Uploaded September 2016 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Download Space Engine: en.spaceengine.org
Music by Alexander Blu
File name: Epic-synth-pad
Original file: freesound.org/people/levelclearer/sounds/181964
SpaceEngine - a free space simulation program that lets you explore the universe in three dimensions, from planet Earth to the most distant galaxies. Areas of the known universe are represented using actual astronomical data, while regions uncharted by astronomy are generated procedurally. Millions of galaxies, trillions of stars, countless planets - all available for exploration. You can land any planet, moon or asteroid and watch alien landscapes and celestial phenomena. You can even pilot starships and atmospheric shuttles.
SpaceEngine (stylized as "Space Engine") is a proprietary 3D astronomy program and game engine developed by Russian astronomer and programmer Vladimir Romanyuk. Using real astronomical catalogs and procedural generation, it creates a three-dimensional planetarium representing the entire universe. Users can travel through space in any direction or speed, and forwards or backwards in time. SpaceEngine is in beta status, and is currently freeware for Microsoft Windows. It uses pseudo-random numbers to procedurally create any kind of planetary system, nebula or galaxy.
One of the main features of the program is its scientific accuracy. Cataloged objects are based on real data, while procedural objects are built around the cataloged universe using realistic generation algorithms. Properties of objects, such as temperature, mass, radius, etc., are presented to the user on the HUD and in an accessible information window. Users can observe objects from small spacecraft to galaxy clusters, similar to other simulators such as Celestia. SpaceEngine includes thousands of real objects, including stars from the Hipparcos catalog, galaxies from the NGC and IC catalogs, several well-known nebulae, and all known exoplanets and their stars.
Interstellar travel is the term used for hypothetical piloted or unpiloted travel between stars or planetary systems. Interstellar travel will be much more difficult than interplanetary spaceflight; the distances between the planets in the Solar System are less than 30 astronomical units (AU)—whereas the distances between stars are typically hundreds of thousands of AU, and usually expressed in light-years. Because of the vastness of those distances, interstellar travel would require a high percentage of the speed of light, or huge travel time, lasting from decades to millennia or longer.
The speeds required for interstellar travel in a human lifetime far exceed what current methods of spacecraft propulsion can provide. Even with a hypothetically perfectly efficient propulsion system, the kinetic energy corresponding to those speeds is enormous by today's standards of energy production. Moreover, collisions by the spacecraft with cosmic dust and gas can produce very dangerous effects both to passengers and the spacecraft itself.
A number of strategies have been proposed to deal with these problems, ranging from giant arks that would carry entire societies and ecosystems, to microscopic space probes. Many different spacecraft propulsion systems have been proposed to give spacecraft the required speeds, including nuclear propulsion, beam-powered propulsion, and methods based on speculative physics.
For both piloted and unpiloted interstellar travel, considerable technological and economic challenges need to be met. Even the most optimistic views about interstellar travel see it as only being feasible decades from now—the more common view is that it is a century or more away. However, in spite of the challenges, if interstellar travel should ever be realized, then a wide range of scientific benefits can be expected.
Interstellar distances
Distances between the planets in the Solar System are often measured in astronomical units (AU), defined as the average distance between the Sun and Earth, some 1.5×108 kilometers (93 million miles). Venus, the closest other planet to Earth is (at closest approach) 0.28 AU away. Neptune, the farthest planet from the Sun, is 29.8 AU away. Voyager 1, the farthest man-made object from Earth, is 130.83 AU away.
The closest known star Proxima Centauri, however, is some 268,332 AU away, or over 9000 times farther away than Neptune.
Most interstellar travel concepts require a developed space logistics system capable of moving millions of metric tons to a construction / operating location, and most would require gigawatt scale power for construction or power (such as Star Wisp or Light Sail type concepts). Such a system could grow organically if space-based solar power became a significant component of Earth's energy mix. Consumer demand for a multi-terrawatt system would automatically create the necessary multi-million metric ton/year logistical system.
