Softpedia >Mac >Educational >SkySafari Plus >  Changelog

SkySafari Plus Changelog

What's new in SkySafari Plus 6.8.1

Apr 8, 2021
  • Fixed crash when importing Observing Lists.

New in SkySafari Plus 6.8.0 (Mar 30, 2021)

  • Jupiter Great Red Spot orientation updated.
  • Fixed issue with maximum location elevation.
  • Added Guide Chip edit ui to FOV Indicators.
  • Measure tool label drawing on retina monitors fixed.
  • Tonight's Best list sorting fixed.
  • Some light vs dark mode UI fixes.
  • Additional Park Positions added to Astro-Physics mounts.

New in SkySafari Plus 6.7.2 (Oct 21, 2020)

  • Fix addressing startup bugs on certain OS versions

New in SkySafari Plus 6.7.1 (Oct 11, 2020)

  • Bug fixes and stability improvements

New in SkySafari Plus 6.7.0 (Oct 2, 2020)

  • H-R Diagram tool now available on the toolbar
  • Measure tool now available on the toolbar
  • Bug fixes and enhancements

New in SkySafari Plus 6.5.0 (Apr 23, 2020)

  • All Apollo mission paths.
  • All Apollo 3D spacecraft models (including Apollo 13 damaged service module.)
  • Preset files to instantly transport you to interesting mission waypoints.

New in SkySafari Plus 6.4.1 (Apr 14, 2020)

  • Support for PlaneWave telescope mounts.
  • Bug fixes and performance improvements.

New in SkySafari Plus 6.4.0 (Jul 29, 2019)

  • Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing with a new in-app purchase that allows you to follow the Apollo 11 crew on their historic mission! Explore all Apollo Space Missions (from Apollo 8 to Apollo 17) and place yourself at the exact spot along the lunar trajectories of the Apollo spacecraft, during the most memorable and historic moments of these flights.
  • Features:
  • Travel along on the Apollo Space Missions, including Apollo 11 and the first lunar landing
  • Includes nine missions flown by the Apollo astronauts during the 1960's and 1970's
  • View the Earth and Moon as it appeared to the crew. Land on the Moon, then blast back into lunar orbit!
  • Links to key moments of the Apollo 11 Lunar Program
  • Moon inbound and outbound trajectories for Apollo 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17
  • Accurate 3-D models of the Apollo Spacecraft - including the Saturn V rocket, the Command Service Module and the Lunar Lander Module
  • Lunar Landing site Panorama for Apollo 11
  • The simulated trajectories have been made as accurate as possible, using actual data published by NASA.
  • Other changes:
  • UI changes to make it easier to create multiple observations of an object in a specific observing list.
  • New user interface for the Observing List repository.
  • Stability and performance improvements.

New in SkySafari Plus 6.3.1 (Apr 30, 2019)

  • Fixed bug in 6.3.0 version that could accidentally delete objects from an observing list.

New in SkySafari Plus 6.3.0 (Apr 27, 2019)

  • Incorporated Wolfgang Steinicke's 2019 updates to his NGC/IC database.
  • Added better support for having multiple observations of an object in an observing list.
  • In observing lists, you can now chose to show all objects, only observed objects, or only unobserved objects.
  • When attaching an observation to an observing list, we now show two sections of lists. Those lists that already contain the object and those that don't.
  • Added a Quasar type to the Planner for searches.
  • Fixed a few issues with the display or editing of times in observations and sessions.
  • Improved performance syncing data with LiveSky.
  • Various other performance and stability changes.

New in SkySafari Plus 6.2.0 (Dec 16, 2018)

  • Added option to have rectangular custom fields of view.
  • Added new in-app purchases for Galaxy View and the H-R Diagram.
  • Fixed UI bug where the GAIA in-app purchase wasn't showing it installed when it was.
  • In the Observation panel, from the More button you can now display the info for the object or center the object in the main chart.
  • In the Observations panel, we no longer show sessions without any observations. We also show the number of observations in sessions that do have observations.
  • When associating an observing list with an observation, we now show all observing lists rather than just those that contain the object. If the chosen list doesn't have that object in it, we give you the option to add it.
  • There is a new option in the Object Info's More button to show all observing lists containing the object.
  • Various modifications for compatibility with soon to be released Starry Night 8.
  • Various stability and performance improvements.

