Doesn’t work
This app does not work with current iPads to control their own Paramount mounts. Developer have not bothered to update in over three years. Very disappointing.
Disappointed
I have used SB PC based products for years and enjoyed then for planetarium, Telescope control, deep sky imaging. The mobile version is a disappointment. Very cluttered and scattered GUI. No ability to have RA/dec labels on the map. No telrad. Unhelpful help manual. Must join and become a member of the blog to search for information.
I switched to SkySafari Pro and I am much more satisfied with that product
I switched to SkySafari Pro and I am much more satisfied with that product
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Great products from bisque
This is a great app almost as good as the sky pro.
Does everything I want and more.
I use this all the time with and without my paramount.
Thanks Richard for making this
Does everything I want and more.
I use this all the time with and without my paramount.
Thanks Richard for making this
The one astronomers use
It's awesome to see TheSky on iOS! All the tools for doing actual astronomy are there for taking. A real scientific application.
Not a good mobile application
I have been using TheSky X on a macbook pro for a few years, and more recently SkySafari 3 Pro on an ipad 2 for the past couple of years. TheSky is an excellent macintosh app, but it doesn't work as a mobile application.
The fact that this app is only available as for ipad, not iphone, is a big hint that Software Bisque haven't figured out how to present images and information on a small screen. The text and icons are all too big and opaque, so they obscure the stars. The process of selecting an object to get more information is cumbersome and counterintuitive (in ios you tap on things to select them!), and once an object is selected it's completely hidden behind TheSky's big red bullseye.
The app as currently configured lacks many functions available in competing planetarium apps. You can't orbit Jupiter to see where the moons are in their orbits. You can't control your go-to telescope from the app. The sky looks like a printed atlas, not a realistic starscape.
TheSky's great strength is the information it presents about the stars, including spectral type, proper motion, etc. You can even get a plot of each star on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. If you're a serious student of astronomy, I would suggest purchasing this app as a secondary reference to have at hand at the telescope, but I can't recommend it as a primary planetarium app.
The fact that this app is only available as for ipad, not iphone, is a big hint that Software Bisque haven't figured out how to present images and information on a small screen. The text and icons are all too big and opaque, so they obscure the stars. The process of selecting an object to get more information is cumbersome and counterintuitive (in ios you tap on things to select them!), and once an object is selected it's completely hidden behind TheSky's big red bullseye.
The app as currently configured lacks many functions available in competing planetarium apps. You can't orbit Jupiter to see where the moons are in their orbits. You can't control your go-to telescope from the app. The sky looks like a printed atlas, not a realistic starscape.
TheSky's great strength is the information it presents about the stars, including spectral type, proper motion, etc. You can even get a plot of each star on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. If you're a serious student of astronomy, I would suggest purchasing this app as a secondary reference to have at hand at the telescope, but I can't recommend it as a primary planetarium app.
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Excellent first release, but...
Just starting to use this new app to show what Comet ISON will look like tomorrow a.m. I found a number of things to complain about.
1. No comet or satellite elements are downloaded automatically at installation; user must poke around to figure out how to load them
2. Can't get app to display Comet ISON when above horizon; when fast-forwarding with Lock function on ISON, comet image and label disappear while it's still below horizon--and Encke's image disappears at the same time!
3. Dawn brightness is very inconsistent across different FOV scales
4. Help page:
a. contains only the first page of a Quick Start Guide (and that one has "[Insert image here]" instead of an image of the starting screen) and no detailed manual
b. offers no search function
c. text overflows Help window
d. window does not resize horizontally when iPad is turned to landscape orientation--text stills overflows
And I've only started to use it. But it looks generally excellent, as expected from SB.
1. No comet or satellite elements are downloaded automatically at installation; user must poke around to figure out how to load them
2. Can't get app to display Comet ISON when above horizon; when fast-forwarding with Lock function on ISON, comet image and label disappear while it's still below horizon--and Encke's image disappears at the same time!
3. Dawn brightness is very inconsistent across different FOV scales
4. Help page:
a. contains only the first page of a Quick Start Guide (and that one has "[Insert image here]" instead of an image of the starting screen) and no detailed manual
b. offers no search function
c. text overflows Help window
d. window does not resize horizontally when iPad is turned to landscape orientation--text stills overflows
And I've only started to use it. But it looks generally excellent, as expected from SB.
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VERY Disappointing.
There are several issues.
1) A major problem is that when zoomed in to anything less than a 60º field of view the stars each become a separate red and blue circle, almost like a 3D image.
2) There is no apparent way to adjust the brightness of the alt-az grid or the labels; they are so bright compared to the sky image that the app is barely usable.
3) Magnitude settings seem to make no difference in the number of stars shown.
4) I have an iPad with retina display. This app looks does not have the sharpness that SkySafari does. (The Splash screen looks great, and so do the toolbars, but the sky display itself is bad, appearing almost pixelated.)
Is there any way to get a refund? This app is definitely not worth $4.99 or even $.99
I'm hoping for a quick update to fix these issues; I really wanted to like this app.
1) A major problem is that when zoomed in to anything less than a 60º field of view the stars each become a separate red and blue circle, almost like a 3D image.
2) There is no apparent way to adjust the brightness of the alt-az grid or the labels; they are so bright compared to the sky image that the app is barely usable.
3) Magnitude settings seem to make no difference in the number of stars shown.
4) I have an iPad with retina display. This app looks does not have the sharpness that SkySafari does. (The Splash screen looks great, and so do the toolbars, but the sky display itself is bad, appearing almost pixelated.)
Is there any way to get a refund? This app is definitely not worth $4.99 or even $.99
I'm hoping for a quick update to fix these issues; I really wanted to like this app.
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Looks Good!
It's about time Software Bisque. I have been a TheSky customer since the 80's and this looks pretty good! Looking forward to it when I'm in the field, but so far, looks great!
Great Start!
I have used TheSky for over 20 years and glad to see it finally on iOS. Certainly not as glitzy as some astro-apps, but like the desktop version it is designed for serious astronomers. Can't wait for the Pro version and scope control.
Slow and unintuitive
A waste - slow jerky motion on an iPad mini. No obvious way to get info on a selected object. I have 3 other sky chart apps that I like with different strengths. This one was so sluggish and counterintuitive that my immediate reaction was to cut my losses and not waste any more time trying to figure it out. Save your money and get something good. There are much better options for iOS.
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