Homestar Portable

Put a planetarium in your pocket with Sega's Homestar Portable software for the PSP. Imagine wandering down a country path with your boy scout troupe under a starry sky. When the scoutmaster asks, "Where exactly is Orion?" you can flick out of the PSP, power-up, and stare at the flickering screen. After hunting and pecking for a few seconds, answer (with steely-eyed authority), "The Hunter is over there..." while pointing skyward like Babe Ruth at the batting cage.

Homestar Portable includes a database which maps 5,000,000 stars in the heavens and their respective constellations. The program is based on the Megastar-II Cosmos planetarium projector developed by Takayuki Ohira who oversaw the Homestar project and provided his expertise. Homestar Portable features over 300 celestial bodies and formations that may be viewed including constellations, comets, eclipses, nebulae, planets, and aurora. For eager learners, a series of 20 sky tours in the Fantasy Theater goes through star systems and showcases events in the skies.

When the PSP GPS receiver is released later this year, a Homestar Portable user will be able to lock his position in the software and view the night sky on the PSP as it currently appears above him. Since the Earth moves across the solar system and the orientation of the stars change, the program keeps track of your location on Earth and maps the skies according to the time, date, and geographic location. A game sharing feature allows users to beam their current star maps to other users of the software.