I ran into some interesting, free software while checking a page about Eros. I thought it might interest some you star gazers. http://near.jhuapl.edu/eros/software/ ------------------ It's all very large.
Great resource! Since two of my favorite Astronomy software products are featured on the page I thought this was a pretty good time to post an endorsement. I am in no way connected with either (except as a beta tester for MyStars!) but I really enjoy them and enthusiastically recommend them to all my friends. Perhaps you may have noticed the star charts I have posted. They are generated by a program called “MyStars!” MyStars Version 2.7 is the newest version of this award winning software. It is my favorite astronomy program because of its ease of use, features, and accuracy but mostly because of the approachability of its author, David Patte. David will actually answer your e-mail questions about the software and he moderates a discussion group for MyStars users that is just about the friendliest and most informative Astronomy discussion I have ever participated in. Users’ suggestions for future versions of the software are always welcome and have played a major part in its development. Until I came across “MyStars!” John Walker’s Home Planet was my favorite program. It isn’t as easy to use and it doesn’t have as many features as MyStars! But it has one thing going for it: It is free! It is a BIG download file so unless you have a really fast Internet connection it will take quite a while to get it. Since installing MyStars! I don’t use it much but it has a couple features that are unique. You can set it up to display satellite data and it has a very annoying coo-coo clock (which thankfully you can turn off). In my opinion, Mr. Walker is obviously very generous (as evidenced by the quantity of freeware he has released) and a genius (as evidenced by it's quality) but his "politics" are a little weird. As far as "approachability" is concerned, forget it! If you send him an e-mail it will be ignored or perhaps ridiculed on his web site. No, he ain't the nicest guy in the world but he has released some great software and some really funny (albeit sarcastic) essays . For access to all of Walker's public domain software and writings, visit his home page: http://www.fourmilab.ch/ [This message has been edited by Lenny (edited October 11, 2000).]
