Site Update News

The following pages have been updated today:

News: today's stories include confirmation from ESO on extrasolar planet, Shuttle launch delayed till July, Centaurus-A in infrared and the UK's last Skylark rocket launch is imminent

Moon: prospecting for lunar water

Mars: Teh Spirit rover may have found bedrcok in the Columbia Hills, Mars Express radar to be deployed in May and a rover panorama shows the view from "Lookout" Point

Saturn: Gurnett talks about UI's research on Cassini

Space Tourism: Ticket to ride commuter flights to the edge of space may not be too far off -- with spaceliners departing several spaceports in the United States.

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LunarPhase Pro - Moon Observer's Software Toolkit

Site Update News

The following pages have been updated today:

News: today's stories include Mira revelas its hot nature, NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft spots its quarry and supercomputer to analyze space signals

Mars: Europe to get its own Mars Rover

Saturn: the closest picture yet of Saturn's small moon Epimetheus and sounds of Enceladus

Site Update News

The following pages have been updated today:

News: today's stories include what to look for in terrestrial planets, the thrills and failures of getting a cutting-edge space mission off the ground and hoe one firm to intends to produce the building blocks for a 62,000-mile-long elevator cable into outer space.

Mars: News on looking for life on Mars with a future robotic rover and signs of Martian Spring appear.

Saturn: Cassini Finds Particles Near Saturn's Moon Enceladus

Space Tourism: Commuter flights to the edge of space may not be too far off — with spaceliners departing several spaceports in the United States.

New Astronomy Article Added

A new article on Building Your Own Observatory has been added to the Astronomy Articles page.

Site Update News

The following pages have been updated today:

News: today's stories include the the death of Philip Morrison (SETI pioneer), hot-spots on neutron stars and Hubble's 15th birthday.

Moon: Today in 1962, the Ranger IV probe landed on the far side of the Moon

Saturn: Hydrocarbons found in Titan's atmosphere

Space Tourism: Other states want to compete with Florida, concerns for personal spaceflight and is cheap orbital access just around the corner?

Online Store Updated

A new eBook store has been added to the Night Sky Observer Online Store. eBooks can now be purchased and downloaded immediately from anywhere in the world at prices that are cheaper than printed books, with no postal charges and no waiting for delivery. eBooks are provided in three formats:

• Mobipocket Reader: Pocket PC, Palm handhelds, SmartPhones, Tablet PCs, PCs, Macs, Laptops
  

• Adobe Reader Price: Palm handhelds, Tablet PCs, PCs, Macs, Laptops

• Microsoft Reader: Pocket PCs, Tablet PCs, PCs, Laptops

Titles include Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing Hoax, Star Ware: The Amateur Astronomer's Guide to Choosing, Buying, and Using Telescopes and Accessories, Third Edition, The Observing Guide to the Messier Marathon and Scientific American's The Amateur Astronomer. Over 30 titles are now available in the astronomy and space categories.

LunarPhase Pro Version 1 Clearance Offer

Clearance Offer: I have a small number of Version 1 LunarPhase Pro CDs which are available for $24.95 (same price as LunarPhase V2.70). The Pro version offers more features than LunarPhase V2.70 and includes the Moon Atlas.

All LunarPhase Pro clearance versions can be upgraded to the V1.78 (the latest V1.xx Pro version) release for free via the LunarPhase Pro Support Page. Items are sold "as is". Upgrades to Version 2 can be bought later (if wanted) for $10.00 (Digital Download) or $15.00 (Upgrade CD).

Limited Stock Available!

LunarPhase Pro Version 2 is detailed here.

Site Update News

The following pages have been updated today:

News: Range of news from around the world
Mars: Martian dust devils caught in action and spectacular images od Martian Mesas from the ESA's Mars Express craft.
Moon: Some information about tonight's penumbral eclipse of the Moon, why astronauts need to be careful what they breath on the Moon and a video about a possible Moon sample return mission.
Space Tourism: Burt Rutan (Spaceship One) has a few things to say about the future of private space flight.
Skynotes: More news about tonight's penumbral lunar eclipse.

Loads of new stories added to the News page, including several on NASA's Spitzer Telescope seeing signs of an alien asteroid belt.

The Moon in the News page has also been updated with three new items and several news stories have been added to the revamped Mars page.

Mars Page Revamped

The Mars Page has been revamped and old dud links have been removed with some new ones being added in.

Night Sky Observer Pages Updated

The following pages have been updated in the last day:

News
The-Moon-in-the-News
Skynotes
Saturn News

A new section has also been added to the online store which brings items from National Geographic to you.

Earn a 30% commission on Night Sky Observer software

Earn a 30% commission on any Night Sky Observer software sold through your web site!