New in SkySafari Plus 6.1.2 (Oct 22, 2018)

  • Improved catalog search when using Planner.
  • Added iOptron CEM-120 scope type.
  • Improved accuracy of planetary position predictions.
  • Improved memory usage.
  • Improvements to syncing data with LiveSky server.
  • Added support native Sync command on NexStar and SynScan hand controllers running the appropriate firmware version.
  • Added support for setting date/time/location on SynScan controllers.
  • Fixed a few small user interface bugs.

New in SkySafari Plus 6.1.0 (Apr 26, 2018)

  • Added support for exporting an observing list in CSV format.
  • Fixed bug where the in-app purchases were not showing up for some people.
  • Fixed bug that prevented deleting equipment.
  • Fixed bug with selecting some items in the search results list.
  • Fixed problem where the toolbar icons weren't displayed if you had the "Increase contrast" accessibility setting on.
  • Fixed bug where Align wasn't always working when connected to a Push-To or Celestron Wi-Fi mount.
  • Fixed bug where the "Locked" setting for Saved Settings wasn't working properly.
  • Fixed bug where pre-defined equipment could be added to your list multiple times.
  • Fixed bug connecting to scope when you have less than 3 FOV indicators.
  • Miscellaneous other tweaks and bug fixes.

New in SkySafari Plus 6.0.2 (Apr 10, 2018)

  • Added item in Help menu to take you to the macOS Community Forums.
  • Show DSS Image to the context menu.
  • Added Show DSS Image to the Selection menu.
  • Improved highlighting of items in lists.
  • Fixed bug where the Object Info could go blank when animating time in Orbit mode.
  • Fixed bug where the tab bar (that you see when multiple settings are open) went blank when showing and hiding the toolbar.
  • Cleaned up various other rough edges from the first release.

New in SkySafari Plus 6.0.1 (Apr 10, 2018)

  • Complete support for MacOS. We got you covered and release regular updates.
  • Clouds and Astronomy. Two words that rarely go together. Rewritten from the ground up, SkySafari 6 Plus will (optionally) back up all of your observing data in our secure cloud storage and make it easily accessible to multiple devices as well as from our new web interface, LiveSky.com.
  • We Have The Best Stars. Precise, modern and deep. We’ve updated our star catalog to use the latest and greatest, UCAC5 star catalog.
  • Observers First. A redesign of our tools puts the active observer first. Quick access to features like your equipment, observing sites, lists, and observations make it easy and enjoyable to get out, observe, and record your observations.
  • Graph It. The completely new graph tool will give a quick visual representation of an object’s altitude above the horizon. Essential for planning your night’s observations.
  • Plan It. Make the most of your time under the stars. Our updated planner is a powerful tool that lets you create a list of targets for your observing session with filters like object types, specific time ranges, constellation, catalog, and more. Plan it and get more done.
  • Share It. SkySafari 6 is more than just an app, it’s a new system to help organize and share your observing experiences. With a free signup, you can see and share your observing data from our web portal, LiveSky.com! Affordable premium memberships add online editing, so you can not only view, but edit your observations, add new observing sites, manage your equipment and more. Finally, you can view, edit and manage your settings files with SkySafari Web, our fully functional web version.

New in SkySafari Plus 5.3.4 (Sep 27, 2017)

  • Fixed recently introduced problem with some settings panels not dismissing properly.

New in SkySafari Plus 5.3.3 (Sep 25, 2017)

  • Updated for macOS 10.13 compatibility
  • Fixed a couple of small database errors
  • In Object Info, don't compute rise/set times or conjunctions/oppositions for Earth, when viewing from Earth.

