Planetarium In A Box

Tom Thompson

REDSHIFT, Maris Multimedia, Ltd., 99 Monsell St., London E1 8AX, U.K., +44 71 488 1566; fax +44 71 702 0534, $99

Time and again, I'm impressed with the ingenuity of programmers, especially when they're given free reign with the huge amount of storage provided by a CD-ROM. Maris Multimedia has devised a CD-ROM (Mac and Windows versions are available) that functions as a planetarium-cum-sky chart-cum-sky atlas-cum-dictionary. When Redshift starts, it presents you with a realistic map of the night sky, keyed to the computer's clock and date. The program uses a catalog of 250,000 stars to accurately reproduce each one's color and position. Information on 40,000 deep-sky objects is also provided.

Clicking on a star gives you its SAO (Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory) number, p roper name, Bayer name, Flamsteed name, right ascension, declination, and a host of other information. Clicking on a button overlays the view with the constellations. An orbital mechanics engine positions the planets for anytime between 4000 B.C. and A.D. 11,000, using data from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. A menu choice gives you access to digitized photos of the planets, their moons, and interesting deep-sky objects (e.g., the Pleiades and the Orion nebula). Hypertext links in the photo gallery connect to entries in the Penguin Dictionary of Astronomy. A movie gallery has footage of noteworthy events, such as when the Lunar Excursion Module touched down on the moon.

One neat feature is the program's ability to place you in the vicinity of any planet in the solar system. You can zoom in or out, hang out around a planet's equatorial plane, or sweep up for a view over the polar regions. The 3-D planetary images are created from photo images returned by the Voyager spacecraft. It's awe-inspiring to wat ch Jupiter's Great Red Spot crawl across the planet, and abruptly one of the moons--Io--floats across the scene. Redshift is a technical achievement, serving up impressive views of the sky with amazing accuracy. Amateur astronomers will love this program.