Sky Charts (a.k.a. Cartes du Ciel) computes and prints customized charts of the heavens. When you download the program ("basic package") it comes with the Bright Star Catalogue (featuring stars down to mag. 6.5) and a database of 10'000 nebulae from SAC 7.2. Optionally, you may choose to download the "complete package", including also Sky2000, version 3, with 300' 000 stars to magnitude 9, high precision planetary satellites positions and Realsky support.

Anyway, the point is for you to later get additional free catalogues from its homepage, according to your interests and specific needs. For instance, Tycho-2 with more than 3 millions stars, down to mag. 12.1; a catalogue of 68'179 variable stars from GCVS, NSV and EVS; a database of 193'898 galaxies from PGC1999 catalogue etc, etc...

Main features offered include:

• about 30 catalogues of stars, star clusters, nebulae and galaxies;
• ability of demanding portions of star catalogues online so as to plot charts until mag. 20;
• facility of self-updating online, from different sources, the comet and asteroid elements databases;
• option to request from SkyView - Digital Sky Survey, and similar sources, real sky images of the region drawn on the chart - with the ability of superimposing and easily editing, filtering and chromatically juggling them;
• DDE interface allowing the joint use with VAROBS - another freeware by Patrick Chevalley, consecrated to variable stars;
• interface for telescope control;
• additional support of Real Sky and USNO Cds etc, etc...

It's conceived to be easily usable "in the field" according to an observing session needs, but also to study "at home" the Moon and its relief. It's interfaced with "Sky Charts" freeware (above). This set is certainly now one of the most complete released.

It's possible to choose the language used by the software and database.

Files have been cut in several packages.

New features introduced in version 2 included :
- Introduction of "Moon complete globe" with Far Side;
- Simulation of a spatial flight orbiting the Moon;
- VMA is now separated in 3 modular versions;
-- AVL "Light”: 2D software for less performing hardware;
-- AVL "Basic”: Basic software presenting the "3D with librations" mode;
-- AVL "Expert”: Advanced software presenting the "3D complete globe" mode;
- New texture of complete globe realized with Clementine high resolution photos by professor Mark S. Robinson and his team of the "Northwestern University";
- More than 600 new Far Side craters and formations descriptions;
- Database corrections for some bad entries;
- New pictures library: "Moon Stars" 130 LOPAM pictures of the most famous lunar formations

News functions introduced with 2.1 included :
- Computerized goto mount support;
- Moon phase calendar.

It includes catalogues allowing you to draw individual charts for all constellations (North and South Hemispheres, amounting to 92 charts); 40 generic charts covering all of the sky and seven «special topics» charts (the Pleiads, open clusters on the Milky Way etc...).

Freeware charting software oriented to deep sky astronomy, including 25 million stars (GSC1.2), 1.25 million deep sky objects, 2300 comets and 300,000 asteroids (all the additional databases are available in the link indicated above). The full instalation requires around 250 Mb HD space, depending on the additional databases selected. It can link image files to show them as one navigate in the maps. Multitabbed interface easy to use. Controls Meade LX200 classic telescopes. Includes some basic ephemerids calculation (more facilities currently under development) and prediction of visibility of stellar and nonstellar objects. It also includes annotations of the visual appearance of thousands of DSOs, and the user can introduce his/her own notes. It can overlay the maps on digital images to identify deep sky objects. It also includes a library with tables listing deep sky objects that can be used to jump to the maps clicking on them. From panoramic planetarium views to powerful maps exceeding 15 magnitude in stars and galaxies up to 18th magnitude. Comets and asteroids ephemeredes. Full VSOP87 theory for planets (accuracy ca. 0.05 arc seconds). Local updates (EXE file) 1.05.65 with fast DSOs picker downloadable from the complements webpage and paralax corrections for the situation of the observer on the Earth. Full setup files are now in MS Windows Installer 1.1

UPDATE 1.06.04: Speed increased (1.06.04 exe). More than 200 nebulae outlines. Quick deep sky objects picker to list DSO by constellations and/or object type, and see also photos or maps. Especial tabs to find the best instant and night of observation. Progressive finders. Several common objects lists (Messier+Dyer, Herschel''''s 400, etc). Main databases corrected and recompiled. New files available: Pluto, Moon, visual binary stars, asteroids and comets (JPL September 1st 2006 databases), Milky Way, constellation boundaries, DSOs outlines. Digital setting circles mode. Corrections in printouts and clipboard images. Eyepiece overlays. Earth-view maps integrated in the main maps. Local horizon editor (mountains, hills, buildings). Enhanced observing list viewer (All-sky, horizontal, ecliptic and galactic views, and gradual-zooms). Visual binaries with ephemeredes. List of the last visited objects. Milky Way outlines. Constellation boundaries. Customisable tabs to set user''''s zoom levels and N, E, W and S Earth-views. Cluttering decreased. Time picker to select certain instants (twilights, midnight, moon/sun set, rise and transit, etc)

Root author website: http://www.uv.es/jrtorres/index.html Root CNebulaX website: http://www.uv.es/jrtorres/CNebulaX.html

The new version 3.08 brings the following:

«The default database is now SQLite to simplify the installation process. A personal database is now automatically created the first time the program is run. MySQL is still available if needed.

Added the Calendar menu similar to the 2.76 one, with more functions for the comets and asteroids.

Added a display bar to quickly show or hide given objects from the chart. Completed the menu with all the available functions.

In the configuration menu you can set the nebulae color and preview the background picture.

Now it uses Xplanet (xplanet.sourceforge.net) to display the planet image on Linux.

Plus a lot of bug fixes the previous version was filled with.»

About NASA´s Blue Marble Data: using a collection of satellite-based observations, scientists and visualizers stitched together months of observations of the land surface, oceans, sea ice, and clouds into a seamless, true-color mosaic of every square kilometer (.386 square mile) of our planet.

Much of the information came from a single remote-sensing device-NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS, flying over 700 km above the Earth onboard the Terra satellite.

The current version of BMV uses 5 levels of detail ranging from a virtual image of 2560 x 1280 pixels (level 0) to 40960 x 20480 pixels (level 4).

The Windows installation includes two cumulative packages. The first package (about 32 MB) installs the run-time software, some auxiliary data, and levels 0-2 of the base imagery. The second package installs levels 3 and 4 of the base imagery and is (about 260 MB in size).

Important note: The program presents only a Southern Hemisphere perspective. Only the smaller phase window seen at right can be set for Northern Hemisphere views.

Features include:

• over 7,400 craters, mons, et cetera including landing sites
• Full 3-D accurate topocentric libration
• upside-down and mirror reversed capability
• USGS texture, Clementine imagery, USGS-Clementine blend, wire frame
• Clementine and USGS high resolution imagery to 0.5km (0.3 mile) per pixel
• Dynamic shading of the USGS map: reversed highlights/shadows for post full Moon time, reduced texture for high Sun angles away from the terminator, and crater rims and peaks on the dark side of the terminator
• re-sizeable up to 1200x1200
• contrast/brightness/earthshine control
• "Go to" and "identify" features
• crater outline and grid overlays
• choice to create orthographic/geocentric rendering
• animating libration graphs; notes full Moon and whether limb light/dark
• search for similar or stronger librations
• search for young and old crescents that satisfy your criteria
• searches for altitude/aziumth conditions to satisfy your visual and photographic needs
• user specified (artificial) librations
• user specified prefered magnifications
• automatic grid spacing
• multiple observatory sites
• detailed HELP file

Registered users receive the NASA Vol 15 Clementine LDIM CD at no extra cost and the USGS texture map at 0.5 km (0.3 mile) per pixel