Can I find a free 2010 sky almanac on line?

[jackmell]

Is there a 2010 sky almanac on line?

Hello. Is there any on-line resource that I can obtain a nice star almanac like the one in the January issue of Sky and Telescope? I realize I can buy it for $6.00 through Sky and Telescope but does anyone know if I find a similar one on the web that I can just print out?

Thanks! :)

 

[chasjones]

There is a nice shareware program called Homeplanet I discovered several years ago. I am still using it 15 years later. I also sometimes use Stellarium for locating objects in the night sky cuzit is more "lifelike". Both are freeware.

 

[jackmell]

Hi Chas. Thanks for replying. Seems like a nice program from the on-line info but doesn't seem to be what I'm looking for. You know what the almanac looks like right? Very condensed, comprehensive, clear, and easy to read for a single sheet of paper. Color too.

I was gonna' swipe it. And as I was pulling out of my home-town library, I thought to myself, "perfect example of what a hick town I live in for not having a subscription to Sky and Telescope!" No, just gonna' fork-over the six bucks half-way through the season.

Thanks anyway. :)

 

[MotoH]

Stellarium works the best for certain things. You get much more detail on current positions of planets and special bits, but as you said you can't beat a good sheet of paper to find your way around.

 

[ThomasEdison]

Stellarium works the best for certain things. You get much more detail on current positions of planets and special bits, but as you said you can't beat a good sheet of paper to find your way around.

Do you mean extrasolars?

I am waiting on a chart that, when I figure out which stars I am looking at in the night sky, also tells me which EXTRAsolar planets have been discovered orbiting them. The extrasolars capture my imagination and I can't be the only one who now wonders which newly discovered planets go around which star I am looking at.

I feel like the lag time between what has been discovered (in the last ten years) and someone capitalizing on a revised "extrasolar planetary/star chart is too big. Maybe Extrasolars are not as interesting to other people as they are to me though I have to doubt that.

Another idea which I am waiting for someone to write is a computer program where you orient it towards which stars are visible but when you wave a mouse pointer over those stars it shows known planetary orbits AND type of star (if its binary and star type etc.) and maybe even a paragraph of info on it's history.

If I knew more information about specific stars (not just name and constellation) from a chart or index it would help me identify them in the sky.

Many of the stars in the sky can now be considered separate (and incomplete) solar systems instead or just stars so I am now awaiting "solar system" charts. Are there any of those being made?