Though this makes the outer reaches of the universe somewhat randomized, the program’s creators boast that it includes “all types of celestial objects,” including “planets, moons, asteroids, stars, star clusters, nebulae and galaxies.” According to the SpaceEngine feature list, it uses NASA-sourced astronomical data to generate an accurate recreation of our own galaxy, with everything beyond our galaxy generated procedurally.
SpaceEngine’s official website describes the program as “a free space simulation software that lets you explore the universe in three dimensions, starting from planet Earth to the most distant galaxies.” Controls for SpaceEngine are essentially identical to the standard WASD scheme seen in the vast majority of first-person shooters, so new users should find the program immediately accessible, which is quite helpful given its massive scope. You won’t start seeing the really cool stuff space has to offer until you get a few hundred million miles away from Earth. Fortunately for anyone whose dreams were crushed by this paragraph, you can now tour the universe and get an up close and personal view of asteroids, dwarf stars and galaxies from the comfort of your living room. In space terms, that’s an utterly minute distance. Unfortunately for your nascent plan it costs billions of dollars to mount an expedition into space, and our current technology is really only capable of taking human beings as far as the moon. Instantly struck by the majesty of the universe you decide, right then and there, to explore the great beyond. While walking you happen to look up at the sky and notice a sea of stars.
You can’t find anything interesting on the TV, so you go for a stroll around the block just to kill some time. Let’s say you’re sitting at home one night, flipping through the channels.