Product Description

Version 6.3 includes 20+ new features! Explore a vast array of astronomical wonders, both natural and man-made! Replay spectacular fly-bys of Voyager, Galileo, and other famous space missions. Never miss your chance to witness celestial events, such as Jupiter satellite shadow transits, with the powerful Events Finder. Easily navigate around the cosmos using SkyGuide as your tour guide. Starry Night Enthusiast gives you the freedom and resources to explore the night sky on your computer or with the naked eye or a pair of binoculars.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1860 in Software
• Brand: Imaginova
• Model: E60C1U
• Released on: 2006-09-01
• Platforms: Windows XP, Mac OS X, Mac OS X Intel, Windows Vista
• Format: CD-ROM
• Dimensions: 1.90 pounds

Features

• Includes CD-ROM software, DVD movie, astronomy book, and user's guide
• Software for exploring the night sky and an array of astronomical wonders
• Follow the paths of 25+ interplanetary probes through the solar system
• Track 830+ artificial satellites; recreate lunar and solar eclipses
• Explore 700 million light years of space; view 2,500,000 stars

From the Manufacturer
Explore a vast array of astronomical wonders, both natural and human-made! Replay spectacular fly-bys of Voyager, Galileo, and other famous space missions. Never miss your chance to witness celestial events, such as Jupiter satellite shadow transits, with the powerful Events Finder. Easily navigate around the cosmos using SkyGuide as your tour guide. Starry Night Enthusiast gives you the freedom and resources to explore the night sky on your computer or with the naked eye or a pair of binoculars.

New Features:

• Follow the paths of over 25 interplanetary probes through the solar system; ride along with New Horizons on its mission to Pluto and more
• Pan around 25 3-D models of spacecraft, including Voyager, Deep Impact, Stardust, and more
• Zoom in on 3-D models of comets, asteroids, and satellites
• Track over 830 artificial satellites used for communications, GPS, environmental monitoring, and scientific research
• Plan observing sessions with Event Finder that instantly displays celestial events, such as lunar and solar eclipses and conjunctions, for months far into the future
• Browse a library of over 100 Starry Night files that demonstrate events such as eclipses, planetary alignments, and close-ups of galaxies and planets
• Assign horizon panorama to a specific location on or off Earth with your choice of 11 photorealistic horizon panoramas
• Pinpoint the exact location of historical events, such as the Apollo moon landings, with Location Markers
• Access up-to-date local observing conditions through online link to Clear Sky Clock (requires Internet connection)
• Click on any location on Earth while hovering and select a Google map for that precise location (requires Internet connection)
• Create your own automated guided tour of the universe with AppleScript, which helps you run a list of Starry Night files in sequence (Mac only)
• Ambient environment sounds enhance the digital observing experience
• And all the new data and features in Starry Night Complete Space & Astronomy Pack, including:
  • Locate objects easily with SmartFind, which cross-indexes and groups all the databases in which an object appears
  • Daily Events Reminder lists all celestial events visible tonight from your backyard
  • Hear the correct pronunciation of constellations and over 500 celestial objects
  • And much more

Other Features:

• Explore without limits 700 million light years of space
• View 2,500,000 stars
• Zoom in on NGC-IC Catalog of 13,000 deep-space objects
• Travel in time from 4713 BC to 9999 AD
• Deepen your understanding of the universe with over 70 interactive SkyGuide tours
• Simulate the view through binoculars
• View how the Earth and Sun look like right now with images from ground- and space-based observatories
• Add your own asteroids, comets, satellites, and 3-D models
• Create your own movies to share with friends
• Zoom in on the Best of Chandra X-Ray Observatory and Spitzer Space Telescope images
• Recreate lunar and solar eclipses
• And all the data and features in Starry Night Complete Space & Astronomy Pack

Starry Night Enthusiast version 6 includes:

• CD-ROM of Starry Night software for Windows and Macintosh
• Exclusive "SkyTheater" DVD with over an hour or original movies about space
• Starry Night Companion, a 192-page illustrated astronomy book
• New, comprehensive 210-page user’s guide

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Customer Reviews

Remarkable!
The previous review tagged "Enthusiast" with a single star, understandably because the owner couldn't get it running on Vista, but Vista must share in the blame - since its release, there have been all manner of compatibility issues. I'm successfully running it on a Mac with OS X, and it's truly remarkable. If you're interested in astronomy, this is a fabulous program that lives up to its advertising copy. I am amazed at what it brings to your desk/laptop for such a relatively low price.

Works Fine on a Mac!
For those having problems with Vista, I'm truly sorry. This wonderful program has run absolutely fine, without a single hic-up, on all 3 of my (and my wife's) Macs for the last three years.

As for what it can do -- it is amazing how much detail is included; it is an essential part of our viewing. Highly recommended!

Great product, runs on Vista
I just installed this software yesterday on a computer running Windows Vista Home Premium. I was nervous about purchasing it because of the other reviewers who stated that it does not run on Vista. Before running the software, I downloaded and installed the version 6.2 upgrade from the Starry Night website. I am also running it with Vista's User Account Control turned off. Under these conditions, the software runs beautifully! The only problem I've had is that on 2 occasions, I've received an error message requiring me to quit out of the software and re-open it. I imagine these minor bugs will get worked out with future Windows updates and patches to the Starry Night software. For now, it's a minor nuisance, but not such a problem that it detracts too much from my enjoyment of this great software.

I am posting this review in case there are others out there who are wary about purchasing this product for Vista. My installation CD (purchased from Amazon) was clearly labeled for XP/Vista, and it installed and runs fine. If your CD is labeled only for XP, there are instructions on the Starry Night support website for installing the software on a Vista machine using XP Compatibility mode. I didn't need to do that, since mine installed just fine straight from the disk.

I am an astronomy novice, but have always been interested in learning more, so I bought this software for that purpose. I have only used it for a few hours thus far, and I have already learned an enormous amount! It's amazing to be able to explore the universe, zoom in on objects, have information about each object right at my fingertips, be able to see the orbital paths of various objects, have all the constellations in the sky labeled so I can learn them easily, view the sky from anywhere on earth (or in the solar system and beyond, for that matter!). The possibilities seem as endless as the universe.