New in SkySafari Plus 5.3.2 (May 13, 2017)

  • For highlighted observing lists, you can now highlight only those objects that haven't been observed.
  • Fixed problem in last release where you could no longer connect to Astro-Physics CP3 controllers.
  • Fixed issue where the Lat/Lon in the status bar wasn’t respecting the user's geographic format.
  • Added the "X Real Time" option to the choices for time flow units. You can now do things like flow time at 10 times real time.
  • Miscellaneous other stability fixes.

New in SkySafari Plus 5.3.1 (Apr 2, 2017)

  • Fix for faint stars in night vision mode.
  • Support for AstroPhysics GTO CP4 Wi-Fi mounts.
  • Added total motion to display of object's apparent motion in Object Info.
  • Miscellaneous stability fixes.

New in SkySafari Plus 5.3.0 (Mar 14, 2017)

  • Added Celestron audio files for selected objects in the Object Info.
  • Merged the ADS catalog back into our unified star catalog.
  • Fixed bug where the image viewer window, which is shown when clicking an image link, would disappear after showing the image.
  • Fix for the "Set Time & Location" command in the iOptron 8401 hand controller.

New in SkySafari Plus 5.2.0 (Feb 10, 2017)

  • Added the ability to revert to the default sort order in an object list or observing list.
  • Listed Celestron CGX as one of the supported scope types.
  • Implemented tabbing between Time/Date fields
  • Always set time & date for Takahashi and SiTech mounts since they require it.
  • Enable/Disable the Send Time & Date button depending on whether the mount supports that feature.
  • Fixed bug where the left zoom button was moved partially offscreen when a left panel was closed.
  • Fixed bug where thumbnail images were missing from the Tonight at a Glance view.
  • Fixed crash that could happen when scrolling though the Moons list.
  • Other minor stability and performance improvements.

New in SkySafari Plus 5.1.3 (Jan 6, 2017)

  • You can now slew a telescope to specific RA/Dec coordinates by clicking-and-holding the "GoTo" button in the Telescope Control panel.
  • Fix problems related to double- and variable-star data. New Horizons spacecraft trajectory data through 2023.
  • Many other miscellaneous small bug fixes and cosmetic UI tweaks!

New in SkySafari Plus 1.8 (Jan 27, 2014)

  • Added 3D models, descriptions, and images of Cassini and Voyager spacecraft, the International Space Station, and Hubble Space Telescope.
  • When you are orbiting an object that itself is orbiting another primary object, SkySafari updates your position so that the primary stays at the same relative position.
  • Chart center longitude/latitude now remembered correctly when app relaunches after exit.
  • Improved performance when drawing many faint solar system objects. Default solar system magnitude limit is now 20, as opposed to unlimited; settings files now restore unlimited (infinite) magnitudes correctly.
  • Now displays orbit epoch for satellites and solar system objects in Object Info. Conjunction, opposition, eclipse dates in Object Info now show the first such event taking place any time in the next 2 years, and the math runs much faster now.
  • Fixed bug where two or more automatic solar system data updates could happen simultaneously, which could result in missing objects in some categories. Discards partial solar system data updates; all files must now download successfully before SkySafari will accept the updated data.
  • Fixed small error in position computation for some geosynchronous satellites.
  • Fixed problem preventing some stars from being drawn when very far away in interstellar space.
  • Added support for telescope axis encoders on SiTech controllers in Push-To mode.
  • Implemented fix for alignment problems with encoder systems on clock-driven equatorial mounts.
  • Fixed undersize-buffer problem preventing some JavaScript commands from being sent to TheSkyX Server for controlling Software Bisque Paramounts correctly.
  • Fixed problems drawing orbits with eccentricity very close to (but not exactly) 1, like that of comet PANSTARRS.

