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A beginning comment : I will be referring to the review I did of StarryNight Backyard 3.0.3, a downloadable, fully functional, limited time demo. You might want to take a quick look at it and return to this article.
What is "Starry Night Pro" :
If StarryNight Backyard was one of the "coolest" ways to explore the known universe from your computer, the Pro version is the coolest.
Okay - What's It Do?
Once you've set your specific location and time (excessively easy) you can automatically start viewing the stars, constellations, planets, asteroids and even distant galaxies from your computer. You can even zoom in on them for great pictures of these astronomical objects of interest.
Was the sky too cloudy or the night too cold to view the recent lunar eclipse? You can travel back in time to 4713 BC or forward in time to 9999 AD to view any stellar or planetary event(s) you choose. See Halley's comet, lunar and/or solar eclipses, planetary alignments, and much much more. See why the Mayans predict doom for the year 2012 because of planetary alignments (check out the sky from the middle of Mexico around noon on November 13th 2012).
Wish you could see a lunar eclipse from the moon? Easy enough with this wonderful program. You can get a view of the galaxy from other planets, moons, the sun, other stars and, for those Pink Floyd fans, even the Dark Side of the Moon. Ever wonder how odd and distorted the present constellations become when viewed from different stars?
Want to share your stellar adventures with others? You can make a QuickTime movie of your adventures (great for school reports as well).
Gee, the above is exactly what we said about the Backyard version (It is almost an exact copy). What else can it do, above and beyond the Backyard version?
Above and Beyond Backyard:
Besides more stars, besides better and more graphics, besides more satellites, asteroids, comets,etc.... there is a way for you to set up and use a real telescope (check their website for brands and versions that are compatible) through the program. Although we don't own such a telescope, I think this is wonderful. Set your telescope up outside and sit at your computer using Starry Night pro to find out what events are happening and use StarryNight Pro to aim your telescope, so you can quickly and easily view the event(s) without having to manually search the heavens.
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Some nebula pictures, Saturn as viewed from one of it's moons, and some distant galaxies. |
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Educationally outrageous!
How about those of us who do SETI@Home being able to quickly and easily view the area(s) in space where our data batches were collected from? Cool!
And there is always the option of customizing the scenery of your home location to better match your real surroundings.
Conclusion
For the majority of star gazers, StarryNight Backyard will be sufficient and more affordable. For those who are serious about space, StarryNight Pro is worth every penny - and more (don't tell Sienna Software, we don't want them to increase the price). Not only did we love it, when some of our relatives saw it in action, they had to get it for themselves and their children.
Rating & Review Summary
CAP Rating = 5 of 5
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Pros: |
He had a "blast". He played with it for almost an hour, just going from planet to planet. The basic controls are easy enough for a 3 year old - you'd have no problems. |
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Cons: |
He had no complaints. |
DAD Rating = 5+ of 5
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The Reviewing Team
CAP = a Three and a half year old "handsome" young man.
DAD = Better known as R.P. Phillips of the Phillips Files
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