Jimco Software Reviews - TheSky6 (continued)
Do you have to have a telescope?
One of the first questions you're likely to ask regarding TheSky6 is whether or not you need a telescope to use it. The answer is a definite no! TheSky6 does have a rich feature-set for connecting to most telescopes, but you don't need a telescope to get a lot out of TheSky6. If you can see the night sky, you can benefit from TheSky6!
Figure 1 - TheSky6's Main Interface
Figure 1 shows the main interface for TheSky6. (In this case, you can see labels for the Messier objects that are visible.) This shot also demonstrates another unique feature to TheSky6; the ability to display a unique horizon picture. The horizon picture you see in figure 1 comes with TheSky6, but you can create your own so that TheSky6 actually displays what you really see from your favorite observation location. If you don't want to take the time to take a picture of your horizon, TheSky6 provides tools that allow you to draw your horizon as well. More on that later in the review.
Getting Started
The first thing you'll want to do when launching TheSky6 is let it know where you are. TheSky6 will walk you through this initial setup process and you can change your location later on if necessary. You can choose from a list of common locations (if you live in a big city, chances are you'll be listed), select your location from a world map, or enter the exact GPS coordinates. Figure 2 shows the world map location dialog. The small white dot indicates where I am and the glowing white ball represents the Sun.
Figure 2 - TheSky6's World Map
Once you've told TheSky6 where you are, you'll be treated to a stunning view of the night sky. The toolbar has many controls for changing the point of view, but you can also simply right-click inside of the window and drag to move to a different part of the sky. What you see in TheSky6 is based upon a staggering array of display settings. Every type of object can be individually configured as far as visibility and appearance is concerned.
Figure 3 - Display Properties
The dialog shown in figure 3 is just one of what seems like an endless array of display properties dialogs in TheSky6. There are so many of these simply because TheSky6 allows you to configure display properties for every type of object. All of these dialogs would be overwhelming except for the inclusion of the Display Explorer, a dialog that makes it easy to locate any particular Display Properties dialog. (The Display Explorer is shown in figure 4.)
Figure 4 - The Display Explorer