TheSkyX Professional Edition for Windows

TheSkyX Professional Edition

TheSkyX Professional Edition is the next major release in TheSky's 25+ year history.

Latest Update Of The World Class Astronomy Software TheSky. Includes Telescope Control.

TheSkyX Professional  Edition can help you plan your observing sessions. It can control your go to (or push to) telescope with ease. You can even print out star charts to share the wonders of night sky with your friends and family. It'll make pursuing your passion for astronomy just plain fun

Minimum System Requirements.

PC 1.5 GHz or faster processor Intel Pentium 4, Pentium M, Pentium D processor or better, or AMD K-8 (Athlon) or better 512 MB internal RAM OpenGL 1.5 and later Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP (32- and 64-bit Editions), including: Windows 7 Ultimate Edition* Windows 7 Enterprise Edition Windows 7 Professional Edition Windows 7 Home Premium Edition Windows 7 Home Basic Edition Windows 7 Starter Edition Windows Vista Ultimate Edition* Windows Vista Home Edition Windows Vista Home Basic Windows Vista Business Edition Windows Vista Enterprise Edition Windows XP Professional Edition* Windows XP Home Edition Windows XP Tablet PC Edition Windows XP Media Center Edition

1024 x 768 display resolution with true color 128 MB (minimum) video RAM 1.25 GB free disc space DVD-ROM drive Mouse or other pointing device Keyboard *TheSkyX Professional  Edition for Windows is a 32-bit application, and is compatible with either the 32-bit or 64-bit versions of these operating systems.

MAC 1.25 GHz G4 PowerPC or faster processor or 2 GHz Intel Core Duo or faster processor Macintosh OS X version 10.4.8 or later 1024 x 768 display resolution with millions of colors 512 MB RAM 64 MB video RAM 1.25 GB disc space Mouse or other pointing device DVD-ROM Mouse or other pointing device Keyboard

TheSkyX Professional  Edition is your astronomy toolkit; loaded with features you want whether you're planning your next observing session and under the stars. The table below lists many of the significant features.

Display an Interactive Star Chart Looking up at dusk. Looking North. Input any date from 4,712 B.C. to A.D. 10,000 and any time of day to show the simulated star chart for your location. Click the North, South, East, West or Look Up buttons to orient the chart as it would appear from your backyard. Change the magnification to show any field of view, from 235° to as small as 30 arcseconds. Large Databases of Celestial Objects and Photos Large databases of pictures and photos. Photo Viewer window TheSkyX is packed with information on millions of objects and thousands of interesting photographs. View and find the planets, dwarf planets, the Moon, comets, asteroids, satellites, and thousands of the most popular non-stellar objects from the Messier, NGC and IC catalogs and approximately 1 million stars from the Hipparcos-Tycho star catalog (complete to about 12th magnitude).

Databases of Objects and Photos Solar System Sun Mercury Venus Earth (in 3D Solar System) The Moon Mars Mars' Moons Jupiter Jupiter's Moons Io Europa Ganamede Callisto Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto Comets (up to 1000) Asteroids (up to 1000) Satellites (up to 10,000)

Non-Stellar Objects 7,431 objects from the New General Catalog (NGC) Index Catalog (IC) Stars Hipparcos/Tycho Catalog, 1.2 million stars Hubble Guide Star Catalog,

TheSkyX also includes: Over 13,000 images from the NGC and IC Catalogs. Photos of every object in the Messier catalog. Photos of solar system objects, including images from the Mars Rover and other space missions. Over 1000 high-resolution photographs of the moon.

Show What's Up Tonight What's Up? Report Hertzsprung-Russell diagram

Specify the viewing time, your optical aid (naked eye, binocular, or small telescope) and which objects you're interested in seeing; TheSkyX's What Up? command automatically generates an observing list for you, complete with detailed descriptions about many deep- space objects, photographs, and Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagrams for stars.

You can scroll through the report, and watch the star chart update to show you exactly where to look for the object.

Create and Show Field of View Indicators (FOVI)

Choose your equipment from a database of hundreds of telescopes, eyepieces and cameras or define your own, then show an overlay on the Sky Chart. Predict and Watch Iridium Flares Predict and watch simulated Iridium Flares directly from TheSkyX.

TheSkyX comes with animated tours that you can watch and learn basic concepts about astronomy.

Supplied Tours include: Sun's Analemma Angular Size of Mars Equatorial Coordinates Horizon Coordinates Mercury Evening Visibility Mercury Morning Visibility Moon Cycle - Size and Phase Motion of Barnard's Star 24-Hour Motion of Saturn's Moons Rotation and Phase of Mercury 2008 Rotation and Phase of Venus 2008 10-year View of Saturn from Earth Venus and Mercury Annual Paths Winter Constellations

Stackable Windows for Commonly Used Features Stackable windows allow access the frequently used commands. By default, windows are stacked on the left of the Sky Chart, but can be moved to the right side, or appear as a moveable "floating" window.

