About Galaxies3D, Download Galaxies3D, Program Help
About Galaxies3D
Galaxies3D is a website and an optional app (both Windows and Mac OS versions now available) to help you envision in three dimensions the location of and directions to prominent objects and structures in our universe. This website contains screen shot images and videos (hosted on YouTube) from the app, and a link to download the actual Galaxies3D app. The Galaxies3D app is free software and can be freely distributed.
You can explore all the views and scenes presented in the website more fully using the Galaxies3D app. You can also create your own Galaxies3D datafiles and scenes. Give the Galaxies3D app:
and the Galaxies3D app does the rest. Its reads the above input data from plain text files (click here for more information on Galaxies3D datafiles) that can be easily edited.
The Galaxies3D app is free software and can be freely distributed. Any graphic created using the program can be freely used without any attribution. Galaxies3D was developed using Embarcadero's object Pascal-based Delphi application development software, using the "FireMonkey" multiple-platform framework.
The Windows version is supplied as a zip file. It is a fully portable Windows application, running only from inside its folder, and the folder can be placed anyware, including on a portable USB flash drive. It does not write anything to the registry and does not install other files (such as .dll files). It does not write or store anything. It does not require any "installation" to run. Simply download the zip file, unzip it to a folder, and click on the Galaxies3D.exe file in its folder to run the program (you can name the folder containing the Galaxies3D program and its datafiles to any name you want). As a portable application, Galaxies3D will not appear on any Windows menu or list of installed programs. You will have to manually create any desired shortcut to it.
The Mac OS version is for arm64 Mac computers (newer Macs using Apple Silicon, late 2020 and beyond). A version for Intel Macs (x86_64 architecture, Macs shipped between 2005 and 2021) is not currently available. The Mac OS version is supplied as a DMG file (Mac OS disk image file). After downloading the DMG file, double click on it and then drag the Galaxies3D.app into your applications folder to install it (you can also simply double click on the Galaxies3D.app and run it). NOTE: I have not yet applied for an Apple Developer ID, and when you first try to open the Galaxies3D app, you will get a dialog box saying app not opened because "Apple is not able to verify it is free from malware that could harm your Mac or compromise your privacy." You can still open the app by going to System Settings - Privacy & Security. Scroll down and you will see "Galaxies3D.app" was blocked to protect your Mac." Click "Open Anyway" button to open the app. Additional information from Apple can be found at this link.
Reports of any errors would be greatly appreciated! Please contact David Monyak, author and webmaster.
Download the Galaxies3D Program
The Windows version of the Galaxies3D app is provided as a zip file. "Unzip" the zip file to see a folder that contains everything needed to run the Galaxies3D app:
The zip file is named "galaxies3d64_YYMMDD.zip" or "galaxies3d32_YYMMDD.zip" where YYMMDD refer to the year, month, and day of the version of the app and its datafiles, 64 and 32 to 64-bit or 32-bit versions of the app. If you are unsure which version of Windows (64 bit or 32 bit) you have, type "System" in the "Search Windows" along the Windows Task Bar. This should bring up a screen with basic information about your computer, Look under "System type" for your operating system version. If you have 64-bit Windows, you should run the 64-bit version. Otherwise, run the 32-bit version.
The Mac OS version is provided as a DMG file (Mac OS disk image file). Double click on the downloaded DMG to see the Galaxies3D.app. Drag the app to the folder where you want to store it. The Galaxies3D LIST.txt file, and all the Galaxies3D datafiles, bitmaps, bitmaps parameter files can be viewed by right clicking on the Galaxies3D.app and choosing "Show Package Contents." The datafiles and bitmaps are stored in the "MacOS" folder under "Contents."
