Home Planet

The Earth is covered by a really thick layer of orbiting satellites. This allowed us to map out all regions with 3D representations, and simulations to provide suitable environments for astronomical observations, and predictions. In this regard, Home Planet allows you to analyze celestial events which involve the planet, satellite tracking, and more.

On the one hand, the application doesn’t even need to be installed in order to function, which means it’s good to go from the moment download is done. What’s more, this enables you to carry it around on a thumb drive to study events from other computers. Registry entries are not modified in the process, so you don’t have to worry about affecting the stability of the target PC.

You’re only facing a simple map of Earth by default, but there are multiple info fields to bring up, and even a configurable animation. One of the main aspects is satellite tracking. The application comes with an impressive list of existing satellites, which can easily be selected from a list, while details update in real-time, according to simulation speed.

Display options make it possible to find out more details about different celestial bodies. Sun, and Moon info windows show distances, and different time details. The same can be said about planets, with a dedicated table letting you analyze position of known celestial neighbors, with details for right ascension, declination, distance, altitude, as well as azimuth.

An additional window can be brought up to view the sky map. It shows all constellations and various points of interest, while clicking a particular area zooms in for analysis in greater detail. Moreover, simulation can be configured to show satellite, Sun, and Moon trajectories in forward, or background time direction, at custom speed levels.

Taking everything into consideration, we can say that Home Planet is a practical astronomical analysis application which comes with different tools for celestial bodies analysis, and satellite tracking. Visual design can feel a little overwhelming, but taking the time to go through the set of features quickly gets you familiar with all it has to offer.