Tours window - Watch animations related to many interesting astronomical concepts. Find window - Easily locate any object by name, catalog number and many other designations. Chart Elements window - Lets you turn on and off, or filter by upper and lower magnitude or angular size, elements on the Sky Chart, including:

Non-stellar objects (Type C, elliptical, lenticular, spiral, irregular galaxies and clusters of galaxies; bright, dark and planetary nebulas; open and globular clusters and clusters plus nebulosity; probable NGC stars, other NGC objects)

Solar system objects (the Moon, planets, small solar system objects including Pluto, comets and asteroids, the Sun, and planets' moons) and satellites.

Stellar objects (stars, double stars, suspected variables and variables).

Date & Time window - Includes controls to specify the current date and time, including a calendar control showing the phases of the moon, a context menu button to set specific times (now, sunrise, noon, sunset, midnight, morning, new moon, first quarter, last quarter, full moon, moonrise, moonset, vernal (spring) equinox, summer solstice, autumnal equinox, winter solstice or any Julian date), advance/retreat time controls and more.

Labels window - Turn on and off the names of objects, including: asterisms asteroids comets common non-stellar objects direction markers (NSEW) Messier objects meteor shower radiants planets, dwarf planets, the moon, planets' moons, and the sun stars, including the Bayer designation, Flamsteed designation, and common names

Photos window - Show color or black and white photographs for thousands of deep-sky objects.

Find Objects Simple Find A list of common names that match the letters you type appears automatically. Advanced Find Every object is "searchable" from a tree list. The friendly, powerful Find command lets you easily locate any object in TheSkyX's astronomical databases. All objects in the databases are listed in a "tree list" and sorted by type (star, double star, galaxy, cluster, etc.). Just double-click on the name to find it, or specific classification, including: Finding Stars by: Common name (a list of common names that match the letters you type appears automatically) Bayer designation Flamsteed designation General Catalog of Variable Star (GCVS) designation Non-stellar variable star (NSV) designation Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) Catalog number Struve designation Washington Catalog of Double Star designation Finding Non-stellar objects by: Caldwell number Common name Herschel number Index Catalog number (IC) Lorenzin Catalog number New General Catalog (NGC/IC Project) number Principle Galaxy Catalog number (PGC) Principle Galaxy Catalog cross-reference number Zwicky designation Arakelian Catalog of Galaxies designation Catalog of Galaxies and Clusters of Galaxies (CGCG) designation David Dunlop Observatory Catalog of Galaxies designation Fairall Catalog of Galaxies designation Karachentseva Catalog of Galaxies designation Kazaryan UV Galaxies designation Kiso UV Galaxies designation Second Byurakay Survey designation Tololo Galaxies designation Uppsala General Catalog of Galaxies (UGC)designation University of Michigan Catalog of Galaxies designation Virgo Cluster Catalog of Galaxies designation Weinberger Catalog of Galaxies designation Planetary Nebula designation (PLN) Saguaro Astronomy Club Deep-Space Object catalog (SAC)

Finding Solar System Objects: Comet's by name Asteriod by name or number Moon Satellites Sun Mercury Venus Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto

Finding the Constellations by: Common name Abbreviation

Find 70 Common Asterisms The object's name appear in green letter if it's currently above the horizon, or in black italicized letters when it's below the horizon.

Get Detailed Information on Celestial Objects Object Information reports are configurable to show as much, or as little information as you need. Click on any object, or use the Find command to show extensive information on celestial objects, including: Object type (star, cluster, galaxy, nebula, etc.) Right ascension and declination coordinates (current) Right ascension and declination coordinates (Epoch 2000) Altitude and azimuth coordinates Object magnitude* Common name* Catalog number (including cross references to other catalogs), for example M42 or NGC 1976v.* Description of the object* Visual magnitude* B magnitude* V magnitude * Parallax* Proper motion* Sidereal time Distance from Earth (in light years or parsecs)* Rise, transit, set times The constellation to which the object belongs Equatorial and horizon-based coordinates Other object and catalog specific data Position angle (as measured from the celestial pole) from the previously identified object Phase or percent illumination* Air mass

*Please note that not every database or every object in a particular database used by TheSkyX contains information about every parameter listed above. For example, most astronomical catalogs do not contain an object's distance to Earth information.