New in SkySafari Plus 1.7.3 (Feb 15, 2013)

  • Asteroid and comet positions are now precisely computed with gravitational effects of the major planets taken into account. Simulate asteroid flybys like 2012 DA14 with NASA-like precision!
  • Default solar system database now includes asteroid and comet data current as of mid-January, 2013. Orbital elements are now stored to 64 bits of precision.
  • Fixed failure to import data from asteroids and comets that are not already in the default solar system object database. Fixed many small accuracy problems in importing orbit data from the Minor Planet Center.
  • Corrected orbital motion for Saturn's moon Phoebe.
  • Fixed failure to draw many bright stars when the magnitude limit was set below 3.
  • Chart center coordinates now update correctly when toggling Nutation checkbox in Precession settings. Fixed formatting of precession epoch strings in Coordinates panel, and elevation in Location panel.
  • Selected solar system object orbit and path are no longer drawn after selecting a non-solar-system object.
  • Object Info for satellites now shows satellite latitude, longitude, altitude, and velocity.

New in SkySafari Plus 1.7.2 (Jan 30, 2013)

  • To make your observing easier, we've added ability to highlight object in an object lists or observing lists. When turned on, the sky chart draws circles around all objects in a list, and displays an icon which lets you quickly return to that list.
  • Reorganized the Solar System settings to include a new Orbit & Path display. You can now show a single planet's orbit or path.
  • Tapping Orbit button returns you to default distance from the object you're orbiting if you're already in orbit around it (instead of just doing nothing.)
  • Database fixes: corrected right ascension for Hipparcos stars without high-precision positions (UY Draconis, for example.) Fixed failures to find many variable stars like RY Aqr. Removed extra Propus label from Iota Geminorum.
  • Added Jupiter's Moon events and Red Spot transits to Object Info for Jupiter. Fixed bug displaying erroneously-cached solar system object info.
  • Fixes for drawing comet tails.
  • Implemented Recal command (:CMR#) instead of Sync (:CM#) for AstroPhysics GTO mounts. Added Orion StarSeeker telescope type.

New in SkySafari Plus 1.7 (Jan 11, 2013)

  • To make your observing easier, we've added ability to highlight object in an object lists or observing lists. When turned on, the sky chart draws circles around all objects in a list, and displays an icon which lets you quickly return to that list.
  • Reorganized the Solar System settings to include a new Orbit & Path display. You can now show a single planet's orbit or path.
  • Tapping Orbit button returns you to default distance from the object you're orbiting if you're already in orbit around it (instead of just doing nothing.)
  • Database fixes: corrected right ascension for Hipparcos stars without high-precision positions (UY Draconis, for example.) Fixed failures to find many variable stars like RY Aqr. Removed extra Propus label from Iota Geminorum.
  • Added Jupiter's Moon events and Red Spot transits to Object Info for Jupiter. Fixed bug displaying erroneously-cached solar system object info.
  • Fixes for drawing comet tails.
  • Implemented Recal command (:CMR#) instead of Sync (:CM#) for AstroPhysics GTO mounts. Added Orion StarSeeker telescope type.

New in SkySafari Plus 1.6 (Nov 6, 2012)

