Catalina 34

General Activities => Main Message Board => Topic started by: Stu Jackson on November 26, 2010, 09:52:31 PM

Title: Stargazing
Post by: Stu Jackson on November 26, 2010, 09:52:31 PM
I've been looking for a cost effective star program, and just today stumbled upon this little gem:

http://www.stellarium.org/

The price is right and it's pretty neat and easy to use.  Zoom's cool, too.

Title: Re: Stargazing
Post by: Joe and Carol on November 27, 2010, 06:23:28 AM
Stu:

One of our great pleasures of sailing is night sky star gazing.  We visually track the space station, find out if our sailor friends know the stars/planets and debate, in layman's terms, Einsteins theories of the universe.  The Milky Way is spectacular from Stockton Lake!

And of course . . . the conversational point of why the moon looks larger as it rises?  Thanks for the post on the stars.

Joe and Carol
YachtaSea  244
Title: Re: Stargazing
Post by: Jim Hardesty on November 27, 2010, 07:21:51 AM
Stu,
Thanks for sharing :clap   It's great.  One of the things that I do less of in retirement is night sailing.  I miss it and hope to do more next season.
Jim
Title: Re: Stargazing
Post by: sail4dale on November 27, 2010, 10:17:09 AM
.....Thanks  ... outstanding program
Title: Re: Stargazing
Post by: Terry Forshier on November 28, 2010, 07:45:54 AM
FYI ...Iphone users..there are several free apps for finding plants and constellations. Search the app store. I like planets and planet finder. Sailing along at night you can just point the iphone and it shows the horizon and canoutline the constellations etc.