MSFS and the Sky

[Orca]

I have been a big fan of aviation since I was a kid. Microsoft Flight Sim has reached 40 years old; I grew up playing various versions (mostly FS2004 and FSX). The latest version is pretty amazing; it uses Bing map data to build realistic terrain as you fly along. You can literally fly over your house (though the building itself may not look exactly correct).

Anyway I recently noticed a feature that aligns with another life-long passion, astronomy and the night sky. MSFS apparently displays the stars accurately based on location and the time of year (depending on your weather settings; MSFS is capable of simulating real-time weather, but you can always disable that if you prefer clear skies):

Here you see Orion and you can clearly see the color of Betelgeuse. Unfortunately the stars are displayed as fuzzy spots instead of points. I am going to look around for a mod that might sharpen them and add some additional accuracy.