Starry Night Pro 5.0 Astronomy Software Win/Mac

by Imaginova

$149.99
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Average Rating: * * * - -
Sales Rank:7445 (lower is better)
Shipping:Free Shipping on most orders over $25*
Availability:
Release Date:2005-02-11
Label:Imaginova
UPC:628306790861
Binding:CD-ROM
Published By:Imaginova
ASIN:B0002VRPDM
Category:Software

Starry Night Pro 5.0 Astronomy Software Win/Mac 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

Editorial Reviews and Product Descriptions

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
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.

Customer Reviews

Never Had Such Trouble - Reviewed on 2006-03-31
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4 customers found this review helpful, 2 did not.

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!
Response to customer service - Reviewed on 2005-12-08
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8 customers found this review helpful, 6 did not.

I just put in an order for Starry Night Pro v.5 - but wanted you to know that I personally left a message for the company in regards to the negative feedback I reviewed here on Amazon. I was a little nervous about purchasing until I could get some clarity from their staff.

One of their customer service reps called me back in less than 2 hours and discussed each of the points - so I'm at least feeling good that there is a voice on the other line to help me should there be issues when I receive the software. He seemed to believe that those issues have been resolved or unique.

I'll keep you posted. Good luck!
Excellent experience from beginning to end - Reviewed on 2005-12-03
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12 customers found this review helpful.

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.
Quality science + beautiful aesthetics - not your average astronomy software - Reviewed on 2005-12-03
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11 customers found this review helpful, 1 did not.

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!
Ditto to above! - Reviewed on 2005-11-27
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6 customers found this review helpful, 6 did not.

New potential customer, maybe, but if they've got your cash forget customer support, you'll be lucky to ever get a reply. Can't say more, still waiting for a reply to any of my 4 genuinely polite inquiries (only been 1 year). One star is over rated.
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