There’s something about the planets that brings out the best in software developers. The awe-inspiring Google Earth is arguably the second finest piece of software the search giant has ever written and, for many years now, Imaginova’s Starry Night series has provided a stunning, graphical journey around the rest of the universe.

Starry Night Enthusiast is pitched at amateur astronomers through to star-gazing veterans, although anyone seeking software to control their computerised telescope should opt for the more advanced Pro version. The software’s greatest asset has always been its 3D tours of parts of the universe no home telescope can hope to reach, and these have been added to in this sixth version with 25 3D models of spacecraft, as well as comets, asteroids and satellites. Yet these newcomers are mere window-dressing compared to the visual delights of the constellations, auroras and other interplanetary furniture that are either beautifully illustrated or depicted using images from the Hubble telescope.

That’s not to say version 6 ignores matters closer to home. As ever, the software can be set to show the night sky as you see it from your back garden. A new calendar facility handily pops up to remind you of notable events to watch in today’s sky – cloud and inner-city light pollution notwithstanding.

Starry Night encapsulates its mass of data in a reasonably clean interface that won’t leave newcomers overwhelmed, and there are dozens of walkthroughs to help you navigate the universe and various space missions. The data is constantly updated online, although a few descriptions are past their sell-by date.

Perhaps wary that it has to justify its price tag in comparison to programs such as Google Earth, Starry Night includes a 210-page paper guide book and a SkyTheater DVD, the latter being a touch top-heavy on wide-eyed wonderment for our liking. However, the biggest reason not to splash out on version 6 is that it’s only an incremental improvement on its predecessors. After six outings, we’re beginning to wonder whether Imaginova is running short of, well, imagination when it comes to compelling new features. For newcomers, though, it more than justifies the price.