The Wanderers

In ancient civilizations, people pondered the meanings of the stars, watching for clues to their survival: the beginning of planting and harvesting times, the seasons, and even portents of danger. They soon noticed that certain stars didn't stay in place, but wandered amongst the fixed star field. Later astronomers and philosophers soon recognized that these were worlds in their own right, orbiting the Sun in a cosmic dance. Join us as we take you on a tour of the Solar System, and learn about The Wanderers.

The Wanderers is GSFC's latest, fully narrated, planetary movie designed for the NOAA Science on a Sphere system. This system is in operation at over 170 locations around the world.

Why did we make this movie?

The planets have fascinated people since the earliest times and still do so today. Spacecraft have now visited many planets and bodies throughout the solar system, with more missions currently on the way to their destinations. This movie was designed to excite the imagination while showcasing the amazing data that has been returned from those missions. All of the images shown in the movie come from real spacecraft data, only modified when needed to fill the sphere or to convey information not otherwise easily seen.

We hope that you will enjoy this tour as much as we enjoyed making it. To download a flat MP4 version of the movie, please visit the SOS user site, though it looks much better projected on a sphere!

Wanderers Download

This project was funded by a grant from the NASA Opportunities in Education and Public Outreach for Earth and Space Sciences.