By Ted Bade, © Copyright 2012, All Rights Reserved. Product: SkyFi Wifi to Serial Adapter Vendor: Southern Stars (http://www.southernstars.com/index.html) Price: $149.95 Introduction SkyFi is another fine product from Southern Stars, who sell SkySafari software for mobile devices and Mac computers, as well as other telescope-related hardware products. SkyFi uses WiFi to connect the RS232 control data [...]
Archive for the ‘Space Exploration’ Category
January 14. 2012 – SkyFi Wireless Telescope Control
Posted: January 14, 2012 by tedbade in Academia, Hardware Reviews, Space ExplorationTags: astronomy hardware, SkyFi 2012 review, SkyFi review, Southern Stars
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Solar Transition of the Last Shuttle Docked to the ISS (July 12, 2011)
Posted: July 12, 2011 by Mike Hubbartt in Academia, Space ExplorationTags: Atlantis docked with ISS, International Space Station, ISS, ISS 2011 solar transition, last flight of STS Atlantis, Tobias Lindemann
By Tobias Lindemann, © Copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved. Introduction I was not happy when Atlantis lifted off last Friday, because I thought we would not have a chance to see it here in Europe. I was relieved when a friend told me that there would be a Solar-Transit of the ISS (International Space Station) near [...]
SkyWire Serial Accessory Review (July 11, 2011)
Posted: July 11, 2011 by tedbade in Hardware Reviews, Space ExplorationTags: connect your iPod iPad to your telescope, control a telescope with an ipod ipad, serial connection for telescope control, use SkySafari to control your telescope
By Ted Bade, © Copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved. Product: SkyWire Serial Accessory Vendor: Southern Stars (http://www.southernstars.com) Price: $79.95 USD Shipping: varies according to destination SkyWire Serial Accessory is a simple cable that makes it a breeze to connect your iPad, iPod Touch, or iPhone to your computerized telescope and control it with an app called [...]
Aquarius/SAC-D Mission Launch Successful (June 10, 2011)
Posted: June 10, 2011 by Mike Hubbartt in Academia, Space ExplorationTags: Aquarius/SAC-D, CONAE, NASA, Sea Surface Salinity measurements, SSS
By Mike Hubbartt, © Copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved. This morning NASA used a Delta II rocket to successfully launch the Aquarius/SAC-D mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. This new satellite will help scientists measure the amount of Sea Surface Salinity, which is important for global climate studies. The mission was accomplished with cooperation [...]
Final Mission of Shuttle Discovery (March 9, 2011)
Posted: February 24, 2011 by Mike Hubbartt in Academia, Space ExplorationTags: Astronauts, Discovery, ESA, Hubble Space Telescope, JAXA, Kennedy Space Center, KSC, Last launch of Shuttle Discovery, Roscosmos, Shuttle Atlantis, Shuttle Challenger, Shuttle Columbia, Shuttle Discovery, Shuttle Endeavour, SpaceX, STS-103, STS-109, STS-125, STS-133, STS-31, STS-61, STS-82, Virgin Galactic
By Mike Hubbartt, © Copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved. The US space program had good news today (February 24, 2011). NASA successfully launched Discovery for its final flight (STS-133), which is a trip to the International Space Station (ISS). A great video of the launch from NASA can be seen here, which shows the take and [...]
SLOOH: A Telescope for Cloudy Nights (February 13, 2011)
Posted: February 13, 2011 by tedbade in Academia, Software Reviews, Space ExplorationTags: astronomy, astronomy on the internet, astrophotography, google earth, slooh, SLOOH membership
By Ted Bade, © Copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved. Introduction As you have probably gathered, I really enjoy astronomy. I like looking at objects in deep space, gazing at the moon and the planets of our solar system, and sometimes even enjoying a glimpse of a comet. I enjoy using my telescope but often, at my [...]
Dwarf Planets (July 20, 2011)
Posted: February 1, 2011 by Mike Hubbartt in Academia, Space ExplorationTags: 1 Ceres, 136108 Haumea, 136199 Eris, 136472 Makemake, Dwarf Planets, Eris moon Dysnomia, moon Charon, moon Hydra, moon Nix, moon P4, Pluto, Pluto's 3 moons, Starry Night Pro Plus images
By Mike Hubbartt, © Copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved. Dwarf Body Facts: Number of Dwarf Planets: 5 Ceres Eris Haumea Makemake Pluto Sizes: smallest is Ceres and the largest is Eris (maybe…) Orbits: Ceres is in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and the others are out around Pluto’s orbit (29-49 AUs) Diameters: from 950 [...]