Select Different Photographs for the Panoramic Horizon Software Bisque Observatory New Mexico Skies Mountain horizon. Choose from several supplied custom panoramic horizons, including: Cayman Island scene Desert scene Forest scene Grand Mesa, Colorado Ice Lake, Michigan Mountain scene Mt. Wilson Institute Observatory Very Large Array Winter Star Party

Quickly Set Chart Options with Chart Elements Chart Elements tab. Turning on and off individual, selected or all object classifications or "chart elements" is easy with the Chart Elements window. Display Reference Lines and Photos Reference Lines and Reference Photos Show the following reference lines and reference photos: Constellation Figures from: Astronomy Magazine H.A. Rey Patrick Moore Sky & Telescope Magazine TheSkyX Wil Tirion Milky Way Galaxy Isophotes Black & white photo Full color photo Constellation Boundaries Most popular Asterisms Ecliptic line Equatorial Grid lines Galactic Equator Horizon Grid lines Meridian True North Arrow Display Object Names (Object Labels) Object Name Labels TheSkyX can show the name and labels for the following objects: Asterisms Asteriods Comets Common Non-stellar Objects Constellations Direction Markers (NSEW) Messier Objects Meteor Shower Radiants Planets, Dwarf Planets, Moons, Sun Satellites Star Labels Bayer Designation Common Star Names Flamsteed Designation

Configure the Appearance of Stars Star Options dialog Adjust the appearance of the stars by: Brightness Contrast Gradient Size of surrounding halo Spectral color

Customizable Toolbars to Access Commands You Want Orientation Toolbar Toolbars positioned around the Star Chart Six standard toolbars contain buttons to access the most frequently used commands. You can also add your own custom toolbars and choose only the buttons and commands you need. The size of the buttons on the toolbars are configurable, as well as the content of the buttons (show a graph, or text or both on the button). The position of the toolbars is customizable. Show them as separate windows, or drag and drop them anywhere around the Star Chart window. Chart Status window Chart Status window with configurable report The Command Center contains a Chart Status window that shows a continuously updated information about the current chart. Choose from the following list of status report options: Date Time Julian Date Universal Time (UT) Local Sidereal Time (LST) Location Description Latitude Longitude Time Zone Elevation Screen Center Right Ascension (RA) Screen Center Declination (Dec) Screen Center Right Azimuth (Az) Screen Center Altitude (Alt) Screen Field Width Screen Rotation Cursor X position Cursor Y position Cusor Constellation Cursor Right Ascension/Declination (RA/Dec) Cursor Azimuth/Altitude (Azm/Alt) Show/Hide Scroll Bars Show/hide horizontal and vertical scroll bars for easy chart navigation. Look North, South, East, West or Up Never get lost in space! Automatically adjust the star chart for your location to look North, South, East, West or straight up (at the Zenith). Zoom Box Zoom to Pre-defined Fields of View Minimum (30 arcseconds) Telescope (1°) Finder (10°) Binocular (50°) Wide Field (180°) Maximum (235°) Custom Field of View dialog Built-in command to show the following fields of view: Minimum (30 arcseconds) Telescope (1°) Finder (10°) Binocular (50°) Naked Eye (100°) Wide Field (180°) Maximum (235°) Or, define any number of custom fields of view using the Custom Fields of View dialog. Navigate to Any Coordinate Navigate to any coordinate using the Screen Center tab on the Navigate dialog. Navigate the Celestial Sphere Use the Navigate dialog to: Position the center of the chart at any equatorial (right ascension/declination/Epoch) or horizon (azimuth/altitude) coordinate. Center the chart on any ra/dec using a 360 degree chart of the celestial sphere that shows the constellation boundaries and figures. As you move the mouse, the current equatorial and horizon coordinates and constellation name are shown. Control the Date and Time Command Center's Date & Time tab. Custom Time Flow Increments and Rates dialog. Date & Time toolbar. Input any date from 4,712 B.C. to A.D. 10,000 and any time to show a beautiful star chart for your location. The Date & Time tab on the Command Center Window provides many different tools that allow you to quickly set any date from 4,712 B.C. to A.D. 10,000 and any time, including: Use Computer's Clock button to set time to now. Date & Time Control to manually enter any date and time. Calender control to set any date. The control also displays the phases of the moon for each month. The Date & Time tab allows you to specify specific times, including: Now (computer's clock) Sunrise Noon Sunset Midnight Morning (begin twilight) Evening (end twilight) New Moon First Quarter Last Quarter Full Moon Moonrise Moonset Specific Julian Date The Date & Time tab allows you to control the rate that time changes, or the increment of time to advance or retreat in time. The default increments include: 1x 10x 100x 1000x 10000x 1 second 1 minute 1 hour 1 day 1 Lunar Month 1 Year Sunrise Sunset Start Twilight End Twilight You can define custom increments and rates using the Custom Time Flow Increments and Rates dialog. The Date & Time toolbar allows you to set the Date & Time as well as specify the direction and rate of time.

Choose your location on Earth By default, your location on earth is detected automatically from the web. Or, Select your location from a list of over 1200 cities, star parties, observatories and other sites on the List of Locations tab. Select your location by clicking on a map of the Earth. Regions of Daylight/nighttime are shown on this map for convenience. Enter your USA zip code. Automatically retrieve your location using your computer's Internet Protocol (IP) address. Manually enter your location by specifying a description and your longitude, latitude (in hour/minutes/seconds or decimal degrees), elevation, time zone and Daylight Saving option (DSO).

