Starry Night Pro 5.0 Astronomy Software Win/Mac

by Imaginova

Product Features

• Data included on over 70,000 different galaxies
• Learn basic information for each star, planet or galaxy for in-depth astronomical studies
• Add your own labels, create your guide and constellations - and add your own personal settings
• Up-to-date celestial database with customized images and Internet links

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002VRPDM
• Item model number: p-50-c1u
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,579 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #75 in Software > Education & Reference > Secondary Education > Science

Product Description

Amazon.com

Put more power and knowledge in your hands than even the world's most pre-eminent astronomers had just a few years ago with Starry Night Pro 5.0. Now you can see how the sky over your house looks right now, or use it to see how the sky will look tonight, tomorrow or far into the past or future. You can even change your position and see how the heavens appear from the other side of the earth, or from other planets.

Escape the Milky Way. Pilot your own spaceship to explore 700 million light years of space.

Select from dozens of deep sky databases for the celestial objects and galaxies you want to explore.

Easily observe Mars in the field using data from the built-in Ephemeris Generator.

Stunning views from a variety of celestial bodies are just a few clicks away; witness a total eclipse from the Moon, watch the Sun set from the surface of Mars, or even ride a comet. Starry Night Pro is also a valuable educational tool with more than 100 interactive, multimedia tours that reveal the fascinating science and history of stars. An elegant, easy-to-use interface lets you quickly tap into a new and improved suite of features. With Starry Night Pro, the only limits are your imagination.

With access to 16 million stars and 1 million galaxies, an enhanced SkyCalendar, a built-in Ephemeris Generator, computerized telescope control, and advanced observation aids, this version of Starry Night Pro is packed with new features that make it a must-have upgrade. The SkyCalendar is now seamlessly integrated with the observation planner and logs so you can more easily plan and record your stargazing sessions and receive alerts about upcoming celestial events. High-precision satellite tracking makes it easy to identify orbiting objects while the built-in Ephemeris Generator lets you calculate the position of heavenly bodies at a time of your choosing. Meanwhile, high-resolution illustrations let you enjoy panaramic views of your favorite constellations. You can also choose horizon panoramas to simulate surface conditions on earth or other planets and moons. Lastly, a new joystick-supported spaceship mode lets you maneuver around the Universe freely and expansively. Use this tool to see the sky from any location in the universe up to 700 million light years away.

Starry Night Pro is more than just a desktop tool for observing the heavens. You can control most computerized telescopes from popular manufacturers, allowing you to align your computer star maps with your telescope's viewfinder. You can even customize Starry Night's field-of-view indicators to match your telescope's eyepiece. A host of great activities await you when you have such powerful software at your fingertips. For instance, you could plan a night under the stars with the observational planner, track the sky with your telescope, and store comments and images on individual targets in Starry Night's observation log. And when the sun comes up, you can still enjoy the heavens by printing full sky (180-degree) star charts of any area in the sky.

If you're looking for educational tools, Starry Night Pro delivers. Call up more than 100 multimedia tours to deepen your exploration and understanding of the universe. Enjoy high resolution exclusive constellation illustrations and images from the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes, as well as the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. You'll also get a library of imagery that lets you zoom in and explore the surface of Mars and Earth in unprecedented detail with new higher resolution surface maps. There's even a dictionary of common astronomy terms, plus a Record Holders database of astronomy trivia. And with an Internet connection you can direct Starry Night to send you automatic updates about new discoveries and orbital data of satellites, comets and asteroids.

Product Description

Starry Night Pro 5.0 is an amazing tool for anyone with a fascination for space. It's as close as you can get to owning your own planetarium! It's user-friendly enough for the backyard stargazer but powerful enough for a serious astronomy student. View the stars from your exact location on Earth or any other planet. Explore a database with millions of celestial objects -- all available to you, for exploring the mysteries and wonders of the universe. Travel through 200,000 years in minutes -- find out how the universe will look far in the future

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent experience from beginning to end, December 2, 2005

By 

I. Souweine (Northampton, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Starry Night Pro 5.0 Astronomy Software Win/Mac (CD-ROM)

I had to jump in and write a review of this product (my first ever on Amazon!) after reading some of the comments on the porduct page. Not sure what happened in the cases of Steve S. and D. Frank but personally I have nothing but good things to say both about the software and the customer service I received.

On the software side, I found that the robust "pro level" functionality not only gave me what I was looking for in terms of features and tools but was also surprisingly easy to use from an interface perspective (not always the case with these sort of feature-rich products). The multimedia tours were a hit with my kids (who have since learned to use the more advanced tools better that me!) and some of the viewing modules (e.g. the horizon panoramas) are so amazing that after using them I think I have finally rid myself of my guilt for not pursuing that astronomy PhD. I did think the joystick feature is still a bit klunky, but overall this is a really well designed and thoughtfully made piece of software.

In terms of customer service, since I have had minimal software issues it has not really come up. The one time I did send an inquiry it was answered promptly and effectively (turned out the minor problem I was experiencing was caused by an OS level setting that I had turned on for another piece of software -- a problem that I was impressed they were able to diagnose).

In summary - this is a great product and a great company. A truly perfect xmas gift for your seriosu astronomy buff pals.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quality science + beautiful aesthetics - not your average astronomy software, December 2, 2005

By 

claribel (Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Starry Night Pro 5.0 Astronomy Software Win/Mac (CD-ROM)

Fun, because you can view the galaxy & beyond from literally any position in space, and in any time (what did the sky look like when you were born? When Ptolemy was alive?), and educational, because these guys aren't dummies throwing together some flashy thing with no science behind it. The product feels like it was made by people who really care about what they're doing. Lots of depth in the information they provide, & connections to professional weather & astronomy sites (e.g. a weather map). I use this at home but I bet teachers would love this.

I'd definitely recommend the Pro product over the others because you can hook up your digital telescope -- a cool & incredibly helpful feature.

Did I mention thoughtful things like "night vision" viewing? And beautiful graphics!

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Never Had Such Trouble, March 30, 2006

By 

Bruce the Traveler (Texas & England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Starry Night Pro 5.0 Astronomy Software Win/Mac (CD-ROM)

I ordered the download version. After at least 20 attempts at downloading and installing, and repeated suggestions from Imaginova's cutomer service, I finally gave up!