Have you ever looked at the stars shining in the sky and wondered what is out there? If you are an astronomy enthusiast you might have looked at celestial bodies through a telescope. You might also have read astronomy books to know the facts about the universe. Fascinating facts about the universe, and guided space tours can also be found on any astronomy DVD in the form of videos, multimedia files, and space simulator software.
As computers have become popular, more and more information is becoming readily available in the form of rich multimedia presentations that make learning easy and fun. The huge storage capacity of a DVD makes it possible to include several hours of audio and video about the universe on an astronomy DVD. Guided space tours can contain high resolution images that have been collected over the years by space exploration missions of NASA and other space agencies. Some of the data include surface images of planets and their moons collected by deep space probes of NASA and other space agencies.
Between 1989 and 1993 the European Space Agency (ESA) pinpointed the accurate positions and motions of over 100,000 stars and other celestial bodies. This project was known as the Hipparcos project. Hipparcos is an acronym for “High Precision Parallax Collecting Satellite”. Some software programs that simulate journeys into outer space utilize this data in the form of a huge database present on an astronomy DVD. A space simulator software enables a person to take virtual journeys into outer space at hyper-speeds, and to view celestial bodies from different angles and positions in space. It is also possible to simulate a view of the universe as it might have looked in the past or as it might look in the future. Multimedia and simulations are some of the advantages of an astronomy DVD over traditional astronomy books.
For an astronomy enthusiast, exploring interesting astronomical phenomena and discovering the mysteries of celestial bodies such as the Sun, the Moon, the planets, asteroids, comets, stars, galaxies, etc. usually require powerful, sophisticated telescopes and voluminous astronomy books — both of which can be expensive and may often require the guidance of an expert. On the other hand, the ease with which a multimedia astronomy DVD can be manufactured, and the amount of information that can be stored on it makes it an inexpensive yet highly informative astronomy guide.
If we go to a planetarium, we are confined to our seats where we sit and passively watch the heavenly bodies on a screen. On the other hand, a space simulator software present on an astronomy DVD enables us to take a virtual flight from Earth to outer space and travel at hyper-speed across the solar system and even out of the Milky Way to other distant galaxies. The guided tours on an astronomy DVD can both entertain and educate. We can discover far away worlds that most people don’t even know exist.
An astronomy DVD is equally suitable for both professional astronomers and school children who want to gain knowledge in a manner that is easy and entertaining. It is a well known fact that we retain more information from audio-visual presentations than from books.