Create Object Paths Create a "path" that represents the future or past positions of the Sun, planets (including Pluto), Moon, comets and asteroids. Find and View Solar and Lunar Eclipses with the Eclipse Viewer Solar Eclipse Viewer. When is the next solar eclipse? Where it visible on Earth? You'll be able to answer these questions, learn about the dynamics of solar and lunar eclipses and more using the Solar and Lunar Eclipse Viewer. Solar Eclipses TheSkyX shows every solar eclipse for the next twenty years (or so) from the current date (starting from any date). Select an eclipse from the list and the three-dimensional view of the Earth gives the local circumstances: Whether or not it is visible from the current location. Annular, total central, annular central, partial, or hybrid designation. Time of eclipse start Time of greatest eclipse Time of eclipse end The line of the central eclipse, and the rise/set curve, shadow limits, and eclipse shadow for the Earth's umbra and penumbra can be shown. You can adjust the viewing distance from Earth using the Solar Viewing Distance Slider. Lunar Eclipses As with solar eclipses, the next twenty years of lunar eclipses are listed. Select one from the list to view it's local circumstances, including: The type of lunar eclipse (partial, penumbral, total) The date and time when the eclipse begins When a lunar eclipse is selected, the Sky Chart is updated to show the Earth's penumbra and umbra and the position of the moon at the start of the eclipse. Find Conjunctions with the Conjunction Finder Conjunction Finder dialog. View of actual conjunction. Select any 2 or 3 planets (or the Sun and Moon) to find the future conjunctions of these bodies. For each conjunction that is located, the Star Chart shows a green laser pointer to help you find it in the actual sky. Show the Positions of the Moons of Jupiter and Saturn Major Jovian moons. Saturn's major moons. View the positions of Jupiter's and Saturn's moons. Display or Print Calendars showing the Moon's Phase and other information Monthly calendar. Show a calendar of any month with the phases of the moon, as well as sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset, and Iridium Flare occurrences. A full year's calendar can be shown, too. The calendar can be saved (or exported) as a PDF file.

View High-Resolution Images of the Moon using the Moon Viewer Moon Photo Viewer Location of Moon Viewer Photo on Sky Chart's Moon The interactive Moon Photo Viewer is a powerful tool that can: Display photographs of virtually the entire Moon's visible surface. Search for lunar features. Display the name of the nearest lunar feature with a mouse click. Overlay text descriptions (labels) of many of lunar features. Show the longitude and latitude for any point of any location on the Moon. Show the longitude and latitude of the center of images. Outline craters and other features. Expand or decrease the size of the lunar image (by sizing the window). Display a brief history of the source of the lunar feature's name. Show the macroscopic location of the current Moon Viewer image on the Virtual Sky's Moon. Identify and get feature specific information by placing the mouse over the photo. The Moon Photo Viewer can overlay text labels of any or all of the following lunar features, including: Craters Sub-craters Mare (seas) Landing sites Catena (crater chains) Rima (rilles) Lacus (lakes) Mons (mountains) Dorsum (wrinkle ridges) Promontor Vallis (valleys) Other features When the "Highlight Photo's Location on Chart" option is checked, you'll see a blue region on the Sky Chart Moon's surface. This area represents the location of the current high-resolution Moon image. This lets you easily relate the position of a particular photograph its position on the Moon's surface.

View the Solar System in Three Dimensions using the 3D Solar System Viewer Three dimensional system simulator. Use this command to toggle between looking at the sky from Earth or from outer space (anywhere inside our solar system). When this command is enabled, the starry background is turned off by default and only the objects in our solar system are displayed. The default location is an arbitrary point in space. It's above the plane of the ecliptic, just inside Pluto's orbit, looking back at our Sun. View the stars in three dimensions with the 3D Stars tool. You can zoom, pan and scroll around the universe to learn about the relative positions of the familiar (and not so familiar) stars in the Milky Way. Even isolate any of the 88 constellations and view only the stars within its boundaries. Show Detailed Constellations Figures Bevis Constellation Drawings Show detailed drawings for all or selected constellations. Simulate the Daytime Sky The Daytime Sky Mode lets you simulate and how the sky looks during daytime, as well as dawn and dusk. View in Full Screen Mode Have the Sky Chart occupy the entire desktop in Full Screen mode. Preserve Dark Adaptation with the Night Vision Mode Show the entire screen (and the entire desktop) predominantly red to preserve the eyes' dark adaptation (or night vision). Show the Chart as a Mirror Image Mirror image reverses the Sky Chart, left-to-right. This lets you view the sky as you would through a telescope with an erect, but laterally reversed image. Show Photo-Like or Map-Like Star Charts Chart mode reformats the display to look more like what you would see in a book of star charts, or how a printed chart is going look. Create Publication-Quality Star Charts. Graphics and PDF Output Exported chart (JPG) Sky Charts can be exported in portable network graphs (PNG) format, or saved in portable document format (PDF) for publication of charts and graphics to your astronomy club newsletter or web site. * *Please include the text "Copyright Software Bisque, Inc. www.bisque.com" when publishing star charts generate by TheSkyX.

