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TomJoe
member
Reged: 08/08/08
Posts: 32
Loc: SC, USA
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I've recently stumbled upon Stellarium and thought it would great if I could take it out into the field with me. But my laptop won't last for more than an hour or so which leaves me with two options:
1. I find a laptop with a crank-handle.
2. I find software for my Palm (OS 5).
#1 would be really cool, but #2 seems more practical. So, does anyone know of good astronomy freeware? Thanks in advance.
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Thomas Joseph, Newbie
Own
Celestron 15x70 SkyMasters
Saving Up For
Orion Skyquest XT10 Dobsonian
(It's a ...) Micro World (... after all)
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rboe
Numbfinger
Reged: 03/16/02
Posts: 39744
Loc: Phx, AZ
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You can try Astromist for free - but the paid version is easier to deal with. Same for Planetarium. Both are good programs - Astromist is excellent.
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Ron
NS11GPS
Pronto
16" dob
15X70 Obies
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arpruss
sage
Reged: 05/23/08
Posts: 215
Loc: Waco, TX
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On the free side, there is AstroInfo. It's not quite as good as Astromist, but I find it very helpful. The latest and greatest version is unreleased, but I have a post with download links down in this forum (I am one of the authors).
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Coulter Odyssey 8"
Skymaster 15x70
BPTs4 8x30
25(?)mm Rini, 27mm Kellner, Owl 10mm Plossl, 6mm TMB/BO Planetary, Owl 2X Barlow
Palm TX with AstroInfo and RescoViewer
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TomJoe
member
Reged: 08/08/08
Posts: 32
Loc: SC, USA
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Thanks arpruss, I'll give it a looksee.
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Thomas Joseph, Newbie
Own
Celestron 15x70 SkyMasters
Saving Up For
Orion Skyquest XT10 Dobsonian
(It's a ...) Micro World (... after all)
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lvv1227
newbie
Reged: 10/17/06
Posts: 4
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Try my free deep sky planning software designed to work closely with Planetarium.
dsoastro.narod.ru
Edited by lvv1227 (10/18/08 03:42 PM)
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RandallK
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/10/06
Posts: 727
Loc: Nanaimo, B. C. Canada
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Astromist and if you have Bluetooth you can control your mount with the Aircable adapter.
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Scopes: Meade SC-8AT w UHTC
SkyWatcher 5" F/5 Reflector
SkyWatcher 127mm MAK
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Cameras: Orion Starshoot DS Colour Imager V.1
Imaging Source Webcam DMK21AU04.AS
Palm TX PDA w Astromist and Bluetooth wireles control.
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rmollise
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/06/07
Posts: 1670
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Quote:
I've recently stumbled upon Stellarium and thought it would great if I could take it out into the field with me. But my laptop won't last for more than an hour or so which leaves me with two options:
1. I find a laptop with a crank-handle.
2. I find software for my Palm (OS 5).
#1 would be really cool, but #2 seems more practical. So, does anyone know of good astronomy freeware? Thanks in advance.
Why do you have to rely on the laptop battery? A DC - DC supply for your laptop and a smallish battery like a jumpstart battery and you will be rockin'. The software for the laptop will be way in advance of anything you can get for the Palm.
That said, Palm astro-software can be very good and useful. My faves?
Planetarium for Palm
Astromist
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Uncle Rod
Watch for Rod's New Book:
Choosing and Using a New CAT--coming in December!
Edited by rmollise (10/19/08 07:11 PM)
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RandallK
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/10/06
Posts: 727
Loc: Nanaimo, B. C. Canada
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Hi Rod,
When you say DC to DC for the lappy, what do you exactly mean...not the supplied OEM AC adapter that comes out to (in my case 18 Volts DC)? I was thinking of using this attached to the AC socket of my Poratble 20 Amp hr. Battery.
Is there another animal you're referrng to?
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Scopes: Meade SC-8AT w UHTC
SkyWatcher 5" F/5 Reflector
SkyWatcher 127mm MAK
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Cameras: Orion Starshoot DS Colour Imager V.1
Imaging Source Webcam DMK21AU04.AS
Palm TX PDA w Astromist and Bluetooth wireles control.
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mclewis1
Thread Killer
Reged: 02/25/06
Posts: 2454
Loc: Colorado
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Many of the laptop manufacturers and a few 3rd party companies like Targus sell a 12v to 18-19v dc to dc converter. These are usually advertised as car or airline adapters for your laptop. The idea is that doing a dc to dc conversion is more efficient than going from a 12v battery to 110v using an inverter and then back down to the 18-19.2v that laptops need using the AC adapter that comes with the laptops.
Each conversion point is relatively inefficient and getting rid of one really helps battery life, plus the DC to DC conversion itself is more efficient than the DC to AC conversion so you get a savings there too.
These Car/airline adapters range from $60 to over $100 and are rated in watts. If you are running a late model laptop and are willing to keep the power consumption down (no wireless for example) then you can often get away with a smaller and less expensive unit (65w). If you don't want to worry about it then spend the extra $20-40 and get the heavier or larger wattage units (something like 80-95W).
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Mark
C11, C6, APM/TMB115, and AT80ED
Tandem mount CGE and CG-5A, WO EZ-Touch and AT Voyager
25x100s, 8x56s, T-Mount Light, and Mark 1 eyeballs
Modded 350D, SPC900, Mallincam
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RandallK
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/10/06
Posts: 727
Loc: Nanaimo, B. C. Canada
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Thanks Mark, I'll check around this week.
--------------------
Scopes: Meade SC-8AT w UHTC
SkyWatcher 5" F/5 Reflector
SkyWatcher 127mm MAK
Mount: HEQ5 Pro
Cameras: Orion Starshoot DS Colour Imager V.1
Imaging Source Webcam DMK21AU04.AS
Palm TX PDA w Astromist and Bluetooth wireles control.
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