent learning tool or simply a lot of fun for all those that have an interest in Space and the constellations.

Download Celestia 1.6.1 in Softonic

NASA has created a short 3D space adventure, Station Spacewalk Game, allowing you to undertake EVAs (extra vehicular activities), or spacewalks, around the International Space Station (ISS). It's more education than game, but anyone interested in space travel will find it interesting.

Using the excellent 3D plug-in Unity, the Station Spacewalk Game gives you four missions to complete, maintaining and fixing the ISS, and heading out to collect lost tools, while making sure you have enough oxygen to get back to the airlock.

It's a pretty short game, although improvements are promised, such as unlimited exploration, which will be a big improvement. The controls are via the keyboard and mouse, and while there are a few keys to learn, you can have a control list on screen at all times. Also, the pace is very slow, so there's no rush to find the right key!

While Station Spacewalk Game requires a light touch on the controls, it's not too hard and the gentle, slow pace of the game is fantastic. The model of the station is good, though it's a shame Earth has pretty poor resolution, as that would really make it a beautiful experience.

Thanks to Station Spacewalk Game there's no excuse not to realize your childhood dreams of being an Astronaut, at least in a simulation!

Download Station Spacewalk Game 2.5.1.24931 in Softonic

L'Astrologue looks good and is all around accessible but real guidance for first time users is lacking . There's no help guide available nor are there any explanations to the different features in the program. For one, we could not understand how you can edit your data like town or birthdate.

Despite these small drawbacks, L'Astrologue is an enjoyable and well designed application for all sorts of astrologers.

Download L'Astrologue 6.1 in Softonic

They usually contain both vector and bitmap components, but are only usually used in illustrations and content created in drawing or presentation applications. For example, most clipart in Windows is in the WMF format. Normally there's no way of working with them on Macs unless you have a special application, such as WMF Viewer.

WMF Viewer allows you to view WMF files on Mac and also convert them to vector and raster formats, including PDF(vector), EPS, JPG, GIF, TIF, PSD, PICT, PNG, BMP, SGI. There's not a great deal you can do with them beyond that though, other than navigate through a series of images using the arrow keys, or rotate them using the handy rotation dial. All the conversion file formats are listed in the drop-down menu in the bottom-right, and you can convert either one image at a time or a batch of images, using the 'Convert' or 'Convert All' buttons at the top. You can also change the resolution exported to although this is limited to 4 presets - 72, 150, 300 and 600 dpi.

There's nothing fancy about WMF Viewer, but if you have to work with Windows WMF files its a quick way to view or convert them.

Download WMF Viewer 2.6.3 in Softonic

What does the sky look like from Vega or the Pleiades? Finally, you can experience these beautiful views for yourself.

5 million stars. View the components of binary stars such as Alpha Centauri, or the 'Double Double' in Lyra - orbiting each other over hundreds of years.

That said, there are so many functions and options you can get lost! I liked the Solar Neighbourhood feature which allows you to select the distance in light-years and see all the stars discovered so far, and of course rotate them to better understand their spatial postition.

Especially in this field, a navigable 3D rendering of the Universe will be much more effective than pages and pages of text.