Print and Export Star Charts Print high-resolution star charts on your printer for field use. Click and drag the mouse and drag the sky chart to change its position. Rotate the Sky Chart to any position angle Screen rotation tab. Use the Rotate tab on the Orientation > Navigate dialog to rotate the Sky Chart to any angle.

Database Manager to Add/Remove Core and Additional Sky Databases (SDBs) Use the Database Manager to: Show or hide only the astronomical catalogs need Import Sky Databases that are generated by TheSkyX Professional Edition. Show statistics about the catalogs and databases used by TheSkyX. Compute and View Stellar Proper Motion Configure Stellar Proper Motion Watch stars move over time due to proper motion. Show proper motion arrows (or proper motion "vectors" that specify the magnitude and direction of the star's motion over time).

Friendly User's Guide (PDF) TheSkyX User's Guide teaches you many fundamental principles about astronomy and relates them to TheSkyX software.

Simulate the celestial sphere, at any magnification from 235 degrees to 30 arcseconds. Limit the Magnitude and Size of Object Type Filter objects by magnitude (upper and lower) and angular size (upper and lower) Select any object type (or all object types) and easily adjust the upper and lower magnitudes and the maximum and minimum angular sizes of objects that are shown on the Sky Chart. Display Comets, Asteroids and Artificial Satellites Import Comets Import Asteroids Import Satellites Show the positions of up to 1000 comets, 1000 asteriods, and an unlimited number of satellites. Download updated "orbital elements" sets (the frequently updated data that is needed to accurately compute positions) directly from the web. Comets and asteroids by be updated from the web by entering the object's name. Create Observing Lists Observing List Options Observing List (vertical orientation) Observing List (horizontal orientation) The Create Observing List command in the Tools menu can be used to perform advanced searches or database queries that can be used to generate observing lists. The Advanced Query tab offers much more detail regarding your query of celestial objects than the simplified options on the What's Up Setup tab. Suppose you want to create an observing list that contains all the double stars from the Washington Catalog of Double Stars that have a spectral type of G5 in Orion. TheSkyX makes generating an observing list from this complex query a simple task.

Control your Push To or Go To Telescope

Astro-PhysicsTM GTO series mounts All models*, including: Mach1GTO 900GTO 1200GTO 3600GTO *Software Bisque always recommends using the latest available firmware for your telescope. At this time, firmware version Q is available from the Astro-Physics and represents the latest release for the Astro-Physics telescopes. TheSkyX Serious Astronomer Edition's Astro-Phyiscs driver states that firmware version G or later is required to control Astro-Physics compatible telescopes. Note that if you own an older model AP controller that uses an earlier firmware version, TheSkyX Serious Astronomer Edition will still control it; however, newer firmware features will not be available.

Celestron InternationalTM Advanced Series All models, including: CG5-SGT C6-RGT C8-SGT C8-NGT C9.25-SGT C-10 NGT C-11 SGT CGEM Series All models, including: CGEM 800 CGEM 925 CGEM 1100 CGE Series All models, including: CGE 800 CGE 925 CGE 1100 CGE 1400 CPC Series All models, including: CPC 800 CPC 800 XLT CPC 900 CPC 900 XLT CPC 1100 CPC 1100 XLT GT Series All models, including: NexStar 60GT NexStar 76GT NexStar 80GT NexStar 102GT NexStar 114GT NexStar 130GT NexStar 4GT NexStar GPS All models, including NexStar 8 GPS NexStar 9.25 NexStar 11 GPS i Series All models, including: NexStar 5i NexStar 8i NexStar (non-GPS) All models, including: NexStar 4 NexStar 5 NexStar 8 SE Series All models, including: NexStar 4 SE NexStar 5 SE NexStar 6 SE NexStar 8 SE Ultima 2000 not applicable

iOptron SmartStar Az/Alt "Cube" mount with GotoNova Controller All models* *iOptron mounts use the Silicon Labs CP210X USB to UART Bridge computer chip for serial communications on Windows. A Virtual Serial Port Driver must be installed before TheSkyX can communicate with this mount. The CP210x USB to UART Bridge VCP Drivers (VCP Driver Kit) are available for Windows on the Silicon Labs web site. TheSkyX does not currently support iOptron mounts on the Mac.

