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dennett · Sep 24, 2003, 12:12 AM

I am kicking around buying a highend Meade or Celestron telescope. Does anyone know if there is software available for the Mac for use with these scopes?

wapangy · Sep 24, 2003, 12:26 AM

www.starrynight.com

amazing software.
i think its the only software for the mac that controls telescopes

BTP · Sep 24, 2003, 02:57 AM

Hmm. I don't know if it controls the telescope. (Maybe it does, I don't know) However, there is *no* better software for astronomy. Period. hands down. End of story.

Starry Night is AMAZING. Best money you will spend if you love astronomy.

Raining Down in Texas · Sep 24, 2003, 07:38 AM

Originally posted by wapangy:
i think its the only software for the mac that controls telescopes

A quick search on Versiontracker found this and this.

I am thinking of getting a computer controlled telescope also, so I'd be curious to hear how these programs work.

dennett · Sep 24, 2003, 09:33 AM

Thanks for the responses guys!

smitty825 · Sep 24, 2003, 12:52 PM

As listed above, Starry Night can control pretty much any telescope from Meade or Celestron. (I occasionally use it to control my ETX-125AT). Also, there is a freeware (I think) program called "ScopeDriver" which can control Meade Telescopes

You should also look for a program called "Dark Adapated" or something simliar (don't have my computer with me). It lets you dim the brightness of your laptop screen, plus turn it red.

I believe that there is a bunch of reviews of this software over at applelust...

Simon X · Sep 24, 2003, 06:08 PM

There's also this app. Link

Check out the developers site to see what telescope he has!

I've only used the demo to check out some star charts.

dennett · Sep 24, 2003, 08:47 PM

Wow thanks again! As I start to do more research on the scopes I'm starting to realize how complicated it all is. I need to slow down a bit and not make a $3-4k mistake as to exactly what I buy. I know this OT but any scope suggestions??

Gee4orce · Sep 25, 2003, 03:08 AM

Starry night can also turn the screen red for night vision.

I'd love to get a telescope (I have the software) - properly configured, it'd be a case of selecting something to view in Starry Night Pro on the laptop, pressing a button, and looking into the telescope at the real thing !

dole · Sep 25, 2003, 04:08 AM

Originally posted by dennett:
Wow thanks again! As I start to do more research on the scopes I'm starting to realize how complicated it all is. I need to slow down a bit and not make a $3-4k mistake as to exactly what I buy. I know this OT but any scope suggestions??

I got an StarMax 102mm EQ Compact Telescope as my first telescope. I haven't found any software that supports this, but hopefully one of these days there will be. It is a pretty nice telescope and small which makes it easy to move around. I will be getting a 2x Barlow lens for it next week to get a little more detail. I will make one suggestion though, make sure you get a Moon filter for your scope. The Moon won't make you blind if you look at it without the filter, but you will start to see some spots after awhile. I took some pics of the telescope whenever it arrived and you can check it out Here

clebin · Sep 25, 2003, 08:23 PM

Out of interest, how does Starry Night compare to RedShift? Earlier versions were quite good before it went PC only.

Chris

BTP · Sep 26, 2003, 03:52 AM

I can't really say, but Starry Night is *so* good, I'd put it up against Red Shift with confidence, without knowing anything about it!

Honestly, Starry Night is tops in its class.

smitty825 · Sep 26, 2003, 05:01 PM

Originally posted by dennett:
Wow thanks again! As I start to do more research on the scopes I'm starting to realize how complicated it all is. I need to slow down a bit and not make a $3-4k mistake as to exactly what I buy. I know this OT but any scope suggestions??

Hey Dennett...I (as I'm sure others, too) can help you decide which scope would best fit your needs! The first rule to remember is the best scope you could buy would be the one that would be used the most!

If you are looking to spend $3000 to $4000 on a scope, you are talking about getting something between 10" and 12" in diameter! That is a big scope! While the view through this size scope is amazing (and the object tracking incredible), they are *really* heavy. (IIRC, the 10" Meade LX200GPS OTA (no mount included) weighs ~80lbs (~35kg)!)

That would be a great scope if you live in a very dark area, and have someone to help you setup/take down. (or you are creating your own observatory). If not, I really would recommend that pick up something smaller.