RedShift 7 for Windows (January 30, 2011)
Posted: January 30, 2011 by Mike Hubbartt in Academia, Software Reviews, Space ExplorationTags: astronomy software, explore space with software, explore the solar system, RedShift 7 review, windows astronomy software, WorldWideTelescope.org
By Mike Hubbartt, © Copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved. Product: RedShift 7 Advanced Vendor: United Soft Media (www.redshift7.com) Price: $79.90/£49.90 (Boxed), $59.95 (download) Supported OS: Windows 7/Vista/XP/2000 Ted Bade and I are both amateur astronomers. We’ve both used a lot of commercial and open source products for different operating systems – some which we cover on [...]
Starry Night Version 6.4.3 (February 22, 2011)
Posted: January 21, 2011 by Mike Hubbartt in Academia, Press Announcements, Space ExplorationTags: Mac and PC astronomy software, Starry Night, Starry Night bugs, Starry Night Preference file, Starry Night Pro preferences, Starry Night version 6.3.9 to 6.4.0 update, Starry Night version 6.4.0 to 6.4.1 update, Starry Night version 6.4.1 to 6.4.2 update, Starry Night version 6.4.2 to 6.4.3 update
By Mike Hubbartt, © Copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved. A new update for Starry Night Pro and Starry Night Pro Plus is available today. Use the ‘Help/Check for Updates’ menu option to download and install the update. I updated Starry Night Pro Plus and did not see any glitches during the update nor after restarting SNPP. [...]
Pluto (July 20, 2011)
Posted: January 19, 2011 by Mike Hubbartt in Academia, Space ExplorationTags: Ceres, Charon, Clyde W. Tombaugh, Dwarf Planets, Kuiper belt, moon Hydra, moon Nix, moon P4, moons of pluto, New Horizons mission, Pluto, Wolfram Alpha Pluto data
By Mike Hubbartt, © Copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved. Pluto Facts: Location: Mostly beyond the orbit of Neptune Size: smaller than the 8 planets, smaller than Eris, and smaller than our moon Orbit: 29 – 49 AU (average 39 AU) Orbital Period: 247.92 Julian years * Average Distance from Earth: 40.7 AUs * Diameter: 2,274 km [...]
Starry Night Version 6.4.2 (January 18, 2011)
Posted: January 18, 2011 by Mike Hubbartt in Academia, Press Announcements, Space ExplorationTags: Mac and PC astronomy software, Starry Night, Starry Night bugs, Starry Night Preference file, Starry Night Pro preferences, Starry Night version 6.3.9 to 6.4.0 update, Starry Night version 6.4.0 to 6.4.1 update, Starry Night version 6.4.1 to 6.4.2 update
By Mike Hubbartt, © Copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved. Starry Night version 6.4.2 is available as of today. I downloaded and installed it for Starry Night Pro Plus and had no errors during or after the update. Per an email I received from Starry Night Support on 1/19/2011, this update has the following bug fixes: Crash [...]
Connect Your Telescope to a Laptop (January 16, 2011)
Posted: January 16, 2011 by tedbade in Apple Mac Tips, Space ExplorationTags: Connect a telescope to a laptop, Meade 6" telescope, Meade LXD75 telescope, Starry Night Pro Plus
By Ted Bade, © Copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved. If you have computer-controlled telescope and a decent Astronomy program, it’s a good idea to connect them. Astronomy software makes it easier to search and locate celestial bodies, plus it provides a lot more information about objects you might want to observe. Making the connection between your [...]
ISS in Starry Night (February 23, 2011)
Posted: January 5, 2011 by Mike Hubbartt in Academia, Space Exploration, Tips and TricksTags: International Space Station, ISS, ISS calendar, JPL and NASA, Mir space station, MIT and NASA, NASA, Skylab space station, Starry Night Pro
By Mike Hubbartt, © Copyright 2011, All Rights Reserved. The Russian Mir and US Skylab space stations were the first space stations used for research done away from the confines of gravity. The news, newspapers and magazine articles of that era showed a bit of what the astronauts saw in orbit, and while the quality of [...]
Starry Night Version 6.4.1 (March 29, 2011)
Posted: December 25, 2010 by Mike Hubbartt in Academia, Press Announcements, Space ExplorationTags: Mac and PC astronomy software, Starry Night, Starry Night bugs, Starry Night Preference file, Starry Night Pro preferences, Starry Night version 6.3.9 to 6.4.0 update, Starry Night version 6.4.0 to 6.4.1 update, Starry Night version 6.4.1 to 6.4.2 update
By Mike Hubbartt, © Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved. This post contains information about Starry Night version 6.4.1. Click here to read our post on release version 6.4.2, which was available for downloading the morning of January 18, 2011. Version 6.4.0 to 6.4.1 Update January 12, 2011 I contacted Starry Night Support for a list of [...]
