Distant Suns - Grand Tour 3D Screensaver 1.22 build 1

• Editor's Rating:

  5.0 stars

• Average User Rating:

  2.5 stars (out of 53 votes) Rate it!

• Downloads:

  505,996

• Operating Systems:

  Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT

• Additional Requirements:

  Windows Me/NT/2000/XP

• Limitations:

  No limitations

• Date Added:

  October 18, 2005

• Previous Versions:

  Select a version Distant Suns - Grand Tour 3D Screensaver 1.22 build 1 Distant Suns - Grand Tour 3D Screensaver 1.2.1 Distant Suns - Grand Tour 3D Screensaver 1.2 Distant Suns-Grand Tour 3D Screensaver 1.1a Distant Suns-Grand Tour 3D Screensaver 1.1 Distant Suns - Grand Tour 3D Screensaver 1.1a Distant Suns-Grand Tour 3D Screensaver 1.1 Distant Suns Screensaver 1.0

• Add to my Watch List

Publisher's description of Distant Suns - Grand Tour 3D Screensaver 1.22 build 1

From First Light Software:

Distant Suns - Grand Tour 3D Screensaver is a high-speed, full-motion, solar-system simulator using OpenGL technology and accelerated graphics. The positions and rotations of each of the planets and its moons are accurate to the current date and time (making the program a clock of sorts). As the day progresses, you can observe the great red spot of Jupiter as it wheels across the face of the giant planet. Watch the moons of Saturn in their daily dance around the majestic ringed world, and watch Earth rotate under your feet. The constantly changing scenes assure an infinite variety of interplanetary vistas. Grand Tour 3D now comes with Phobos and Deimos, the moons of Mars, and features the Mars Rover landing sites. Version 1.22 build 1 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.

Editor's review of Distant Suns - Grand Tour 3D Screensaver 1.22 build 1

• 5.0 stars

• "Tour the solar system"

• Reviewed by: CNET Staff
• Version reviewed: Distant Suns - Grand Tour 3D Screensaver 1.22 build 1

This tour of our galaxy begins at Earth, then recenters and zooms in on the Moon. After that, Distant Suns - Grand Tour 3D Screensaver heads out toward the far reaches of the solar system. Text in the upper left of the screen shares information such as the name of each object, its diameter, and its orbital period. However, you can disable this information if you so choose. The closer planets and many of the moons are gorgeous. For example, Saturn's Ganymede looks like a scarred garnet. On less-studied objects, such as the satellites of Uranus, only the part that's been photographed has detail. While most appropriate for astronomy or sci-fi buffs, we could easily see this program gaining a larger audience, especially since it comes free of charge.

User reviews of Distant Suns - Grand Tour 3D Screensaver 1.22 build 1

• Average user rating: 2.8 stars out of 53 votes
• My rating: 0 stars Write review

• Showing 5 of 16 user reviewsSee all 16 user reviews
  This software version | All versions

• 1 stars

  54 out of 75 people found this review helpful

  Version: Distant Suns - Grand Tour 3D Screensaver 1.22 build 1

  "not impressed"

  by goldengreeke on October 19, 2005

  Pros: It's free

  Cons: I would rather pay and get one that is more realistic

  Was this review helpful? YES | NO

  Report this post Email this post Permalink to this post

  Reply to this review

• 5 stars

  7 out of 8 people found this review helpful

  Version: Distant Suns - Grand Tour 3D Screensaver 1.22 build 1

  "Its good"

  by Atzies on October 21, 2005

  Pros: Hey i really liked it, its free and and did not expect more from this........ I think it is what you would excpect from a free screansaver

  Cons: There are many things we could improve about it... It would be much better if they could make it as real as possible

  Was this review helpful? YES | NO

  Report this post Email this post Permalink to this post

  Reply to this review

• 4 stars

  3 out of 4 people found this review helpful

  Version: Distant Suns - Grand Tour 3D Screensaver 1.22 build 1

  "I like it"

  by tmorillo on October 21, 2005

  Pros: I didn't know Mars' satellites had such weird shapes

  Cons: little slow

  Was this review helpful? YES | NO

  Report this post Email this post Permalink to this post

  Reply to this review

• 5 stars

  4 out of 4 people found this review helpful

  Version: Distant Suns - Grand Tour 3D Screensaver 1.22 build 1

  "We've come a long ways from Flying Stars"

  by thplatypus on January 20, 2006

  Pros: Great way to learn more about the solar system and get a feel for its scale. I'm having fun watching it with my four year old son.

  Cons: There can never be enough overlay options. It would be a nice touch to have one with the current speed of the camera. It would also be nice to have shortcuts to each planet.

  Was this review helpful? YES | NO

  Report this post Email this post Permalink to this post

  Reply to this review

• 1 stars

  3 out of 3 people found this review helpful

  Version: Distant Suns - Grand Tour 3D Screensaver 1.22 build 1

  "would not install on my XP Pro???"

  by broozer on January 20, 2006

  Cons: would not install on XP Pro. Downloaded it twice but it popped up a message to say 16 bit MS DOS and windows applications wont run with a button to close or ignore. Clicked different button each download and nothing happened so I gave up.

  Was this review helpful? YES | NO

  Report this post Email this post Permalink to this post

  Reply to this review

• See all 16 user reviews Write review