TheSky Professional and TheSky Serious Astronomer Feature Comparison

TheSky Professional includes the standard features, new and improved features and the following additional features that are not included in TheSky Serious Astronomer :

 

 

 

 

Advanced Telescope Control

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add or Import Custom Sky Databases

 

  • Generate Sky Databases (SDB) from any text source, for example, from the Simbad, VizieR, Aladin, websites).

Support for Optional Star Catalogs

 

 

 

 

 

Image Link and All Sky Image Link

 

  • Image Link and precision astrometry of FITS photos.  "Plate solving" has never been easier, faster, more reliable or more accurate.

  • When coupled with the Gaia star catalog, All Sky Image Link can find astrometric solutions for photos with fields of view as small as 3 arcminutes up to 10 degrees.

 

 

 

FITS File Support

 

  • Open, view, save and adjust the contrast of FITS photos and display the FITS header information directly from TheSky Pro.

 

 

 

Automation/Scripting

 

  • TheSky Professional includes an extensive scripting/automation model, and is compatible with TheSky6 Professional's scripting/automation model.  This allows you to use TheSky Pro with third-party Windows observatory control applications.  

 

Scripting TheSky Documentation

 

 

 

 

Mosaics

 

  • Easily photograph an area of the sky that is larger than a single CCD or film photograph can cover, or to systematically survey sections of the sky (as when searching for comets or asteroids).

 

 

 

 

Photo Overlays

 

  • Overlay your CCD/CMOS or other photos directly on the Sky Chart.

 

 

 

High Resolution Star Charts

 

  • Export high-resolution (vector- and raster-based) star charts.

 

 

 

View Digitized Sky Survey Photos

 

  • Access Digitized Sky Survey photos from the web or using the RealSky or Digitized Sky Survey media-based formats.

 

Advanced Paramount Periodic Error Correction

  • After collecting tracking log data using the Cameras module*, TheSky Professional can determine an optimal periodic error correction curve for Paramount mounts that do not have absolute on-axis encoders.  The periodic error can be corrected to about one arc second or less.

 

* TheSky Professional, the Cameras+ module and the TPoint module are included standard with all Paramount mounts.

 

 

Cameras+ Module (optional)

 

  • This optional software module features macOS and Windows CCD/CMOS/DSLR camera control, with extensive autoguiding features, as well as focuser, rotator, filter wheel and other devices control..  

 

Learn more >

 

 

 

Automated Telescope Pointing Calibration (optional)

 

Automated telescope pointing calibration makes collecting your TPoint pointing calibration data a breeze.*

 

*Requires the optional Cameras+ module and the optional TPoint module; both are included with all Paramount mounts.

 

 

 

Dome Control (optional)

 

The optional Domes module keeps the dome aligned with the telescope.

 

 

Databases Module (optional)

 

The optional TheSky Professional Databases Module includes larger star and other object databases:

 

  • TheSky's Large Gaia DR3 database includes 1.8 billion stars 115 GB. A smaller 110 million star small Gaia database is included standard with TheSky Pro.

  • 10x Palomar Digitized Sky Survey includes digitized photos of the entire celestial sphere at 1.7 arcseconds per pixel.  (This data can be also be accessed via the web.)

  • APASS Data Release 9.

 

 

 

 

Multi-OS+(optional)

 

The optional Multi-OS+ module gives you the freedom to run TheSky Professional on all of the following operating systems:

 

  • macOS

  • Windows

  • Linux ARM32, ARM64, and x64 architectures