Stellarium, Redshift 8 or Starry Night 7.

[The Jackal]

Hi Guys

 

I would just like your opinions before I go ahead and blow another hole in my pocket.

 

I am looking at controlling my telescope from the comfort of living room (with two laptops and Teamviewer) but need to get Planetary software. As you all know Stellarium is free and I am no expert but I do like its simplicity. My other options are the expensive Starry Night Pro 7 @ $149.95 and Redshift 8 Premium @ $59.99. I did hear from one of my friends that starry Night Pro Plus 7 is not worth it, as the images of nebula take too long to load and that the Normal Pro version should suffice.

 

Please can I have your thoughts on this?

[damnut]

Hi There,

Used Stellarium when I had my Lx200, simplest way for me. Com port to telescope mount, done.

What scope do you wish to control??

[jpgr]

cartes du ciel and c2a are also free.

http://freeware.intrastar.net/planetarium.htm lists other software

[Toxophilus]

I used RedShift 6 to drive my LX90 and have had no problems with it (other than the annoying start up music). I can't comment on how good 8 is but 6 has been well behaved. However it is rather heavy and takes a while to load. Stellarium on the other hand is a lot lighter and free, so you may as well try that and see if it fulfills your requirements as you have nothing to loose.

[The Jackal]

Hi There,

Used Stellarium when I had my Lx200, simplest way for me. Com port to telescope mount, done.

What scope do you wish to control??

I am controlling a GSO 8" F/6 with Advanced VX mount and Autoguider with PHD and Canon 700D. Just did a test with Stellarium and i managed to move the scope with remote connection.

I guess what I also should be asking is if there is any benefit to buy these expensive programs or just stick with Stellarium?