'I decided the way ahead was to combine the headset with Stellarium, because that software is very popular as well as really good, and what's more it's open source, which means we could get the benefit to the maximum number of people.' The buzz so far has mostly been about what it will do for three dimensional immersive gaming, but Bruce, a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh, and a keen gamer himself, saw the potential for public interest in astronomy. Thousands of people are testing out the prototype, Facebook have already bought the company, and the headsets should go on sale early in 2016. The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset has created a huge stir. 'Some people are also simply unable to come to places like the Royal Observatory or to travel to dark skies, so this technology could help them enjoy astronomy in a way that until now wasn't possible.' 'I have always loved showing the stars to people' said astronomer Alastair Bruce, the leader of the project, provisionally named StarSightVR, 'but now I can guarantee perfect cloudless skies, and show the universe to people all round the world, while they stay in the comfort of their own homes.'

Stellarium virtual planetarium