Viitrio Solar System is a great introduction to astronomy. The opening page is a compelling graphic of our Sun and its orbiting planets — all you have to do is select an object and begin your journey.

Select an object for an introduction and some key facts.

The developers lend a touch of humor to this little news and info app: I admit to having a weak spot for puns and smiled when I saw Viitrio describe the app as a “Min Viiki” insted of mini Wiki. Kind of cute.

The Sun entry includes interesting "other information", including its rate of hydrogen fusion.

I enjoyed the way the developers put together the Sun entry. They start with the basic facts — size, rotation, temperature — but then spice things up a bit with a discussion of the fusion reaction of the Sun. Relating the rate at which the sun’s nuclear fusion converts matter to energy to the rate at which water mass flows over Niagra falls was a compelling image for me.

Facts for the inner and outer solar system objects.

I was disappointed the developers did not continue their delivery of interesting facts throughout the rest of the articles. All other presentations in Viitrio Solar System stick to the basic facts. Don’t get me wrong, I’m interested in astronomical facts. I have a small telescope and I own a little piece of heaven with some of the darkest skies in the continental United States. When I set up that scope under a Milky Way so bright I can see my shadow, I’m fascinated by the physical facts behind the sights I see.

But it’s the sense of magic that gets me out of my warm cabin and into a parka for winter stargazing. It never fails to send a shiver up my spine when I think about photon wave-particles entering the scope, bouncing off the reflector, being focused through the eyepiece, and ultimately colliding with the retina in my eye to trigger nerve impulses that allow me to see Orion’s nebula. In some cases those photons began their journey long before the most primitive eyes began to evolve on earth. And yet they shone just for me. That sense of wonder is missing from Viitrio Solar System.

Pluto is here!

I was happy to see the developers included Pluto in their app. You may have missed the academic tussle back at the turn of the century, but Pluto is now technically not considered a planet, but instead considered a dwarf planet. But it’s here in the app. Chalk up one for the little guy.

Viitrio Solar System offers a fascinating peek into the wonders of space. Download it (at $2.99) for yourself, learn some facts about our astronomical neighborhood, then go online to search for stories behind the facts. Or better yet, buy a copy for your child or a young friend, and then talk to him or her about what they read. You just might spark an interest in science. And they might just restore your sense of wonder.