SkyChart 2000.0 is a program for calculating and displaying the appearance of the night sky. It will run on any Macintosh with a math coprocessor. That includes Mac IIs, Centris 650s, Quadras, and LCs with math coprocessors. SkyChart 2000.0 requires at least 2048K of memory to run, and is both System 6 and System 7 compatible.
The files that should be included with this SkyChart 2000.0 distribution are:
• The SkyChart 2000.0 application;
• A SkyChart 2000.0 document called “Sky Data”;
• A text file called “Nearby Stars 1950.txt”;
• A text file called “Asteroids & Comets 1950.txt”;
• This "SkyChart 2000.0 README" file;
• The SkyChart 2000.0 Manual, in Microsoft Word format.
• A folder called "for Macs w/o FPUs" containing 2 items:
- an application called "SkyChart 2000.0 (no FPU)";
- a smaller "Sky Data" file.
Please note that SkyChart 2000.0 is shareware. Feel free to give away as many copies as you like, but if you use the program frequently, please register your copy by sending the shareware fee, $20.00 (US) to the author at the following address:
Tim DeBenedictis
229 Commonwealth Av.
Boston MA 02116
internet: timmyd@benz.mit.edu
After then end of August 1993, I'll be moving, and you should send the shareware fee instead to:
Tim DeBenedictis
306 Kensington Pl.
Syracuse, NY 13210
The e-mail address above will still be good, however.
NOTE FOR SoftwareFPU USERS
For owners of Macs without FPUs, SoftwareFPU is commonly-used system extension, available as shareware, which emulates a real math co-processor. SkyChart 2000.0
seems to be incompatible with SoftwareFPU, however— it needs a real, hardware FPU.
As a workaround, I've recompiled the SkyChart 2000.0 source code into a version that does not require an FPU. This version is located in the folder called "for Macs w/o FPUs." However, while this version should run on any Macintosh, it is VERY SLOW. Loading the complete Sky Data file takes ~2 minutes on a Mac LC , and
drawing the screen takes 15-20 seconds. Because of this, I've included a smaller "Sky Data" file for "SkyChart 2000.0 (no FPU)" in the "for Macs w/o FPUs" folder. It contains many fewer objects than the full "Sky Data" file (the brightest 300 or so stars, down to magnitude 3.5; the sun, moon, and major planets; and no deep sky objects), but it should allow the program to run at a more reasonable speed.
NOTE FOR POWERBOOK USERS
Animation requires pressing and holding the command key and either the plus or minus key on the numeric keypad portion of the keyboard. Both the Standard and Extended Apple keyboards have numeric keypads, but PowerBooks don't. (Sorry; if I'd realized that I would have used a different key combination.) Here is a workaround: to animate backward, you can use the minus key on the main portion of the keyboard. To animate forward, use the same minus key, but first select "Animation..." from the "Settings" menu, and enter a negative number in the "Time Step: " field of the dialog box.
