Solar Book vs GlobeViewer Moon

The Solar Book is an app for smart-phones and tablets for a solar eclipse. The Solar Book shows at what time each portion of the Sun is covered by the Moon during a solar eclipse. The beginning time of a solar eclipse, time of the maximum phase of the solar eclipse and the ending time of the solar eclipse will change depending on the location of your observing area. The Solar Book will show you the eclipse phases at your location. Your location for observing the solar eclipse can be designated with use of the location setup dialog box. This allows you to plan in advance the progression of the eclipse. Sequential images of the solar eclipse will be displayed in the appropriate order when you tap on the eclipse thumbnail images icon on the lower right of the screen. Solar eclipses can be displayed by designating the date of a solar eclipse in the past or the future if you cannot find it in a list of the selection. The Solar Book will show you a star chart of the sky at your place of observation if the solar eclipse is not selected.

GlobeViewer Moon is an interactive and three-dimensional representation of the entire moon surface. The globe rotation view provides an overview of all the existing designations for various surface features. If you are interested in a specific region, an even higher resolution 3D map view can be loaded in order to take a close look at the craters, grooves and other features. There are four map modes available (elevation display, photo illustration, a combination of both and a grey texture for the telescope mode). These views were created from data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. In addition, surface details (normal maps) have been obtained from the elevation data for the display, which can be combined with all map modes. Even the smallest craters, elevations, grooves and gorges are visible on the map. The lighting in the 3D map view is designed in such a way that the light can be directed into the crater from all directions. This is used to improve the visibility of height structures in the craters and is not intended to represent the real lighting situation. Realistic lighting that includes the ecliptic was also dispensed with in the globe view in favour of the visibility of the polar regions. In telescope mode the lighting is a realistic simulation including Moon phase and libration movement. So the app becomes a useful tool for telescope users. The app will recieve lot of updates in the future - this way, user feedback should flow into the further development. If you have any suggestions or ideas for further functions in the app, please contact us using the contact form on our website. We are looking forward to your feedback.