Losmandy Astronomical ProductsTM German Equatorial Mounts All models, including: Losmandy GM-8 Losmandy G11 Losmandy HGM-200 Losmandy HTM-Titan

Mathis Instruments MI-250

LumiconTM NGC Sky Vector and Sky Commander All models

Meade InstrumentsTM LX200TM (classic) All models, including: 8-inch LX200 8-inch LX10 8-inch LX90 10-inch LX200 12-inch LX200 16-inch LX200 Autostar All models, including: ETX* ETX 90 ETX 90 AT ETX 105 AT ETX 125 AT *Requires Meade Autostar Computer Controller #497 with RS232 serial port. LX200 GPS Series (Autostar II) All models, including: ACF Models 8-inch LX200-ACF 10-inch LX200-ACF 12-inch LX200-ACF 14-inch LX200-ACF 16-inch LX200-ACF SCTs 7-inch LX200 GPS Mak-Cass 8-inch LX-90 SCT 8-inch LX200 GPS 10-inch LX200 GPS 12-inch LX200 GPS 14-inch LX200 GPS 16-inch LX200 GPS "Ritchey-Chrétian" 10-inch RCX400 12-inch RCX400 14-inch RCX400 16-inch RCX400

Orion® Telescopes & Binoculars AtlasTM EQ-G Equatorial Mounts This mount uses the same control system (and the same serial communication protocol) as the NexStar GPS and other later model Celestron International "go to" telescopes. SiriusTM EQ-G Equatorial Mounts This mount uses the same control system (and the same serial communication protocol) as the NexStar GPS and other later model Celestron International "go to" telescopes. SkyQuest IntelliScope - See Tangent Instruments Device Support below

Ouranos All models

René Görlich Gemini Astronomical Positioning System* All models, including: Losmandy GM-8 Losmandy G11 Losmandy Titan Losmandy HGM-200

Mathis Instruments MI-250 *TheSky6 uses the LX200 protocol to communicate with the Gemini APS.

Sky Comm EngineeringTM Sky Commander All models, including: Digital Setting Circles by Losmandy NGC Sky Commander by Lumicon

SkyWatcherTM SkyWatcherTM Mounts All models that use the SynScan Controller, including: HEQ5 Pro German equatorial mount EQ6 Pro German equatorial mount NEQ3 EQ5 The SkyWatcher mounts use the SynScan control system for go to control; the SynScan control system uses the NexStar 5 communications protocol (which TheSky6 supports).

Software BisqueTM BBox Tangent Instruments BBox

Star Pilot All models

TakahashiTM Temma All models, including: EM-10 Temma PC Jr. (USD2) EM-200 Temma PC Jr. (USD2) EM-200 Temma PC NJP Temma PC EM-500 Temma PC EM-10 Temma2 Jr. (USD3) EM-200 Temma2 Jr. (USD3) EM-11 Temma2 Jr. (USD3) EM-200 Temma2 EM-400 Temma2 EM-500 Temma2

Tangent InstrumentsTM Encoder-to-serial boxes All models, including: Advanced Astromaster by Celestron BBox by Software Bisque Deep Space Navigator NGC-MAX by Jim's Mobile, Inc. Ouranos Sky Wizard 2 by Orion Telescopes & Binoculars Sky Wizard 3 by Orion Telescopes & Binoculars SkyQuest IntelliScope by Orion Telescopes & Binoculars Sky Tour by Tele Vue Sky Vector by Lumicon StarPilot

VixenTM Sky Sensor All models STAR BOOK Star-Chart Go To System TheSkyX Serious Astronomer Edition can control any mount that uses the STAR BOOK Star -Chart Go To System, including (but not limited to) the following models: Atlux equatorial mount Sphinx SXC equatorial mount Sphinx SXD equatorial mount Sphinx SXW equatorial mount If your specific telescope model is not listed, but uses the Vixen STAR BOOK Star-Chart Go To System, TheSkyX SAE can control it.

Wildcard InnovationsTM Argo Navis All models.

New and Improved Features in TheSkyX Professional Edition
If you're familiar with TheSky6 Professional Edition, we've made every effort to include virtually every standard feature that was offered in TheSky6 in TheSkyX.

Beyond the standard feature set, here's "what's new" with TheSkyX Professional Edition as compared to TheSky6 Professional Edition...

Constellations & Asterism Options
New Constellations & Asterisms dialog organizes all the constellation and asterism options in a single window.

Select one of six different constellation figures to suite your preferences, or to compare different sources:

Astronomy Magazine

H.A. Rey

Patrick Moore

Sky & Telescope Magazine

TheSky Constellation Lines

Will Tirion

Label the 88 constellations on the Sky Chart by:

Abbreviation

Astronomical Name

Astronomical Name with pronunciation

Common Name

Genitive form

Genitive form and pronunciation

Highlight the constellation boundary of the central constellation.

Show detailed constellation drawings and set the transparency and color.

