Starry Night: Complete Space & Astronomy Pack
© 2004 Imaginova
Billing itself as "your guide to the night sky" this package includes a virtual planetarium CD, the 160 page book "Starry Night Companion" by John Mosley, a Deep Space Explorer, and a Skytheater DVD, with several dozen nicely done videos explaining things such as Meteor strikes or planet features. Note that you'll want to check the system requirements carefully -- this program won't run on older operating system such as Windows 98 or Mac OS 9. The heart of the program is the software, which makes it easy to set your clock, latitude and longitude, and then see a dynamic view of your sky, as it is currently seen over your head. You can click on any star and use the mouse wheel to zoom in up to 325,162 times, making it possible to see the finer details on any of the planets and their moons. Content includes fifty guided tours such as Seasonal Tours of the Stars and Constellations, the Top Twenty Star Clusters and so on. The updated interface makes it easy to control the movements of the sky, lighting conditions, and so on. All things considered, is an ideal package for either novice or expert astronomers who want to know a bit more about their backyard view of the universe. Recommended for both home or school settings. See also Redshift 5. Note: See Starry Night 6.0.
$49.99, Win XP (500 MHz), Mac OSX (10.3)
Teaches: science, astronomy