The Meade ETX series, LX-90, Celestron 5i/8i are all good buys. They can all be computer controlled. They can see all of the Messier Objects, all the planets (except Pluto) resolve as discs (+ features), the moon is amazing, and several of NGC are visable. Astrophotography is possible with your digital camera on the brighest objects.

Let me know if you have any more questions. If you decide on the Meade LX200/LX90 series, place your order before Oct. 1 to save a few hundred dollars!

dennett · Sep 26, 2003, 09:49 PM

Thanks for the reply Smitty! I actually had been looking at the Celestrons and Meades in the 10-12" range. But between the size, weight and complexity I've decided to slow down my search as to not make a huge mistake. I currently have a Meade ETX70 but have always lusted after a big Celestron. The 8" models are starting to look best, I just worry that I'll get an 8" and wish I'd spent the extra money for a 10-12, but then there's the size and weight factor you mention

I live out in the East County of SD and would like to be able to both use the scope at my place and take it out to the Lagunas and desert for better viewing. Those big ones would be problematic for that.

The GPS controlers seem very cool, what do you think about that feature?

smitty825 · Sep 27, 2003, 02:04 PM

That's great that you live in San Diego! I strongly recommend that you head out to one of the public star parties that the San Diego Astronomy Association or OPTAS throws at their dark sky sites. (SDAA's site is near the Golden Acorn Casino off the 8 freeway, and OPTAS is in Anza-Borrego Desert)

Club members and guests all bring their own scopes. Last time I was there (SDAA's site), people had Meade and Celestron scopes in just about every size. It's fun to look through the various scopes and see the differences between them.

An 8" is a pretty big scope. With a 200mm opening, it will collect about 8 times the light of your 70mm ETX! The focal length is much longer, which will also enable higher power viewing! Also, if you use the 8" for awhile, and you want bigger, telescopes tend to hold their value pretty well (see site: [url http://www.astromart.com/]Astromart[/url])

I've only had a chance to help setup a Meade LX200GPS. Those are amazing...the scope figures out how far off level it is, and adjusts accordingly, and points the scope at a star and has you center it! Very quick and easy...no "home" positions necessary or anything like that!

I do recommend you head out to a star party and look through each scope. It's a new moon, so tonight both clubs will be having one. (I won't be there however, as I'm about to head up to LA to watch my trusty Aztecs hopefully beat UCLA in football).

I may be away from these forums until tomorrow evening, but feel free to send me any questions via email at smitty825 @ yahoo . com (spam proofed the best I could)

dennett · Sep 27, 2003, 10:21 PM

That is an awesome idea, that's what I'll do! Thanks for those links

smitty825 · Sep 29, 2003, 07:12 PM

Originally posted by dennett:
That is an awesome idea, that's what I'll do! Thanks for those links

Let me know how it goes! No matter what you get, I'll be jealous

Goldie · Sep 29, 2003, 09:40 PM

How do you update the autostar with your mac. (moreover can you?) I have to visit my neighbor and use his windows box. Also, does the serial to usb work well? I have the model #505 connector and saw belkin sells a serial to usb adapter.

Gee4orce · Sep 30, 2003, 03:28 AM

Originally posted by clebin:
Out of interest, how does Starry Night compare to RedShift? Earlier versions were quite good before it went PC only.

Chris

Here's an image I just exported from Starry Night Pro, of the Milky Way.

...that's not a photo. It's simply Starry Night rendering millions of stars with accurate location and brightness so that the overall impression of the Milky Way is built up - and that's only about 1/2 of all the stars it renders. If I turned it up more, it gets too bright to see the structure nicely.

There's too much to Starry Night Pro to describe here - even their own website only scratches the surface. You will not regret buying it, if you have more than a passing interest in the night sky.

smitty825 · Sep 30, 2003, 08:37 AM

Originally posted by Goldie:
How do you update the autostar with your mac. (moreover can you?) I have to visit my neighbor and use his windows box. Also, does the serial to usb work well? I have the model #505 connector and saw belkin sells a serial to usb adapter.

A Serial to USB adapter should work fine. However, you will need Virtual PC to run the update software. There have been rumors of a Java version of the software for years, but so far that hasn't come to pass...

For more information, see Weasner's Site