LunarPhase Pro
JupSat Pro

Night Sky Observer is now offering an outstanding affiliate program, with 30% commissions, in partnership with RegNow. Regnow, a leading vendor of software fulfillment, acts as an impartial third party to guarantee sales tracking and commission payment. Regnow will send you a check every month for commission sales you receive. This allows you to sell Night Sky Observer software from your web site and be paid a high commission. You create your web site. You attract the visitors. You receive a fair commission for the work you do!

For more information, go to: Affiliate Commission Program (banners are available at the bottom of this page).
Or, if you'd like to sign up immediately, Sign Up Here.

Space Tourism Page Updated

The Space Tourism page has been updated with news of the upcoming X-Prize Cup.

Saturn News Page Updated

The Saturn News page has been updated with a new story:

The ringed planet wears a broad grin in this image from Cassini, as the icy rings cast long, sweeping shadows across the northern hemisphere. Fantastic details are visible in the bright and dark of the gas giant's many cloud bands, and the thin rings slice the scene in two.

The Moon In The News Page Updated

The Moon In The News page has been updated:

Researchers find ideal spot for moon base See also: Scientists find perfect spot for moon base and Sunny spot picked out for future lunar base Researchers have identified what may be the perfect place for a Moon base, a crater rim near the lunar north pole that's in near-constant sunlight yet not far from suspected stores of water ice.

News Page Updated With Today's Stories

The News page has been updated with several new stories including:

What is time?
The concept of time is self-evident. An hour consists of a certain number of minutes, a day of hours and a year of days. But we rarely think about the fundamental nature of time.

Flying a Science Lab to Mars
How do you follow a flat-out success like the Mars Exploration Rovers, still cruising Mars after all these months? By thinking "bigger and better." The Mars Science Laboratory, currently scheduled for launch in 2009, will land a rover three times as massive as Spirit or Opportunity and with ten scientific instruments, among them some never before flown in space. MSL will assess the habitat potential of its landing site, providing a bridge between MER and later direct searches for life on Mars.

Next space station crew readies for takeoff
A Russian rocket topped with a Soyuz spacecraft crawled into position Wednesday for the launch of what is expected to be the Soyuz's last mission as the sole means of transport to the International Space Station.
Relic star poses cosmic puzzles Astronomers have identified what could be one of the earliest stars formed in the Universe, Nature magazine reports.

New NASA chief confirmed
See also: NASA nominee pledges fresh look at Hubble and Griffin: Shuttle Can Fix Hubble
Michael Griffin, a physicist who has worked in space programs both private and public, was confirmed Wednesday by the Senate as the 11th administrator of NASA.

Plus more headlines.

LunarPhase Pro V2.20 Released

LunarPhase Pro V2.20 is finally here. I didn't get as many changes in as I wanted but, rather than waiting longer to release a new version, I've put this one out.

Please note that this upgrade is for Version 2 users only. Just click the Check for Upgrade button on the About screen in LunarPhase Pro.

If you're a V1.xx user, you can download the V1.78 upgrade from the LunarPhase Pro Support page. If you'd like to upgrade to Version 2, you can also urder the upgrade at this page.

If you're not familiar with LunarPhase Pro, you can read about its capabilities at http://www.lunarphasepro.com, reviews at http://www.lunarphasepro.com/Reviews.html and user testimonials at: http://www.lunarphasepro.com/Testimonials.html
A detailed software spec. can be seen at: http://www.lunarphasepro.com/page2.html (although this hasn't yet been updated to include the new V2.20 features).

Here's the changes in V2.20:

• Added a new Meteor Showers screen which shows when the Moon interferes with possible observations of those showers.
• Added a new Sun Rise & Set Positions screen which shows the compass directions for the rising and setting Sun for the selected date.
• The Moon's correct orientation as seen in the sky (it's parallactic angle) can now be displayed on LunarPhase Pro's main screen (but not on the Lunar Explorer screen). This option can be turned on or off on the Configuration screen.
• A print facility has been added to the Crescent Moon Visibility screen.
• The constellation the Moon is in for the selected time and date is now displayed on the clock bar on the main screen.
• Modified the Telescope/Eyepiece Combinations screen to record eyepiece diameters with fractional values (e.g. 6.4 mm). The screen now shows calculated magnifications and Fields of View (FOV) to one decimal place. This provides greater accuracy for emulating eyepiece views on the Lunar Explorer screen.
• Added Previous and Next buttons to the "Did You Know?" popup screen to allow navigation through the various facts. Pressing the ENTER or ESC keys will now close the screen down.
  

More to come in future releases!

I'd like ot try building a central library of images (in the files section of the Yahoo Users Group) that everyone can have access to and add into LunarPhase Pro. If you have any photos or CCD images you've taken, maybe you'd upload them? I'll add a couple of images myself over the next couple of days.