Coming some day to a store near you:
4000 page star atlas
This is a little like a printed copy of Megastar, but I know a few people who would buy one.
Atlas for Big Dob users
Started by
Starman1
, Jan 29 2005 07:58 PM
13 replies to this topic
#1
Starman1
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Stargeezer
Posted 29 January 2005 - 07:58 PM
#2
BillFerris
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Soyuz
Posted 29 January 2005 - 11:16 PM
I can't think of one good reason to bring a printed copy of SkyGX into the field. It only goes to stellar magnitude 11.5 with any degree of completeness and that's not faint enough for my 10-inch, let alone a large aperture scope. A computer program like MegaStar, SkyTools or Guide provides everything SkyGX does and so much more. It may be interesting to people who like printed atlases but, as a field reference, SkyGX joins Millennium Star Atlas as a classic white elephant.
Regards,
Bill in Flagstaff
Regards,
Bill in Flagstaff
#3
edwincjones
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Close Enough
Posted 30 January 2005 - 11:21 AM
I did not see the price on the above website. Does anyone know what the selling price will be?
#4
Starman1
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Stargeezer
Posted 30 January 2005 - 02:26 PM
He does not know the price, as publication is not yet assured, and the publisher will set the price.
This will be the most complete PRINTED atlas, but it will not be as complete as many computer atlases currently available.
Yes, the stars do not go down to the faintest seen by even small scopes, but then neither does Uranometria, and it is currently the most complete star atlas in print (because it has a lot more DSOs than the Millenium Star Atlas).
It will be interesting to see if he finds a printer for this tome.
This will be the most complete PRINTED atlas, but it will not be as complete as many computer atlases currently available.
Yes, the stars do not go down to the faintest seen by even small scopes, but then neither does Uranometria, and it is currently the most complete star atlas in print (because it has a lot more DSOs than the Millenium Star Atlas).
It will be interesting to see if he finds a printer for this tome.
#5
desertstars
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ISS
Posted 31 January 2005 - 10:35 AM
Sounds interesting, but I can't help a shudder of anticipation contemplating the likely cost of such an atlas.
#6
Guest_**DONOTDELETE**_*
Guest_**DONOTDELETE**_*
Posted 09 March 2005 - 12:20 AM
Hi, Bill (and everyone else),
Sorry I didn't know about this thread until more than a month after it started. I just caught wind of it today through a related Google search. Thought I should respond to some comments made.
> I can't think of one good reason to bring a
> printed copy of SkyGX into the field.
The curt answer is, if you are like most people, and feel the need to protect your property from loss of value or physical integrity, you wouldn't want to introduce this atlas into an environment where the elements might have their way with it. Because this product, by virture of its heft and cost, will probably be most comfortable on a shelf in your home or in your observatory, you may well consider simply scanning or copying individual charts in order to have them at your side during outdoor observing sessions. The books and charts have been designed for ease of copying on a Tabloid-capable machine. The complete symbol key is duplicated on every page, and all stroke widths, gray tints, and typeface styles, sizes and weights have been selected for high-readbility and minimal generational loss in photocopying.
> It only goes to stellar magnitude 11.5 with any
> degree of completeness
True. The limiting magnitude for the main charts is actually V=12.0, but as you know, the Hipparcos/Tycho catalogue is woefully incomplete >11.5. Still, with 2+ million stars, and .5 million in the 11.5-12.0 range alone, it is the deepest printed all-sky atlas, irrespective of its usability at the eyepiece. The supplemental charts (between 50 and 100 of them) will go to V=15.0 using the forthcoming UCAC all-sky release.
> A computer program like MegaStar, SkyTools or Guide
> provides everything SkyGX does and so much more.
And that's what desktop planetarium software is good at -- presenting as much information as you care to lard into it. However, what you see on the screen, or on a print-out from these programs is a universe apart from what SkyGX is trying to deliver. Two segments of the same market in play here. No commercially available software product can produce, on screen or on paper, a chart of a section of the sky with the same density of information, level of clarity, unambiguity, consistent readability, and aesthetic appeal as a human-edited chart. That's the main push behind SkyGX. We'll leave the kitchen sink to the plumbers.
> It may be interesting to people who like printed
> atlases but, as a field reference, SkyGX joins
> Millennium Star Atlas as a classic white elephant.
