Cosmic Discoveries

Take a ride with the Museum’s astrophysicists through our Solar System, the Milky Way Galaxy, and beyond. Cosmic Discoveries is the first app to collect over 1000 stunning astronomic images and was launched as part of a year-long series of events to help commemorate the tenth anniversary of the opening of the Museum’s Rose Center for Earth and Space, a New York City icon and one of the world’s most revered science and educational institutions.

A MOSAIC OF THE UNIVERSE IN YOUR POCKET

Cosmic Discoveries contains over 1000 images of everything from the pockmarked surface of Mercury to the majestic Horsehead Nebula, culled from the Museum’s archives and Science Bulletins, as well as dozens of space agencies and observatories around the world. All the photographs appear on the app’s initial screen stitched together to form one of the most iconic shapes in our Solar System — the gas giant Saturn and its rings.

Double-tap or pinch to zoom into the mosaic and inspect individual photos. Tap the info button to flip the photos and read fascinating information about famous astronomical discoveries, the history of human understanding of outer space, and current advances in astrophysics. Comment on the photos, read others’ comments, or share with your friends so they can join you on your journey through the universe.


A SOLAR SYSTEM OF STORIES

In addition to over 1000 images in the mosaic, Cosmic Discoveries also features stories on a range of subjects from comets to galaxy clusters. Additional stories are on the way — so when you’re not watching the skies, keep an eye out for more Cosmic Discoveries.


TRAVEL FROM THE TRIASSIC ERA THROUGH COSMIC DISCOVERIES

Cosmic Discoveries follows up on the enormous success of the American Museum of Natural History’s first official app, Dinosaurs – # 1 educational download on the iTunes store in the months after its release — which lets paleontologists of all ages explore the AMNH fossil halls. And explore our halls and collections with the AMNH Explorer, which Gizmodo called “Nothing less than state-of-the-art.”


VERSION 1.2 OF COSMIC DISCOVERIES:

Travel further into space and read about spiral galaxies, brown dwarfs, globular clusters, massive stars and novae in the new stories, written by the American Museum of Natural History’s astrophysicists and included in the latest update.