The digital world collides with the celestial one with the Universe2Go (http://tinyurl.com/jx9xzt2) viewfinder, a $99, two-piece augmented reality system for your smart phone that turns any location into a personal planetarium.
The interactive Universe2Go viewfinder uses a smart phone and an accompanying app (both iOS and Android versions are available) to create a digital picture of the night sky. Simultaneously, using GPS and modern smartphone sensors, the user can see the night sky through the transparent front of the viewer, superimposing this digital picture over the real starry sky and creating a complete picture, regardless of lighting or weather conditions.
Universe2Go also comes with an audio guide to explain exactly what the user is seeing, including all 88 constellations, planets, interstellar space, galaxies, star clusters and nebulae. Users can choose the subject of those audio explanations, from science to Greek mythology, so as to appeal to the casual star gazer and the hard core hobbyist alike.
The Universe2Go viewfinder is easy to use and is suitable for users of all ages. Once the smart phone is in place, users tip their heads up, down, to the left or to the right to navigate the menu. Even the audio guide, which has several hours of explanations and stories, can be controlled by head movements.
