[Shadowstar]

I use Sky3d. It's a great program and it gives you an interface that simulates flying around the galaxy. It uses 3d graphics and you can set all kinds of options for it. It also has reference views and local space views available that let you view the stars from any angle and within a specific sphere (you can set the radius with zoom in/zoom out), also planets within the system and contains detailed information about every object in the database. I use it in my art to see what the stars look like from other star systems. If you've ever wondered how the constellations might change if you viewed them from Altair or Betelgeuse, Sky3d is a great program.

Unfortunately, to avoid overcrowding the map, I fibbed the scale quite a bit (which I forgot to mention). My map covers a 20 LY radius (more or less), stretched a bit at the corners. I would have done the map to scale, but I knew right away (after learning that one space is equal to 10 LY) that it would be too much work. And besides, you can't have more than one system in a grid space. To make a realistic representation of the universe (where many star systems are often within 1-5 LY of each other in clumps), you simply cannot make a map to scale in this game.