Your statement is very clear and true, Bill. And I agree. SkyGX will most certainly be a 'classic white elephant' to those who don't use or appreciate fine printed sky atlases. By the same token, a Ferrari F430 is pretty much a white elephant for me, because I don't buy, use or appreciate high-performance sports cars. Best tool for the job, really. That's kind of the way it's always been. You'll use what you like. Plenty of people like the feel and look of paper charts in a book over what software can provide, and vice-versa.
Christopher Watson
The SkyGX Project
San Diego, CA, USA
http://www.skygx.com
Sorry I didn't know about this thread until more than a month after it started. I just caught wind of it today through a related Google search. Thought I should respond to some comments made.
> I can't think of one good reason to bring a
> printed copy of SkyGX into the field.
The curt answer is, if you are like most people, and feel the need to protect your property from loss of value or physical integrity, you wouldn't want to introduce this atlas into an environment where the elements might have their way with it. Because this product, by virture of its heft and cost, will probably be most comfortable on a shelf in your home or in your observatory, you may well consider simply scanning or copying individual charts in order to have them at your side during outdoor observing sessions. The books and charts have been designed for ease of copying on a Tabloid-capable machine. The complete symbol key is duplicated on every page, and all stroke widths, gray tints, and typeface styles, sizes and weights have been selected for high-readbility and minimal generational loss in photocopying.
> It only goes to stellar magnitude 11.5 with any
> degree of completeness
True. The limiting magnitude for the main charts is actually V=12.0, but as you know, the Hipparcos/Tycho catalogue is woefully incomplete >11.5. Still, with 2+ million stars, and .5 million in the 11.5-12.0 range alone, it is the deepest printed all-sky atlas, irrespective of its usability at the eyepiece. The supplemental charts (between 50 and 100 of them) will go to V=15.0 using the forthcoming UCAC all-sky release.
> A computer program like MegaStar, SkyTools or Guide
> provides everything SkyGX does and so much more.
And that's what desktop planetarium software is good at -- presenting as much information as you care to lard into it. However, what you see on the screen, or on a print-out from these programs is a universe apart from what SkyGX is trying to deliver. Two segments of the same market in play here. No commercially available software product can produce, on screen or on paper, a chart of a section of the sky with the same density of information, level of clarity, unambiguity, consistent readability, and aesthetic appeal as a human-edited chart. That's the main push behind SkyGX. We'll leave the kitchen sink to the plumbers.
> It may be interesting to people who like printed
> atlases but, as a field reference, SkyGX joins
> Millennium Star Atlas as a classic white elephant.
Your statement is very clear and true, Bill. And I agree. SkyGX will most certainly be a 'classic white elephant' to those who don't use or appreciate fine printed sky atlases. By the same token, a Ferrari F430 is pretty much a white elephant for me, because I don't buy, use or appreciate high-performance sports cars. Best tool for the job, really. That's kind of the way it's always been. You'll use what you like. Plenty of people like the feel and look of paper charts in a book over what software can provide, and vice-versa.
Christopher Watson
The SkyGX Project
San Diego, CA, USA
http://www.skygx.com
#7
Guest_**DONOTDELETE**_*
Guest_**DONOTDELETE**_*
Posted 09 March 2005 - 12:26 AM
> It will be interesting to see if he finds a
> printer for this tome.
Oh, there'll certainly be a PRINTER for the atlas. Self-publication is always an option. If I want to go the route of having an astronomical or reference publisher put this out, then I definitely have my work cut out for me. One way or another, it'll see the dark of night.
Christopher Watson
The SkyGX Project
San Diego, CA, USA
http://www.skygx.com
> printer for this tome.
Oh, there'll certainly be a PRINTER for the atlas. Self-publication is always an option. If I want to go the route of having an astronomical or reference publisher put this out, then I definitely have my work cut out for me. One way or another, it'll see the dark of night.
Christopher Watson
The SkyGX Project
San Diego, CA, USA
http://www.skygx.com
#8
Guest_**DONOTDELETE**_*
Guest_**DONOTDELETE**_*
Posted 09 March 2005 - 12:33 AM
> I can't help a shudder of anticipation contemplating
> the likely cost of such an atlas.
You might be pleasantly surprised. One publisher I was talking with recently mentioned $500 as a price-point that worked well in one cost model. Another said it might be more like $1000-1500. Not nearly close enough to actually publishing it to know what the price of the product will be. Could end up being wildly different than the numbers I just gave.
