The subtle ambient electronic sounds create an engaging cosmic experience, educators say

May 19, 2012 01:41 GMT  ·  By

A feature requested by planetariums and educators worldwide, the Solar Walk iOS app can now be locked on a specific selected celestial body in order to showcase detailed information and visual aids without distractions.

Vito Technology’s top-ranked Solar Walk 3D Solar System app got a new update recently, which adds the aforementioned enhancement, as well as extended control features for educational and exhibition use.

According to the release notes on iTunes Preview, Solar Walk 1.9.5 also adds new music by Astropilot and fixes a bug with orientation and velocity of Uranus and Saturn rotation.

Vito Technology personally contacted us to mention the subtle ambient electronic sounds that help create and engage cosmic atmosphere, praised by many educators. They offered us this example:

"I used this app recently when teaching Year 9 BTEC students about the composition of the Solar System and the some what unbelievable sizes of planets and our galaxy. Students were engaged from the start as I had chosen to project the animation of the solar system rotating slowly on the board as the pupils arrived. A darkened room and the music playing set the scene for the lesson and I was pleased and amazed by the engagement of the students throughout the lessons as this app made the lesson more accessible to all students."

-- by Smartlearning Teacher of Science at Priority Community School Weston Super Mare.

For those who aren’t very familiar with the app, Solar Walk acts as an interactive 3D Solar System model with 10 planets, including dwarf planet Pluto that got kicked out (as a planet) a few years back.

It also boasts twenty-or-so moons of the planets, 10 satellites orbiting the Earth, over 100 of the biggest stars, and hundreds of places on the Moon, Mars, Earth and Venus that we gave names to, such as the Sea of Tranquility, or The Face on Mars.

A Time Machine feature allows users to speed up time, moving planets and satellites according to their real trajectories, backwards and forwards.

Download Solar Walk - 3D Solar System model