Show individual constellation drawings, or any combination.

Show only the constellations in the Zodiac.

Show only constellation drawings near the center of the screen.

Center selected constellations on the Sky Chart.

Show up to 75 common asterisms, or any combination of individual asterism figures.

Label common asterisms by name.

Center asterisms on the Sky Chart.

Field of View Indicators (FOVIs)
Completely redesigned user interface makes adding and managing your FOVIs a snap.

Updated equipment database includes hundreds of cameras, eyepieces and telescopes.

A new Quick Add feature to easily create a custom field of view indicator.

General Features
TheSkyX runs natively under either Macintosh OS X (Universal) or Microsoft Windows (Windows 7/Windows Vista/Windows XP) operating systems.

Sky Chart are rendered using OpenGL graphics acceleration to produce stunning displays with smooth animations. Real-time computation and display of all objects (30 frames per second, and up to 60 frames per second and higher with modest video hardware).

The user interface has been completely redesigned to include features such as stacking windows, custom and user-definable tool bars and status reports.

The size of all dialogs can be changed to accommodate your preferences, and these changes are preserved from session to session.

A newWhat's Up? command to quickly locate and highlight interesting objects for naked eye, binocular, small telescope, or the ten most interesting objects that are visible when you will observe.

Viewing photographs of your favorite objects has never been simpler. All photographs can be viewed from the Photo window, as thumbnails, or a separate Photo Viewer.

View Hertzsprung&endash;Russell diagrams for all Hipparcos stars, or just the Hipparcos stars on the Sky Chart. The H-R diagram shows the position of the selected star on the diagram.

An optional laser pointer can be shown to aid locating objects on the Sky Chart (such as fast moving, faint satellites).

Commonly used features (Tours, Find, Date and Time, Photos, Labels, Chart Elements, Chart Status windows) can appear as "stacked" windows, or floating windows, or docked individually on the left or right side of TheSkyX's main window.

Print/generate high-resolution charts, in portable document Format (PDF), postscript (PS) or Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) format.

Improved, easier to select date and time input via the Date and Time toolbar and the Date and Time window.

The format of TheSkyX's date and time is can be configured to your preferences (easily define the order, separator and format of the year, moth, date, hours, minutes, seconds, 24-hour or standard format, AM/am, PM/pm and more).

New time calendar allows you to quickly view the phases of the moon for the current (or any) month.

On Windows, the dependencies on any shared files (libraries/DLLs) is OpenGL and Windows OS-specific files has been minimized. This reduces installation issues and conflicts with anti-virus software.

View the phases of the moon for the entire year.

New high-accuracy solar eclipse calculations for archeo-astronomy.

Graphically show details about solar eclipses from an "above Earth view, including the moon’s shadow, lines for the central eclipse, regions of partial eclipses and local circumstances.

Application-specific settings (main window’s and all dialog window’s, and toolbar window’s size, position and visibility) are saved and restored automatically. (Including window positions, date, time, chart position.)

Accurately predict and graphically simulate Iridium flares.

View local stars in a three-dimensional perspective.

Show individual constellations in a three-dimensional perspective.

Highlight individual constellations on the Sky Chart.

The constellation in which a particular object resides appears in the Object Information report.

Show galaxies as filled ellipses or as symbols.

Startup location is determined automatically from your computer’s IP address. (Using a database of over 25 million addresses that is updated monthly.)

Planets are rendered more realistically (OpenGL mode only).

Right-click (or CONTROL+left-click) the mouse on the Object Information Report to show a menu with the following features:

Copy the attributes beneath the mouse cursor to the Clipboard (Copy <Attribute Name> where <Attribute Name> is one of the object's attributes, ra, dec, name, etc.). For example, right click over the RA (current) attribute and click the Copy RA (current) command to copy the current right ascension to the Clipboard.

Copy the current or Epoch 2000 coordinates to the Clipboard.

Copy Equatorial Coordinates (Now) and Copy Equatorial Equatorial Coordinates (2000.0) commands.

Copy the contents of the Object Information report (all attributes) as text to the Clipboard. Copy as Text command.

Toggle the numerical format of coordinates between "degrees/minutes/seconds" (sexagesimal) format and HH.MMMMM (decimal) format.

Use the left mouse button to drag the Sky Chart; SHIFT+drag to create a zoom box.

Pressing Left/Right/Up/Down toolbar buttons continuously and smoothly pan the Sky Chart.

Click and hold down the Zoom In, Zoom Out, Move Up/Down/Left/Right buttons now continuously adjusts the Sky Chart's position.

File > Print Chart command, added the ability to Zoom In/Out, set Portrait/Landscape orientation, Fit to Width/Fit in View scaling and a Refresh button to the Star Chart Preview window.

