Software Bisque has released a new beta version of the TheSky Astronomy Software for Macintosh.
TheSky is a full-featured astronomy application available in three different levels, all of which include the basic features (planetarium display, comets, minor planets, satellites, star-chart printing, eclipse finder, etc.). The product CD also includes 550,000 database objects; over 550 full-size images; 13,000 thumbnail images of NGC and IC; and 70,000 thumbnail images of PGC objects. TheSky and its “sister” application, RealSkyView, can be combined to overlay images from the Digitized Sky Survey directly on a graphical sky display.
With the application, you can input your location on Earth and the date and time you wish to view the sky (any date between 4,712 B.C. to A.D. 10,000) and TheSky will show you the positions of the Sun, the Moon, planets, comets, asteroids, satellites, millions of stars and thousands of other deep-sky objects as they appear from your backyard.
The new beta version supports several new telescopes: the Meade ETX AutoStar, the Celestron NexStar, the Vixen SkySensor 2000 and the Losmandy Gemini System. The update also adds support for Belkin and Keyspan USB-to-serial adapters. It has a new Slide Show command and saves previews into documents. TheSky beta downloads comets and minor planets from the Internet, has improved minor planet support, and sports beefed-up telescope controls.
The new version supports Mac OS 9.2 and the Classic environment in Mac OS X; however, it’s not Carbonized to run natively under Apple’s new operating system.
You can grab the beta version at the Software Bisque Web site. Beta testers are encouraged to join Software Bisque’s online discussion group called “BisqueMac.”