Celestia software and blockchain: open‑source astronomy tool and

Celestia began as a free, open‑source 3D astronomy program in 2001 and has grown into a cross‑platform visualizer of the universe, while a separate Celestia Labs now raises $55 million to develop modular blockchain infrastructure [1][2].

Key takeaways

• Celestia the software runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, VisionOS and more, and is released under the GPL [1].
• The program can display over 2 million stars using Hipparcos, Tycho‑2 and Gaia data, and simulates planetary orbits with VSOP87 theory [1].
• Development halted in 2013, resumed under a new team in 2016, and beta builds of version 1.7.0 were available by 2018 [1].
• Celestia Labs, the blockchain startup, secured $55 million in a Series A/B round led by Bain Capital Crypto and Polychain Capital [2].
• The blockchain’s modular design separates data availability from execution, allowing other chains to build on its layer‑1 without native smart‑contract support [2].

From planetarium software to cross‑platform visualizer

Celestia’s core offering is a real‑time 3D engine that lets users travel beyond Earth’s surface, navigate at varying speeds, and view detailed information about stars, planets, moons, asteroids and spacecraft. Versions up to 1.6.4 displayed the Hipparcos catalogue of 118,322 stars; version 1.7.0 expanded this to over 2 million by adding Tycho‑2 and Gaia data [1]. Users can set the simulated time up to 2 billion years forward or backward, though orbital accuracy degrades beyond a few thousand years. The software supports add‑ons written in its CEL scripting language or Lua, enabling community‑created objects and textures. Limitations include the lack of stellar proper motion, fixed galaxy positions, and no rendering of variable stars, supernovae or black holes in the default install [1].

Development of the original project slowed after 2013, with the last official release in 2011. A new team revived the codebase in 2016, releasing beta builds of version 1.7.0 by 2018 and porting the program to mobile devices in 2020 and to Apple Vision Pro in 2024 [1]. Between its launch and May 2017, the primary distribution site SourceForge recorded roughly 12 million downloads, reflecting its popularity among educators, hobbyists and researchers [1].

Celestia Labs and the modular blockchain push

Separately, Celestia Labs is a startup that builds a modular blockchain network focused on data availability rather than computation. In October 2022 the company announced a $55 million funding round, with participation from Bain Capital Crypto, Polychain Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Jump Crypto, FTX Ventures and others [2]. The firm’s co‑founder Mustafa Al‑Bassam describes the approach as a response to “monolithic” layer‑1 blockchains like and , which he says sacrifice decentralization and security to lower fees. Celestia’s layer‑1 orders transactions and makes data accessible, while smart‑contract execution and other functions are delegated to separate execution environments via interoperability [2].