Uranus (June 24, 2011)
Posted: December 25, 2010 by Mike Hubbartt in Academia, Environmental Posts, Space ExplorationTags: Miranda, moons of Uranus, Starry Night Pro, Starry Night Pro Plus, Uranus, Wolfram Alpha Uranus data, WorldWideTelescope.org
By Mike Hubbartt, © Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved. Uranus Facts: Location: 7th planet from the sun Size: 3rd largest planet in our solar system Orbit: 19.22 AU Orbital Period: 84.07 Julian Years * Average Distance from Earth: 19.2 AUs * Diameter: 4X that of earth Discovered: 1781 by William Herschel Atmosphere: hydrogen, helium, water, methane, [...]
SpaceX Successfully Launches, Recovers Dragon (December 9, 2010)
Posted: December 9, 2010 by Mike Hubbartt in Press Announcements, Space ExplorationTags: Dragon, Falcon 9 rocket, International Space Station, SpaceX, Virgin Galactic
By Mike Hubbartt, © Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved. SpaceX achieved a huge milestone in their pursuit of private industry space travel. This morning they launched their Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, which carried the Dragon spacecraft into a near earth orbit. The impressive fact about this accomplishment is not launching a rocket, but actually [...]
Southern Stars Astronomy Products Press Announcement (November 29, 2010)
Posted: November 29, 2010 by Mike Hubbartt in Press Announcements, Space ExplorationI received this press release and wanted to share it since we’ve reviewed their products in the past. Mike ====================================================== We’re Southern Stars – formerly the mobile products division of Carina Software. As a Carina customer, you’re receiving this notice regarding our mobile astronomy products and plans for the holiday season. SkySafari is a universal [...]
The Zooniverse Project: Do Your Part to Help Astronomy Research (November 26, 2010)
Posted: November 26, 2010 by Mike Hubbartt in Space ExplorationTags: amateur asytronomy, Galaxy Zoo, Moon Zoo project, NASA, Old Weather project, Zooniverse project
By Ted Bade, © Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved. Astronomy Buffs might want to check out the Galaxy Zoo site to lend an amateur hand to astronomy research. The concept of this site is similar to other Internet-based corroborative research projects, many people work together to analyse information. In this case the information concerns astronomy. Galaxy [...]
Pluto to Regain Planet Status? (November 23, 2010)
Posted: November 23, 2010 by Mike Hubbartt in Academia, Space ExplorationTags: CalTech, Ceres, Charon, Eris, Pluto, Pluto from Charon, Professor Mike Brown, Starry Night 6, Wolfram Alpha
By Mike Hubbartt, © Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved. I’ve been an amateur astronomer many years, and my schools taught that our solar system has 9 planets. Back in 2005, CalTech Professor Mike Brown discovered Eris, a Pluto-sized planet 9 billion miles from the sun (twice as far away as Pluto) and about the same size [...]
Neptune (June 24, 2011)
Posted: November 21, 2010 by Mike Hubbartt in Academia, Space ExplorationTags: Mathematica 8, moons of Neptune, NASA, Neptune, Neptune from Triton, Neptune in November, Red Shift 7, Starry Night Pro, Starry Night Pro 6, Triton, Wolfram Alpha Neptune data
By Mike Hubbartt, © Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved. Neptune Facts: Location: 8th planet from the sun Size: 4th largest planet in our solar system Orbit: 30.06 AU Orbital Period: 164.79 Julian Years * Average Distance from Earth: 30.1 AUs * Diameter: 49,532 km Discovered: 1846 by Adams and Le Verrier Atmosphere: Hydrogen, helium, methane Moons: [...]
RedShift 7 for iTouch/iPhone/iPad (November 18, 2010)
Posted: November 18, 2010 by tedbade in Software Reviews, Space ExplorationTags: astronomy software, astronomy software for the iTouch iPhone iPad, cool iPad software, Mac and PC astronomy software, Redshift 7
By Ted Bade, © Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved. Vendor: United Soft Media Verlag GmbH Price: $11.99 E-Mail: info@usm.de Product Site: http://www.redshift-live.com/en/ Introduction RedShift is an astronomy application for the iPod touch/iPhone/iPad. This program offers the features you would expect from an astronomy title and has a couple of useful unique options. It also makes use [...]
Saturn (June 24, 2011)
Posted: November 11, 2010 by Mike Hubbartt in Academia, Space ExplorationTags: astronomy, astronomy software, Enceladus, Io, moons of Saturn, Redshift 7, rings of Saturn, Saturn, Starry Night, Starry Night Pro, Triton, Voyager, Wolfram Alpha Saturn data
By Mike Hubbartt, © Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved. Saturn Facts: Location: 6th planet from the sun Size: 2nd largest planet in our solar system Orbit: 9.54 AU Orbital Period: 29.44 Julian Years * Average Distance from Earth: 9.58 AUs * Diameter: 120,536 km Discovered: 1610 by Galileo Atmosphere: 75% Hydrogen, 25% helium Interesting facts: visited [...]