  • Supports OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion.
  • Starflight! You can now orbit around any Hipparcos star, and view the constellations from afar. Fly through the Pleiades, or see Sirius A and B orbit each other in 3D! Some binary stars attached to wrong primary star have now been fixed.
  • Added the Night Sky Network to the Help menu. Find two months' worth of star parties and other astronomy events in your area, anywhere in the United States!
  • You can now show the path of the selected solar system object across the night sky over days or months. Trace out the retrograde motion of Mars, or the gyrations of Mercury.
  • Updated constellation descriptions. New maps of Mercury, Vesta, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Umbriel. Added Curiosity (MSL) to Mars surface features. Added Hour Angle to object info display, under the Celestial Coordinates section.
  • Fixed problem that made the screen occasionally go blank, with a coordinate display of NaN, NaN in the upper left corner. When stepping time and the selected object is locked, the center coordinates label is now correct.
  • Fixed problem importing satellite orbit files containing corrupted lines. All settings changes made in Orbit mode are now remembered. Julian Dates now saved to 1 second precision in Settings files.
  • When searching for an object, the text you typed is no longer replaced with the name of the object you selected. When the mouse is clicked while panning to an object, the object is centered immediately.
  • Fixed crash that by entering non-ASCII characters into the Location Lon/Lat fields. Show Asterisms Names checkbox is no longer erroneously disabled when Show Asterisms is unchecked. Show Minor Moons option is now only in SkySafari Pro.
  • Fixed rare bug where the app would sometimes draw stars and constellations on top of an opaque horizon. Fixed problems displaying some Milky Way and Horizon panoramas on some MacBook Air models that can't support large OpenGL textures.
  • Misc. iOptron communication fixes. Telescope motion rate slider now works correctly for SiTech telescope controllers. Demo telescope mode now works correctly. Added support for Alt-Az push-to mounts on equatorial platforms, added Equatorial push-to mount type.

New in SkySafari Plus 1.5 (May 17, 2012)

  • You can now orbit other objects in the solar system! Select an object, then click the new Orbit button in the toolbar to fly into orbit around it. If you select the Sun or any other star, you will fly far above the Sun, where you can see the whole solar system. Once in orbit, swipe to move around. New buttons in the lower left and right corners let you fly toward or away from the planet. When you're ready to return to Earth, click the Home icon at the bottom of the sky chart.
  • A new Moon map is based on imagery from NASA's 2009 Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. When viewing from Earth, the Moon is always shown as a disk with its correct phase. The Moon's dark side now shows faint earthshine, and appears sky-colored in daylight. The sky darkens when solar eclipses take place.
  • You now see the surfaces of Venus, Earth, and Titan without atmospheres or clouds. Mars's moons Phobos and Deimos are now shaped realistically. Saturn's moon Hyperion tumbles chaotically. Venus - or any other planet - now always shows as a black dot when transiting the Sun. Planet surface grids are drawn more accurately.
  • Planet and moon surface features are now labelled. So are the landing sites of every spacecraft that humankind has ever sent to any other moon or planet.
  • Object Info descriptions for the planets and constellations have been rewritten. Learn about the mythology of the planets, the transit of Venus, and total solar eclipses!
  • Object Info data now shows angular separation between the currently selected object and the Sun, the previously-selected object, and the chart center. Object Info also shows opposition, conjunction, eclipse, and transit dates for solar system objects, as well as their apparent motion rates in the sky. Physical ephemeris data are shown for planets and moons.
  • Asteroid, comet, and satellite orbits have been updated with the latest 2012 data. You can now show orbits of asteroids, comets, and satellites if you select them. Numerous other small solar system computation and graphics bugs are fixed.
  • You can now search for objects by typing a number without any catalog prefix. Searching for "104" will now find Messier 104, NGC 104, star HR 104, and asteroid (104) Klymene.
  • You can now use the chart center as the telescope alignment/GoTo target by clicking the target label in the scope control panel. This lets you enter and GoTo to the exact set of coordinates of the chart center, or align on a point like the zenith (+90 altitude).
  • Improved app icon and splash screen.

New in SkySafari Plus 1.2 (Apr 18, 2012)

  • Object Info for any satellite now shows when it will pass overhead, including visible as well as non-visible (e.g. daytime) passes.
  • Fixed many missing or incorrect star/deep sky catalog numbers in the database. Updated star distances from new 2007 Hipparcos reduction. Added the brightest quasar (3C 273) and the brightest globular cluster in the Andromeda Galaxy (Mayall II).
  • SkySafari can now auto-detect SkyFi's IP address from a user-defined name (requires SkyFi firmware 2.3 or later).
  • When connecting to a telescope, the Scope Control panel is always shown; time flow animation is turned off, and time is set to current time.
  • Fixed problems connecting to Celestron NexStar controllers running firmware version 3, and to SiTech controllers on Alt-Az mounts. Implemented "Local Sync" function for iOptron controllers.

