Features

Voyager III with Hipparcos and Tycho

Between November 1989 to March 1993 the European Space Agency's satellite, Hipparcos, circled the Earth. From above the atmosphere, it measured the position and brightness of the stars, returning the most precise data ever obtained. Star positions were measured to an accuracy .001 seconds of arc and star magnitudes to .001. The results of this survey are the new Hipparcos and Tycho star catalogs.
The new Voyager III includes the Hipparcos and Tycho catalogs. They provide unmatched precision data on over 1 million stars. Using new color index and magnitude data, each Voyager III sky chart is an accurate and complete representation of the real sky showing the variations in star brightness and color.
The Hipparcos and Tycho catalogs also provide the most accurate parallax measurements ever obtained. Using this new distance data, Voyager III lets you leave the confines of the solar system and navigate to the stars.

Using Voyager III

Voyager III is nearly a complete rewrite of the program. The new interface is streamlined and powerful. In general you will use the main menu bar less often. Tabbed panels provide quick access to most controls, and important actions like scrolling, centering, zooming, and changing the magnitude limits can be done in multiple ways. Many actions, like changing the time or location, can be done dynamically so you see the results immediately.
There is a good selection of common chart controls, but we have not allowed button bars to cover half the screen. The sky display is rich and subtle. You can customize colors, fonts, text size, line patterns, and region fills.

Customizing the Sky

Voyager III allows you to simultaneously view the sky from different locations and at different times. In separate windows you can compare a solar eclipse seen from London, Munich, Budapest, and the surface of the moon. One window can show the Earth and Moon seen from Saturn. A second window looks back from the Earth to see the ringed planet and its moons. Compare the position of Polaris in ancient Egypt, in the sky tonight, and at the start of the third millennium in 3000 AD.
Position yourself anywhere on the Earth, travel to any location in the solar system, or journey to a nearby star. You can continuously vary the location and dynamically see the changing view of the planets and night sky. Customize the solar system by selecting entire families of asteroids or comets to view. Display each planet showing phase, orientation, detailed surface markings, and the orbits of the major satellites. Animate the motion of the planets with impressive speed to see the eccentric orbit of Pluto, the retrograde loops of Mars, or the shifting tail of a comet as it races past the Sun. And the motions of the sky and paths of planets eclipses, conjunctions, simulations can be captured and played back as QuickTime movies.
A new horizon editor enables you to create complex horizon profiles shown against the changing colors of sunset and twilight. You can customize the horizon area to match your local landscape. Add trees, hills, and houses to create a profile that shows your particular view of the sky.
Voyager III gives you control of essentially every detail of the display. The star charts may be adjusted in contrast, color, brightness, and magnitude to show color and spectral type. The font, size, and color of labels and graduation can be easily changed. Individual constellations can be highlighted, framed, or filled. You can select constellation lines to show the simple geometry of major stars group. or choose more elaborate patterns suggestive of the constellation figures. Voyager III has over 44 new mythological outlines including all of the classic constellations.

More Clusters and and more Galaxies

The deep sky database has been expanded to over 64.000 objects from the NGC, IC, and PGC catalogs. A new double contour of the Milky Way and the major nebular regions includes over 100 contours of the most prominent bright and dark nebulae. Galaxies are displayed with proper scale and orientation, and when you zoom in on a brighter Messier object, it appears as a glowing nebula in the sky.

Telescope Control

Objects of interest can be stored in an observing list, and with the optional SkyPilot v3.0 software, you can direct your telescope to each object in turn. SkyPilot works with the popular line of computerized telescopes sold by Celestron and Meade Instruments, and with most encoder boxes.

Double and Variables

Voyager III include GCVS IV variable star light catalog. The double stars have been augmented with the new Hipparcos data to include 24.000 multiple systems, with animation of hundreds of binary star orbits.

Picture Gallery - Old and New

A picture gallery of over 1000 astronomical images including the renowned collections of David Malin. Included are the latest pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope, and many turn of the century photos from the archives of Lick Observatory. The pictures are compressed as JPEG images.

Educators and astronomers have recognized Voyager II as a powerful learning tool, and it has been adopted by many leading universities world wide for instruction in astronomy. Educational materials are now available. From mountain top observatories to backyard telescopes, Voyager II has become an indispensable tool for exploring the heavens. No other program offers the range of features, the ease of use, and the performance of Voyager II. It is an astronomical adventure which will provide years of wonder and discovery.