Starry Night Beginner

Rating:
Summary: phenomenal program for budding amateur astronomers...
Review: Being a United States Merchant Master Mariner, I am required to use and be proficient at celestial navigation. That is finding my position on a boat or ship by using celestial bodies at night as well as the day. All though we have depended on electronic navigation for most all of these tasks for years, a master must know his celestial navigation. If his boat batteries or electical system ever fail or the equipment ever fails which happens more often than one would think. There lies the reason I found originally bought this software, because I found books and other aids so complicated I was getting more confused than help.

On a good night (very clear) there are so many stars it is hard to pick out the big dipper. On a bad (overcast) night you are lucky to find the moon. With this software, you simply plug in your estimated location, the date and time and it shows you a great moving clestial map in several formats that my 7 year old nieces were having no problem using the program in minutes. No telescope or extra equipment is required but a pair of binoculars helped pick out some of the weaker stars.

Books, aids, educational toys helped in the past learn and helped pick out the stars but on this one night, two 7 year olds and a 50 year old Master Mariner and his wife became experts (in our minds) in finding the constellations, major stars, planets and even satalites. I have never had such a good time with my family, and never felt so good about my professional ability.

I am ready for the advanced versions of this product now and can not wait to buy a good telescope to get get to a level of a good amature astronomer. I am afraid my nieces are on the way to astophysics they are enjoying it so much.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyment Beyond Belief!!!
Review: Being a United States Merchant Master Mariner, I am required to use and be proficient at celestial navigation. That is finding my position on a boat or ship by using celestial bodies at night as well as the day. All though we have depended on electronic navigation for most all of these tasks for years, a master must know his celestial navigation. If his boat batteries or electical system ever fail or the equipment ever fails which happens more often than one would think. There lies the reason I found originally bought this software, because I found books and other aids so complicated I was getting more confused than help.

On a good night (very clear) there are so many stars it is hard to pick out the big dipper. On a bad (overcast) night you are lucky to find the moon. With this software, you simply plug in your estimated location, the date and time and it shows you a great moving clestial map in several formats that my 7 year old nieces were having no problem using the program in minutes. No telescope or extra equipment is required but a pair of binoculars helped pick out some of the weaker stars.

Books, aids, educational toys helped in the past learn and helped pick out the stars but on this one night, two 7 year olds and a 50 year old Master Mariner and his wife became experts (in our minds) in finding the constellations, major stars, planets and even satalites. I have never had such a good time with my family, and never felt so good about my professional ability.

I am ready for the advanced versions of this product now and can not wait to buy a good telescope to get get to a level of a good amature astronomer. I am afraid my nieces are on the way to astophysics they are enjoying it so much.

Rating:
Summary: phenomenal program for budding amateur astronomers...
Review: i've had starry night beginner for about a year and i love it. if you're just getting into astronomy and you are completely (or at least partly) baffled by handheld star charts...this program will make it ultra-easy for you to find whatever heavenly body you're looking for. it's an amazing program...very addictive. it's one of the most frequently used programs on my computer. i'm an old man, but this would be a terrific program for kids who are curious about the sky. with this program and a pair of binoculars...you'll be able to find and observe just about everything up there. highly recommended!