3D Universe

When one of the world's major observatories, the European Southern Observatory (ESO), wanted to celebrate their 40th anniversary, they turned to the partnership of Planetary Visions and United Soft Media.

The brief : create a unique CD title that publicises the achievements of ESO and presents the user with a journey of discovery through our Universe.

The result : an exciting new multimedia title that re-defines the frontiers for astronomy software, combining advanced computer graphics technology with astronomically accurate data to deliver a user experience that is both spectacular and informative.

"fascinating", ZDF (Germany)

"great application", PC Magazine (Germany)

Planetary Visions managed the project, bringing together an international team of graphic designers, programmers, and authors. The Planetary Visions team supplied a comprehensive astronomical encyclopaedia of 120,000 words, over 1,500 colour images and diagrams, and highly advanced software providing five cartographic modes using realistic 3D graphics. Planetary Visions also created an extensive catalogue of one million stars and 80,000 galaxies, and surface mapping of the nine planets and their moons.