Christopher Watson
The SkyGX Project
San Diego, CA, USA
http://www.skygx.com
> the likely cost of such an atlas.
You might be pleasantly surprised. One publisher I was talking with recently mentioned $500 as a price-point that worked well in one cost model. Another said it might be more like $1000-1500. Not nearly close enough to actually publishing it to know what the price of the product will be. Could end up being wildly different than the numbers I just gave.
Christopher Watson
The SkyGX Project
San Diego, CA, USA
http://www.skygx.com
#9
Starman1
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Stargeezer
Posted 10 March 2005 - 02:23 AM
Christopher,
I'm interested, if for no other reason than to have a printed reference when the computer is not on.
Basically, I love books and printed atlases (I have several).
I know some may consider it a white elephant (Heavens, I have a computer atlas with over 700,000 DSO's!!! in it, but so what?), but I would find it a useful reference, especially with the corrections that are not in Megastar or Uranometria.
Keep on plugging, and keep us posted.
Regards,
I'm interested, if for no other reason than to have a printed reference when the computer is not on.
Basically, I love books and printed atlases (I have several).
I know some may consider it a white elephant (Heavens, I have a computer atlas with over 700,000 DSO's!!! in it, but so what?), but I would find it a useful reference, especially with the corrections that are not in Megastar or Uranometria.
Keep on plugging, and keep us posted.
Regards,
#10
Guest_**DONOTDELETE**_*
Guest_**DONOTDELETE**_*
Posted 10 March 2005 - 09:49 AM
Thanks for your support, Don. I try to to keep skygx.com updated with all the latest goings on with the atlas. Things have been a little slow lately because I've been working on another project in conjunction with the AAVSO. I'll get back to the atlas in a little while, though. Did you happen to catch the latest prototype chart (http://www.skygx.com...m?go=proto.home)? It's of Chart 06-3382, which contains most of M24. I put it together as a Thank You for Jennifer Polakis, who is VP of the Saguaro Astronomy Club in Phoenix. She and her husband Tom put me up at their house (and then took me on a whirlwind SE Arizona tour) over the weekend that they flew me out there to present SkyGX at SAC's monthly lecture meeting.
#11
Starman1
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Stargeezer
Posted 10 March 2005 - 11:49 AM
Christopher,
Every time I try to download the .pdf of one of your charts, it stops at 36% download, then gives an error message, so I haven't been able to download a sample page.
Any idea?
Every time I try to download the .pdf of one of your charts, it stops at 36% download, then gives an error message, so I haven't been able to download a sample page.
Any idea?
#12
Guest_**DONOTDELETE**_*
Guest_**DONOTDELETE**_*
Posted 13 March 2005 - 12:17 AM
Well, that's pretty odd, Don. I'm not having any problems downloading the PDFs (or GIFs or SVGs for that matter). Are you simply clicking on the PDF link to bring the document up in the Reader plug-in in your browser, or are you trying to save them to your local drive? Seems very weird that they would consistently stop at 36% complete.
#13
Starman1
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Stargeezer
Posted 13 March 2005 - 01:02 AM
Christopher,
The .gif's download fine. It's only the .pdf's that don't.
Every one downloads as a damaged file.
I am using the v.6.0.3 version of Adobe acrobat reader, and these are the only .pdf's I've ever had problems with. I deleted the cookie for the site, cleared my cache, closed and reopened the browser--all to no avail. Every file stops downloading at 36%, then gives me a "damaged file" error message. It doesn't matter whether I "open" the file or "download" it.
It's a mystery.
The .gif's download fine. It's only the .pdf's that don't.
Every one downloads as a damaged file.
I am using the v.6.0.3 version of Adobe acrobat reader, and these are the only .pdf's I've ever had problems with. I deleted the cookie for the site, cleared my cache, closed and reopened the browser--all to no avail. Every file stops downloading at 36%, then gives me a "damaged file" error message. It doesn't matter whether I "open" the file or "download" it.
It's a mystery.
#14
jandrew
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Mariner 2
Posted 13 March 2005 - 01:51 AM
Just for point of reference, I was able to download and view the prototype PDF charts with no problems. Since you err'd out on download, you might try grabbing the files with other agents (wget or lynx perhaps)?
andrew
andrew
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