If you don't know already, 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy (more on that here, or here for the US site). If you are already into astronomy, this will be a great year to listen, learn, and share stories with other amateur astronomers. If you are new to astronomy, now is the time to try it out. Whether you are a new to the hobby or even have a couple years under your belt, one of the hardest parts is learning to "walk your way around the sky". Even if you are quite astute at picking out major stars, planets, constellations, and other objects, often times you would like a little more info or perhaps you run across something you can't identify. My biggest problem is I haven't logged enough time with my scope and I haven't had the opportunity to be taught by someone experienced at working the night sky. For me, this means many trips between the backyard and my computer—which totally wrecks my night vision. Finally, for me at least, the problem is solved! The folks at Vito Technology have created an excellent iPhone app called Star Walk that serves as a star guide—and it's an offical product of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009). This app finds your location (even on a 1st Gen iPhone) and shows you what is in your sky at that moment. In addition, you can:
Search for objects—including Messier objects and Meteor showers
Move time forwards or backwards
Get summary info of objects
Pan, Zoom in/out
Link to the Web for more information
Even cooler, it has a nite-mode which turns the whole screen red to help save your night vision. The interface in this app alone is worth the price ($4.99). You can find this app via the US IYA2009 site. blog comments powered by Disqus