Sept. 11, 2001, is a day that will always live in infamy. Nine years later, I still relive parts of that day not just through my memories of the tragedy, but also through an iPhone application called “Explore 9/11.”

The application, released by the National September 11 Memorial Museum, packs countless bits of emotion into the palm of your hand.   As noted on the application website, viewer discretion is advised. It allwos users to view a timeline of the day’s events from 7:59 a.m. onwards, search for user submitted photos from the museums website (by location, keyword and numerou’s other criteria), and even take a seven stop walking tour of relevant sites, accompanied by audio and photo narration.

The application also has a feature that utilizes augmented reality so users can view images from Sept. 11 as an overlay to what your iPhone’s camera shows.

Although much of the museum’s photos are user submitted, the application warns users when they are about to view content not yet filtered by the museum, which provides some shelter from potentially graphic or controversial material.

Frankly, this app is not for the faint of heart. I had to take a break from researching it and writing this article, as some material had a larger impact than anything I am used to.

Through the 9/11 museum website, I was able to literally see thousands of photos and videos narrated by the photographers. In some instances, you can even use Google street view to explore Ground Zero.

With footage of people walking down the rubble covered streets of downtown New York to the horrific images of the burning towers and even a video montage of the “missing” posters loved ones posted with hopes that  their relatives and friends were in hospitals or hotels instead of the newly formed steel pit, one is able to sort through videos with the precision of space between pre 9/11, collision into Tower One, collision into Tower Two, and so on – to days, months and even a year after 9/11. On a more positive note, users also are able to see footage and photos taken from the year anniversary onwards.

All of this content, although tough to view, provides a very unique insight into the tragic day. Rather than through the eyes of news outlets, which tend to show only limited footage, the day is shown through the eyes of American citizens or more precisely, victims of that horrific day.