Voyager 4.5.7 Sky Simulator Review (October 29, 2010)
Posted: October 29, 2010 by tedbade in Academia, Software Reviews, Space ExplorationTags: astronomy, Carina Software review, Mac and PC astronomy software, Meade telescopes, planetarium software, sky simulation, software to control telescopes, Voyager, Voyager 4.5 review
Voyager 4.5.7 Sky Simulator Carina Software (Phone: 1- (925) 838-0695, Mon – Fri, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM PST) Website: www.carinasoft.com Price: $179.95 w/DVD, $129.95 w/2 CDs, w/CD download $99.95 Upgrade prices and educational discount information available at Carina’s website. By Ted Bade, © Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved. Introduction Astronomy buffs or anyone looking for [...]
Jupiter (June 24, 2011)
Posted: October 16, 2010 by Mike Hubbartt in Academia, Environmental Posts, Space ExplorationTags: Carina Mobile, Carina Software, Celestina, Europa, Ganymede, Imaginova, Io, Jupiter, Jupiter from Europa, Jupiter from Ganymede, Jupiter from Io, moons of Jupiter, NASA, Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, Simulation Curriculum, SkyFi, SkySafari, Starry Night, Starry Night 6, Starry Night Pro, Starry Night Set Location, Ulysses, Vincent, Voyager, Voyager 1, Voyager 2, Wolfram Alpha Jupiter data
By Mike Hubbartt, © Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved. Jupiter Facts: Location: 5th planet from the sun Size: largest planet in our solar system Orbit: 5.2 AU Orbital Period: 11.86 Julian Years * Average Distance from Earth: 5.26 AUs * Diameter: 142,984 km Discovered: 1610 by Galileo Atmosphere: 90% Hydrogen, 10% helium Interesting facts: visited by [...]
Distant Suns for the iPhone/iTouch/iPad (September 26, 2010)
Posted: September 26, 2010 by tedbade in Software Reviews, Space ExplorationTags: astronomy, astronomy software, Commodore Amiga, Distant Suns, iPhone Apps
By Ted Bade, © Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved. Distant Suns 3 is a nicely designed astronomy program for the iPhone/iPod Touch. It includes lots of information, images, and easy navigation of the skies. It’s an excellent choice for an astronomy buff. This application, which was originally designed for the Commodore Amiga computer in 1985, has [...]
NASA’s ‘Be a Martian’ Project (August 28, 2010)
Posted: August 28, 2010 by Mike Hubbartt in Academia, Space ExplorationTags: Be a Martian, Mars Mission, NASA, Space education
By Mike Hubbartt, © Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved. I have followed NASA’s site since the first day it became available on the internet. I like how the people there go all out to get information and news out to fans of the space race. NASA’s site covers more than the ISS and satellites. It also [...]
Microsoft’s WorldWideTelescope – Use Your Browser to Explore the Universe (August 23, 2010)
Posted: August 23, 2010 by Mike Hubbartt in Academia, Software Reviews, Space ExplorationTags: astronomy, astronomy software, Microsoft Astronomy software, Microsoft product
by Mike Hubbartt, © Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved. I’m an amateur astronomer. I had a refracting telescope long before I owned a personal computer, and I used my telescope to take more than a few photos of solar eclipses as well as planets in our solar system.I don’t own a telescope right now, but have [...]
ISS Failed Cooling Pump Repair Progress (August 9, 2010)
Posted: August 10, 2010 by Mike Hubbartt in Space ExplorationTags: Cooling pump failure, Doug Wheelock space walk, International Space Station, ISS, repairing the ISS, Tracy Caldwell Dyson space walk
by Mike Hubbartt, Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved. The recent failure of one of two ammonia cooling pumps for the International Space Station is being addressed by a series of three space walks. Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Doug Wheelock were the astronauts that performed the first space walk last Saturday, which lasted over 8 hours. [...]
Starry Night Pro 6.3.9 (August 3, 2010)
Posted: August 3, 2010 by Mike Hubbartt in Software Reviews, Space ExplorationTags: astronomy software, Mac and PC astronomy software, SN Pro 6, SN Pro 6.0, Starry Night, Upgrade to Starry Night version 6.3.9
by Mike Hubbartt, © Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved. Have you tried any of the excellent astronomy packages on your home computer? One of my favorites is Starry Night, by Imaginova. I originally installed Starry Night Pro 6 on my iMac and reviewed it for MacWorld UK, and recently installed it on my 2.26 GHz Macbook. [...]
