The Cosmic Watch is the first 3D and interactive astronomical Clock in the digital era. It is Swiss Made and it comes as an Android and iOS application. It allows users to see how the solar system is actually the fundamental clock work of all time measurement. The user can explore the different times of day all over the world. There’s a Realtime World Clock in Cosmic Watch, as well as the ability to travel forward or back in time to see which constellations were visibly two or twenty years ago. As well as a look at which constellations are visible across the globe, there’s the option to explore the solar system and just pan a 3D, interactive globe and get closer to our planet and how the sun affects the movement of time. As a 3D augmented reality app, Cosmic Watch is something for anybody who likes space, astronomy, astrology, learning about the solar system (also to teach children) or watch enthusiasts looking to understand time further.
To get started with Cosmic Watch, you just need to download it from the Play Store. When you first launch Cosmic Watch, you get a sense for the sort of thing that the app offers.
As the name suggests, a key feature of Cosmic Watch is finding out what it is throughout the cosmos. You can choose any region on Earth just by tapping your finger, and get the local time. By pinching-to-zoom you can get a closer look.
Exploring with Cosmic Watch is as easier as panning with your finger and tapping an area to see what time it is and pinching to get a closer look. However, you can easily search for a town or place on the map, like I have Los Angeles here, you can also favorite places to come back to them.
We mentioned earlier the ability to time travel. This best works by adjusting the time back a few years to see how the position of constellations change, but at a small level you can see just what a sunrise looks like from outer space, which is pretty interesting as we take things like this for granted.
More exotic views available in Cosmic Watch are things like the constellation view, which covers the entire globe, and lets you see what is visible and from where.
The user interface here is nice and simple to work with, and if you want to you can easily hide all these other options to keep things out of your way when looking at views like the solar system.
This was one of my favorite parts of the app, being able to see the solar system with the seasons as well as the months all on one display in 3D. Plenty of apps are out there to explore the solar system and planets in 3D, but relating this movement to something that we all care about; time is a great way to see things in a fresh light. Plus, it’s cool to play around with as well.
There’s even a 3D, fully interactive astral chart including in Cosmic Watch!
Now, I’m no astrologist, and nor am I a Swiss Watch enthusiast, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy Cosmic Watch. It’s great fun, and almost inspiring, to see what sort of effect our solar system and the movement of the Earth has on what time of day we call it. I can see this being a great app for parents to enjoy with their little ones as well, after all it’s more fun learning together than on your own. Budding astrologists will enjoy the astral chart as well as the ability to see what was happening above their home region a few years ago, or what’s to come in the future. The idea that this is a Swiss-made application a la a Swiss Watch is a little strange, but it’s clearly very precise and there’s very little missed where telling the time or showing off the solar system is concerned.
As a breakdown Cosmic Watch features a realtime worldclock, an antikyra mechanism, a orrery, a armillary sphere, a time travel machine, astral-chart generator and a astrolab combined.
Ratings
- Speed (4/5) – Cosmic Watch runs nice and quickly, and there’s little lag while moving the planet or solar system around.
- Theme (4/5) – Everything looks good here, and the 3D graphics are great fun to look at and interact with, as are the different views that offer a little something for all sorts of users.
- Features (4/5) – While it won’t be for everyone, these’s so much on offer in Cosmic Watch that astrologists, astronomers, watch enthusiasts and just those looking for something different with find something to enjoy here.
- Overall (4/5) – A solid, entertaining Android app that can help teach something as well as open our eyes to the universal law of time that we take for granted every single day we get up in the morning.
Pros
- Looks great and works well on all sorts of smartphones, regardless of age.
- Offers many different views like an astral chart, a look at the constellations and more.
- Time travel feature allows you to plan ahead, see what was above your home in past years and more.
- Great way of entertaining as well as educating kids to what’s going on above our heads.
Cons
- Some of the assets could be higher resolution for devices with 1080p displays.
- Educational tips and interactive guides would make this more appealing to families and those looking to learn. However, there are great Tutorial movies on the Cosmic Watch Website.
Cosmic Watch is a great app that offers users something different from the usual apps out there. It’s a nice way of seeing just how the solar system and our orbit with the Sun is the basis of the course of time. The 3D graphics are all interactive, and exploring the solar system is nice and simple, giving users the opportunity to explore whatever they want. A great app for astrologists and those looking to find out more about their universe, this is worth trying out.