Download Space Engine: en.spaceengine.org
Music by Alexander Blu
File name: Epic-synth-pad
Original file: freesound.org/people/levelclearer/sounds/181964
SpaceEngine - a free space simulation program that lets you explore the universe in three dimensions, from planet Earth to the most distant galaxies. Areas of the known universe are represented using actual astronomical data, while regions uncharted by astronomy are generated procedurally. Millions of galaxies, trillions of stars, countless planets - all available for exploration. You can land any planet, moon or asteroid and watch alien landscapes and celestial phenomena. You can even pilot starships and atmospheric shuttles.
SpaceEngine (stylized as "Space Engine") is a proprietary 3D astronomy program and game engine developed by Russian astronomer and programmer Vladimir Romanyuk. Using real astronomical catalogs and procedural generation, it creates a three-dimensional planetarium representing the entire universe. Users can travel through space in any direction or speed, and forwards or backwards in time. SpaceEngine is in beta status, and is currently freeware for Microsoft Windows. It uses pseudo-random numbers to procedurally create any kind of planetary system, nebula or galaxy.
One of the main features of the program is its scientific accuracy. Cataloged objects are based on real data, while procedural objects are built around the cataloged universe using realistic generation algorithms. Properties of objects, such as temperature, mass, radius, etc., are presented to the user on the HUD and in an accessible information window. Users can observe objects from small spacecraft to galaxy clusters, similar to other simulators such as Celestia. SpaceEngine includes thousands of real objects, including stars from the Hipparcos catalog, galaxies from the NGC and IC catalogs, several well-known nebulae, and all known exoplanets and their stars.
Interstellar travel is the term used for hypothetical piloted or unpiloted travel between stars or planetary systems. Interstellar travel will be much more difficult than interplanetary spaceflight; the distances between the planets in the Solar System are less than 30 astronomical units (AU)—whereas the distances between stars are typically hundreds of thousands of AU, and usually expressed in light-years. Because of the vastness of those distances, interstellar travel would require a high percentage of the speed of light, or huge travel time, lasting from decades to millennia or longer.
The speeds required for interstellar travel in a human lifetime far exceed what current methods of spacecraft propulsion can provide. Even with a hypothetically perfectly efficient propulsion system, the kinetic energy corresponding to those speeds is enormous by today's standards of energy production. Moreover, collisions by the spacecraft with cosmic dust and gas can produce very dangerous effects both to passengers and the spacecraft itself.
A number of strategies have been proposed to deal with these problems, ranging from giant arks that would carry entire societies and ecosystems, to microscopic space probes. Many different spacecraft propulsion systems have been proposed to give spacecraft the required speeds, including nuclear propulsion, beam-powered propulsion, and methods based on speculative physics.
For both piloted and unpiloted interstellar travel, considerable technological and economic challenges need to be met. Even the most optimistic views about interstellar travel see it as only being feasible decades from now—the more common view is that it is a century or more away. However, in spite of the challenges, if interstellar travel should ever be realized, then a wide range of scientific benefits can be expected.
Interstellar distances
Distances between the planets in the Solar System are often measured in astronomical units (AU), defined as the average distance between the Sun and Earth, some 1.5×108 kilometers (93 million miles). Venus, the closest other planet to Earth is (at closest approach) 0.28 AU away. Neptune, the farthest planet from the Sun, is 29.8 AU away. Voyager 1, the farthest man-made object from Earth, is 130.83 AU away.
The closest known star Proxima Centauri, however, is some 268,332 AU away, or over 9000 times farther away than Neptune.
Most interstellar travel concepts require a developed space logistics system capable of moving millions of metric tons to a construction / operating location, and most would require gigawatt scale power for construction or power (such as Star Wisp or Light Sail type concepts). Such a system could grow organically if space-based solar power became a significant component of Earth's energy mix. Consumer demand for a multi-terrawatt system would automatically create the necessary multi-million metric ton/year logistical system.