New in SkySafari Plus 1.1.1 (Feb 24, 2012)

  • Fixes problem with Observing List import (#13 below) and inability to use telescope serial ports due to Sandboxing.

New in SkySafari Plus 1.1 (Feb 9, 2012)

  • You can now import your own custom horizon panoramas! Turn the horizon glow on or off. A new "Horizon Altitude" setting lets you show when objects rise/set above a specific altitude.
  • Added option to rate SkySafari on the Mac App Store.
  • Multiple constellation display options can now be turned on at the same time. You can now display constellation lines overlaid with mythical figures!
  • Rearranged Object Info so it no longer blocks the main sky chart when visible. Added coordinate system to contextual (right-click) menus.
  • A new searchable location database now includes every city worldwide with more than 10,000 people, plus more than 500 "astronomical" locations - a total of 30,470 in all (vs. < 1500 previously).
  • Optimized grid drawing. Grid lines become progressively finer as you zoom in, with no slowdown at all.
  • You can now search for all objects in a star or deep sky catalog by typing just the catalog name or its standard abbreviation. For example, you can find all the Arp galaxies by searching for just "Arp". Search results and other object lists can now be made into observing lists.
  • Constellations are now searchable by common name (like "Southern Cross"). Variable star searches are now no longer case-sensitive.
  • Search results lists and other object lists can now be made into observing lists. Observing lists and settings files are now saved in human-readable format and exchangeable with SkySafari on other platforms.
  • Satellite visual magnitudes are now computed correctly, using Mike McCant's data whenever possible. Fixed slowdown caused by computing satellite positions with very out-of-date orbits.
  • Fixed problem with displaying and setting times in the hours past 12 AM and 12 PM. Fixed positions and magnitudes of certain nebulae. Corrected inability to select small nebula symbols by tapping on them. Added Arp catalog numbers to galaxies that were missing them. Secondary components of double stars are no longer labelled until you're zoomed in enough to see them.
  • The telescope field of view indicator bullseye can now show cardinal direction (N/E/S/W) markers.
  • Added support for iOptron SmartStar, MiniTower, iEQ45, and Meade LS/LT mounts via SkyFi-USB. Added communication with Software Bisque Paramount via TheSkyX Server. Added ability to park SiTech mounts when disconnecting. Added separate telescope types for Orion SkyQuest XTg and Vixen Sphinx mounts.
  • Fixed various memory leaks and corruption problems. Fixed miscellaneous crashes and graphic rendering problems.

New in SkySafari Plus 1.0.4 (Oct 7, 2011)

  • The sky chart is now drawn correctly (instead of appearing as a garbled screen) on Macs where Arial and Arial-BoldMT fonts cannot be loaded. SkySafari now uses the default System font in this case.
  • The Help menu items "Keyboard Shortcuts" and "Basic Concepts" now work properly. Added new Help menu item leading to "This Week's Sky at a Glance" column on Sky & Telescope's web site.
  • User-defined locations are no longer overwritten after reading in a Settings file. Added Pacific Star Party, Wiruna (New South Wales, Australia) to list of star parties.
  • The telescope serial port name is now saved correctly in the default settings (and other settings files).
  • The object list panel (Planets, Stars, Tonight's Best, etc.) now stays visible after choosing an object. Searching for an object by name no longer corrupts the list of objects (Planets, Bright Stars, etc.) in that panel.
  • Cardinal points now stay visible if turned on when the horizon is shown as "transparent with line". Horizon fill and line should not be shown if both are turned off.
  • Displays the chart center coordinates in the user's preferred format when the field of view is zoomed in to less than one degree.
  • Momentum is smoother after releasing the mouse button when panning the sky chart.
  • Fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 no longer appear after their impact on Jupiter in July 1994 (but they look pretty cool before that!)
  • Fixed problems with importing observing lists from AstroPlanner V2 that store NGC numbers in the CommonName rather than CatalogNumber field.