Desktop Universe Software

                             UK Price £ 175 including VAT and postage

                               Click here for  Main Sequence  website

THE REMARKABLE DESKTOP UNIVERSE TM PROGRAM IS :

An historical document of the Earth's Night Sky: that will take its place in history as the first Complete Total Sky Amateur Survey. It took Canadian amateur astronomers Peter Ceravolo and Doug George  over  five years to image the entire night sky. They took over 20,000 CCD images from Curtin Springs in Outback Australia, and Sunglow Ranch in Southeastern Arizona. These images were taken at various times of the year.  In many cases multiple sessions were required due to poor weather.

A work of  Art:  this program shows the beauty of the EARTH'S night sky in full color. Galaxies, Stars, Nebulae, and Deep Sky objects are depicted as the truly appear not as graphical representations. This presentation allows one to explore the entire night sky in an easily navigated planetarium format.

A technical feat worthy of  Worldwide Recognition and Acclaim:  The history of Astronomy is dotted with failed All Sky Survey attempts. The planning and execution of an all Sky Survey requires extensive time and work. There is currently a professional digital sky survey underway called the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The following shows all of the resources required to undertake such a project.

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is a joint project of The University of Chicago, Fermilab, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Japan Participation Group, The Johns Hopkins University, the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Max-Planck-Institute for Astronomy (MPIA), the Max-Planck-Institute for Astrophysics (MPA), New Mexico State University, Princeton University, the United States Naval Observatory, and the University of Washington. Funding for the project has been provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Participating Institutions, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Japanese Monbukagakusho, and the Max Planck Society.

An all-sky survey  requires carefully tailored equipment. Apogee Instruments provided an AP9E CCD camera, with a 3072 x 2048 array of 9 micron pixels. A custom lens system provided low distortion and zero vignetting. The system was automated with a fully custom GOTO mount, electronics and software.The Desktop Universe  project was undertaken and completed  by amateurs.

Desktop Planetarium is an accurate representation of the state of imaging technology possessed amateur astronomers at the end of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century. Both Peter Ceravolo and Doug George deserve high praise and acclaim for bringing the universe to all of us in a beautiful, unique and useful form.

THE ASTRONOMERS

Peter Ceravolo has extensive experience with optical and mechanical design and fabrication. He has constructed optical systems ranging from astrographic telescopes to space optics. He is known for popularizing both Maksutov-Newtonian telescopes and the use of optical interferometry for testing amateur-class telescopes. Peter was responsible for the bulk of the imaging work undertaken for Desktop Universe.

Douglas George is a Professional Engineer with experience in analog and digital electronics design, sensor design, EMI analysis and protection, digital signal processing, image processing, embedded systems, and Windows software. He is known for creating the MaxIm DL imaging software. Doug was responsible for developing custom hardware and software for the Desktop Universe imaging system, and managing the mosaic compilation and application development.

DESKTOP UNIVERSE™ puts you in control of the sky:

·         See the sky in full color

·         Zoom out to a full hemisphere view, or zoom in to see a telescopic view

·         Roam around the sky at any zoom level

·         See actual deep-sky objects, not just symbols

·         Extensive stellar and deep-sky databases

·         Includes overlays, object identification and information, and object search

·         Seamless integration with MaxIm DL imaging software

·         Compatible with Astronomer's Control Panel automation and Internet observing software