magine watching the celestial dance of Saturn's rings and moons from the cloud tops of Titan. Or hovering over Mars, looking down on the 2,500-mile-long canyon of Valles Marineris from Deimos. Or even
traveling to the gas giant orbiting Pegasus 51 to watch a few alien sunsets.
Faster than Picard could say "Make it so," users of the Celestia 3D Space Simulator can visit 100,000 stellar locations like these. The free open-source program is available at the Celestia Web site and includes versions for Windows, Unix/Linux and Mac OS X.
The most robust of these, the Windows version, offers a guided tour of the solar system, as well as preprogrammed destinations of note, including all of Sol's planets and many of its moons, Proxima Centauri and Barnard's Star. Real-world photos of planets and stars are mapped onto their Celestia counterparts, and are further enhanced by special effects like clouds. It makes for beautiful, occasionally breathtaking views. Users can toggle on a variety of labels, including constellation maps (useful for seeing what Earth's constellations look like from Betelgeuse), orbital paths and star names. Double-clicking on any celestial body activates a hyperlink to a Web site containing additional information about it.
In addition to the source files for the program, the Celestia Web site includes a FAQ explaining system requirements and certain known problems, screenshots of various popular views and an active message forum. Under the links section, fans can find a variety of sites offering add-ons for the program. Of particular note is Celestia Add-Ons, which includes importable models for black holes, various real-world spacecraft, Larry Niven's Ringworld and the ever-ominous Death Star.
— Kenneth Newquist
Site of the Week—April 7, 2003
ome people work in space, others just want to play there. The latter can check out HobbySpace.com, which is dedicated to every pastime that intersects with the final frontier.
The site's divided into more than 30 categories, including the more typical hobbies—model rocketry, astronomy and movies—and the more obscure—like GPS navigation, satellite watching and space radio. Each section includes recent news stories about the topic in question, links to related Web sites, information about getting started in the hobby and much more.
Back on the home page, visitors can find regular news blurbs about space-related hobbies, as well as interviews with leaders in the field, such as Peter Diamandis, founder and president of the X Prize Foundation, and Paul Blase of TransOrbital (which plans to launch a private spacecraft to the moon). There are also occasional guest articles covering such subjects as proposals to mine asteroids and thoughts on constructing starships. Overall, the site's an excellent resource for anyone who's passionate about space—and who wants to do something with that passion.
— Ken Newquist
Site of the Week—March 31, 2003
here is nothing quite like a well-researched fan page, one that combines extensive knowledge of an area of SF with respect and genuine affection for its subject matter. The dedication that goes into a page like Barry's Temple of Godzilla is obvious, an effort to be lauded even as a visitor learns more
than they would ever have believed possible about a certain not-so-cuddly creature with a yen for destroying Tokyo.
This Web page contains reviews of all of the Godzilla films, from 1954's Gojira through to the 1998 U.S. picture starring Matthew Broderick. It outlines the monster's complicated history, parallel universes, multiple origin stories and all. It has video clips dedicated to highlighting the various changes—big and small—in Godzilla's look over the past 50 years, as well as sound files dedicated to his roar. It has fan fiction, fan art and data on Godzilla trading cards and toys.
What's more, the Barry's Temple of Godzilla FAQ does not stop at answering basic questions about the movies or archiving a list of Godzilla's many enemies, from Angilas to Titanosaurus. It also offers trivia (Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster was originally written as a vehicle for competing city marauder King Kong) and a reader feedback section. Finally, it provides a tiny section of links to other sites related to the films. A great springboard for anyone interested in a closer acquaintance with Godzilla, this Web page is a labor of love and, simultaneously, serves as a service to fans and researchers alike.
— A.M. Dellamonica
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