Well, for those just starting out to conquer the deep sky, Sky Atlas 2000 is more than adequate. Who would want to drag an expensive laptop PC onto a damp observing field? Sure, zooming around the sky indoors with something like Celestia can be Real Fun, but why would anybody want to fool with computers-or even computer printouts-in the great outdoors? Planetariums and planners, eh? That still leaves open the question of why you’d want to use either. Planetariums are not the only style of astro-ware, there’re also the “planners” we’ll talk about here in a week or three, but planetariums are a good place to start: they are what pops into most amateur astronomers’ minds when they think “astronomy software.” This may range from a simple display of the constellations and bright stars designed to appeal to the kids, to a gen-u-wine star atlas on disk. Whatsits a whosits? A “computer planetarium” is just what it sounds like a program that simulates the night sky on your computer screen. First time out we will take a look at planetarium programs. If it’s a Win PC program, I’ve probably used it, and so, I feel qualified to give you my greatest hits here.Īctually, this will be Part One of my greatest hits.
I went from that to the late and mostly unlamented Stargaze (ground-breaking in its own way, nevertheless), and, before I knew it, my hard drive was full of more astro-ware than humans should be allowed to have. I noticed a program called Skyglobein a bin of shareware 5.25-inch floppies (you old folks will remember them). My acquaintance with software that can actually help you find your way across the sky began one day when I was strolling through Books-a-Million in the mall. I’ve been onboard the astronomy computer revolution since I got my hands on Sky Travel, a proto astronomy program for the Commodore 64, in the mid 1980s.
Well, I might not know the details of how a computer and a program work all their magic, but I darned sure know how to use ‘em-in my simple and simple-minded fashion, anyhow. So how dare I write a piece about amateur astronomy software? Much of what goes on inside those mysterious boxes on the desktop is still a mystery to me. Your ol Unk Rod ain’t gonna pretend he’s the most computer-savvy dude out there.