In the Display > Date and Time window, set a specific time to Now, Sunrise, Noon, Sunset, Midnight, Morning, Evening, New Moon, First Quarter, Last Quarter, Full Moon, Moonrise, Moonset, Vernal Equinox, Summer Solstice, Autumnal Equinox, Winter Solstice, or any Julian date.

Preferences command to configure infrequently modified settings.

Added a context menu to the Display > Find window's Object Information Report. Right-click (or CONTROL+left-click) the mouse on the Object Information Report to show a menu with the following features:

Copy the attributes beneath the mouse cursor to the Clipboard (Copy <Attribute Name> where <Attribute Name> is one of the object's attributes, ra, dec, name, etc.). For example, right click over the RA (current) attribute and click the Copy RA (current) command to copy the current right ascension to the Clipboard.

Copy the current or Epoch 2000 coordinates to the Clipboard. Copy Equatorial Coordinates (Now) and Copy Equatorial Equatorial Coordinates (2000.0) commands.

Copy the contents of the Object Information report (all attributes) as text to the Clipboard. Copy as Text command.

Toggle the numerical format of coordinates between "degrees/minutes/seconds" (sexagesimal) format and HH.MMMMM (decimal) format.

The Object Information Report's time-related attributes (such as altitude, azimuth coordinates, hour angle, LST, Julian Date) are updated continuously.

Show all or individually show magnitude, symbol and chart status legends on printed star charts.

When typing an object name in the Find text box, an "auto-completer" shows all the objects that match the current text.

Improved support for running TheSkyX on multiple monitors.

Print Charts as scalable vector graphics or Portable Document Format.

Added an Angular Separation and Position Angle tool that can be used to measure the angular distance and position angle between any two positions (or objects) on the Sky Chart.

Digital Settings Circles window lets you show information including the telescope's ra/dec, az/alt, HA and more.

New Navigate window helps you find your way around the night sky with a constellation-centric view of the celestial sphere.

Improved Object Symbol Editor allows you to use any scalable vector graphic to represent objects in the Sky Chart.

Horizon & Atmosphere Options
Improved photographic horizon display is faster, and shows the horizon at all orientations and fields of view.

Show simulated clouds. You can even use your own clouds photos.

Show simulated meteors.

Show meteor showers and shower radiants and label them by date of occurrence.

Create and show custom sky gradient (or sky background color).

Labeling Objects
Manage all labels from the Label window.

Show or hide object labels for all object types and all labels types (labels for common names and detailed, custom labels).

Show fewer or more labels on the Sky Chart using the label density slider.

Show labels using a normal font, or a smoothed ("anti-aliased") OpenGL font that moves smoothly during animations.

Magnitude and Angular Size Filtering Options
Easily set the upper and lower magnitude limits and angular size limits (where applicable) for an individual object type, selected object types, or all object types.

Optional Database Add On
The optional TheSkyX Professional Edition Database Add On comes with 200 GB of additional star and photo data.

Optional TPoint Add On
The optional TPoint Telescope Pointing Analysis Software Add On has been integrated as part of TheSkyX's telescope control. It's now easier than ever to collect pointing calibration data, refine your mount's polar alignment, improve pointing using the world's most powerful telescope analysis software.

Improved refraction calculations improve overall TPoint Add On assisted pointing, particularly at lower declinations.

Preferences
New tool bars and button graphics.

The look of the tool bar buttons can be customized by size and show/hide the command's text description below or to the right of the button's graphic.

Create user-defined tool bars or add commands to existing tool bars.

Sky Chart Status Information
The status information report window can be configured to show as much or as little status information as you want about the current chart and telescope session.

Sky Databases
All of TheSkyX's Sky Databases (SDBs) have been updated and optimized, and include a "search" field so that obscure objects are more easily located.

Telescope Control
Telescope initialization, controls and options that are common to all mounts appear on a single window for easy access.

Telescope-specific commands appear on single window, again, for the easiest access to all supported features.

New Digital Setting Circles window lets you view custom telescope specific information, including LST, hour angle, right ascension, declination, altitude, azimuth and more.

Multi-threaded and updated native telescope drivers provide the ultimate control at the eyepiece.

Paramount ME control and integration has been updated and improved.

PrecisionPEC for Windows functionality is now integrated in TheSkyX. No separate application is necessary.

New graphical feedback when the joystick or guider relays are activated to aid in troubleshooting.

Improved handling of error conditions: for example, there is no need to home when the mount has tracked into the limit region (as with TheSky6 Pro).

A Paramount ME synchronization history is saved and can be restored to any previous point to help track down and eliminate initialization problems caused by "bad" or unwanted syncs.

All MKS 4000 control system settings are now accessible in, and can be configured from, TheSkyX.

Multiple Paramount ME configuration files can be saved and restored so that you can more easily account for different equipment configurations, operating conditions, etc.

Tool Tip Options
Customize tool tip report lets you to show as little, or as much information as you want on the tool tip window.
 

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