The Sky or Starry Night? Opinions Please

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Mij Adyaw

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 7:35 pm

Guest

I am interested in the high-end versions of these programs. Which one offers
better features? I have owned Starry Night Pro for about 5 years and am due
for an upgrade. I am wondering if switching to The Sky would be a better
alternative. Are there any reviews on the advanced versions of these two
programs?

Chris L Peterson

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 8:02 pm

Guest

On Tue, 30 Jan 2007 15:35:21 -0800, "Mij Adyaw" <mij@SpamBucket.com>
wrote:

Quote:

Starry Night pros:
Prettier output
Uses ASCOM telescope drivers

Starry Night cons:
Fairly demanding on hardware
Somewhat non-standard (Windows) interface

TheSky pros:
Runs well even on old, slow machines
Integrates with TPoint
Integrates with CCDSoft

TheSky cons:
Lousy support for ASCOM
Somewhat non-intuitive configuration options

Overall, the features are very similar. I use TheSky, and will probably
continue to do so (especially as I use TPoint). I don't see any reason
for you to switch from what you are already using unless you want to run
on a slow machine, you want to integrate with other Software Bisque
apps, or there's something in particular about Starry Night you just
don't like.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

Grimly Fiendish

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 8:14 pm

Guest

Hi, I would examine why you want the high end versions of these
programs and find out which features you are most interested in.
Personally I use the Sky5 and I have used Starry Night Pro 5. There
are several free programs that are very good as well and have many of
the same features such as Cartes De Ciel (AKA Sky Maps). Don't be
alarmed with the French name; you can easily change the language of
the program to English. Recently several of the more experienced
observers I know, (20+ years) have moved over to Megastar, however I
have no experience with that program.

Hope that this rambling reply helps a little,

Grimly

RMOLLISE

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 8:22 pm

Guest

On Jan 30, 6:02 pm, Chris L Peterson <c...@alumni.caltech.edu> wrote:

Quote:

Starry Night pros:
Prettier output
Uses ASCOM telescope drivers

Well...I don't know about that. The Sky 6 is purty darned purty. ;-)

Unk rod

Chris L Peterson

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 8:36 pm

Guest

On 30 Jan 2007 16:22:32 -0800, "RMOLLISE" <rmollise@hotmail.com> wrote:

Quote:

Well...I don't know about that. The Sky 6 is purty darned purty. Wink

It is, but IMO not so nice as Starry Night, which is completely
photorealistic (it uses an actual all-sky mosaic of images). In
addition, you can smoothly drive Starry Night all over the sky, and even
move your viewpoint off the Earth. If you fly around the Solar System,
planets are rendered nicer than they are in TheSky. Starry Night
basically duplicates what modern digital planetariums offer.

I use TheSky as my telescope controller and session planner, and I use a
lower level version of Starry Night to prepare slides for talks, and in
the classroom for flying around the Solar System.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

RMOLLISE

Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 8:52 am

Guest

On Jan 30, 6:36 pm, Chris L Peterson <c...@alumni.caltech.edu> wrote:

Quote:

On 30 Jan 2007 16:22:32 -0800, "RMOLLISE" <rmoll...@hotmail.com> wrote:

It is, but IMO not so nice as Starry Night, which is completely
photorealistic (it uses an actual all-sky mosaic of images).

Hi Chris:

Right, but only Starry Night Pro _Plus_ which costs substantially more
(in line with The Sky 6 Pro). The other versions don't offer the
photomosaic (originally developed for Desktop Universe). I haven't
tried Plus, but I have tried DU. My verdict? Interesting, but it
really didn't add much functionality for me, and, frankly, didn't look
much "better" than The Sky 6 with all the "stuff." turned on.

Don't get me wrong. I like Starry Night fine, and, like you, use it
with my students (though I now use Celestia for the Solar System
Tours). For my own work/observing? I use The Sky 6 Pro and
Astroplanner or Skytools, and, right now, that's about it.

Unk Rod

Chris L Peterson

Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 10:33 am

Guest

On 31 Jan 2007 04:52:29 -0800, "RMOLLISE" <rmollise@hotmail.com> wrote:

Quote:

Right, but only Starry Night Pro _Plus_ which costs substantially more
(in line with The Sky 6 Pro)...

Yes. I was comparing the top end versions of the two programs, since
that's what Jim asked about.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

RMOLLISE

Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:21 am

Guest

On Jan 30, 6:14 pm, "Grimly Fiendish" <grimly-fiend...@sbcglobal.net>
wrote:
Recently several of the more experienced

Quote:

observers I know, (20+ years) have moved over to Megastar, however I
have no experience with that program.

HI:

I've used Megastar for many years (since the first CD edition--it was
originally offered on 50+ 3.5-inch floppies(!)). Actually, make that
"used." While Megastar is still a very capable program that will
please many deep sky observers, there were a couple of reasons I
stopped using it.

First, despite retaining a lot of functionality (and one catalogue
nobody else has, the MAC catalogue of anonymous galaxies), the program
just looks _old_ with graphics that are just not as easy on the eye as
The Sky and Starry Night. Admitedly, that's not a big deal, as long as
it prints good charts (and it does), who care, really, how it looks?
But it wasn't just looks. Some of its controls are a mite
inconvenient, its interface is pretty non-standard, and there are some
features it just lacks (mostly regarding the Solar System).

In addition, _I_ wanted a program that would interface with the other
Bisque software, like CCDSoft.

All that said, while I no longer use Emil Bonnano's program regularly,
I'd recommend it to _anybody_ interested in the deep sky. The quality
is there; I just wish Emil would take it to the next level.

Unk Rod

Mij Adyaw

Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2007 9:13 pm

Guest

Chris, Rod, et al,

Thanks for the detailed response. Since I currently own Starry Night Pro
Version 3 and will receive an upgrade discount, I think it makes sense for
me to upgrade to Starry Night Pro Plus with the new realistic CCD image
mosaic. I can't wait to get a copy of this program and check out the new
capabilities. It has been cloudy or rainy here is SoCal and this new version
of Starry Night should be a good way to pass the time on nights that I can't
get out with one of my scopes.

"Chris L Peterson" <clp@alumni.caltech.edu> wrote in message
news:54a1s2h0i7fio46pnebslt5moa97uudq7e@4ax.com...

Quote:

On 31 Jan 2007 04:52:29 -0800, "RMOLLISE" <rmollise@hotmail.com> wrote:

Right, but only Starry Night Pro _Plus_ which costs substantially more
(in line with The Sky 6 Pro)...

Yes. I was comparing the top end versions of the two programs, since
that's what Jim asked about.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

Hardocks

Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 3:04 am

Guest

Grimly Fiendish wrote:

Quote:

I think there is something to be said for people trying different
softwares, as they can. Therefore I agree with everything you \
say. Bells and whistles on the higher grades?? If you need it or
like lots of buttons to push (and a crowded screen). I liked
Megastar for a while. I also liked Halo North! I also liked and
still use (when I can) .............................. Sky Globe (DOS)!!!
I can hear the experts going BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

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