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Gaze at the stars in Hoshizora Navi, feel like an insignificant speck
From this March, DS owners in Japan will be able to navigate the night skies, thanks to astronomy magazine publisher Astroarts. Hoshizora Navi (Starry Sky Navigator) was first revealed in March 2008, but now an official site has opened, rich with details.Apparently, the software comes packed with star charts containing 9,300 stars, the sun, planets, the moon, various constellations, and assorted meteor groups. Also, budding astronomers will be able to view the night sky at any point between 1900 and 2099, and even stargaze from several viewing locations across the globe. To help you differentiate between your Apastron and your Aphelion, there's an onboard astronomical dictionary of more than 400 terms.But allow us to remind you of the best bit: the Hoshizora Navi cartridge will come with a built-in positional sensor, meaning that as your DS moves, so does the view on your screen, to match your own! It's undoubtedly very clever, even though the tech has clearly pushed the price sky-high -- Hoshizora Navi goes on sale on March 26 for ¥8,190 (around $90)!
Keep reaching for the stars (with your DS)
Astro Arts' Hoshi Navi (Star Navi) is an interactive star chart for the DS. It features a guide to star names, sunrise and sunset times (as well as those for the moon), and an encyclopedia of astronomical phenomena. It's designed by Astro Arts, who operates the Astro Arts astronomy website and also publishes astronomy magazines in Japan. They seem to have an interest in sharing astronomy with the masses, so it makes sense that they'd be looking to the DS.Hoshi Navi has a feature that would set it apart from other star-navigating software on the DS even if there were some: it has six-way tilt sensitivity, and allows you to look around the sky by tilting the DS. We assume you have to enter a starting location so it will start its display near you.
