An email today from Tim Benedictus at Southern Stars... After CarinaSoft going pear-shaped, and Voyager for Mac/PC subsequently going south - we have a replacement in the works. YAY!
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April NEAF Specials from Southern Stars
Southern Stars will exhibit at the Northeast Astronomy Forum (NEAF) on April 16-17 in Suffern, New York. We'll be demoing our SkySafari apps, as well as our SkyWire and SkyFi telescope control accessories. We'll also be demonstrating some brand new products, including SkySafari version 3 for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch, and a brand new SkySafari for Mac OS X. Yes, SkySafari will soon run on your Mac!
As a prelude to NEAF, we're offering special April pricing on our SkySafari apps and SkyWire telescope control accessory:
SkySafari Lite $1.99 (regularly $2.99)
SkySafari $11.99 (regularly $14.99)
SkySafari Expansion Pack $2.99 (regularly $4.99)
SkyWire Serial Accessory $59.95 (regularly $79.95)
Telescope Serial Cables $19.95 (regularly $29.95)
NEAF special prices start now, and continue through April 18th, 2011.
S&T SkyWeek for Android
Southern Stars is pleased to announce the imminent release of our first product for Android smartphones: S&T SkyWeek for Android. Developed in conjunction with Sky & Telescope Magazine, S&T SkyWeek for Android is a follow-up to 2010's S&T SkyWeek app for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch. The app is based on Sky & Telescope's popular Sky at a Glance website column. But it goes beyond that: it gives you an interactive sky chart that tells you when and where to look to see each week's most exciting sky events.
S&T SkyWeek for Android will be released under Sky & Telescope’s account on the Android Marketplace. Stay tuned to www.skyandtelescope.com for further details.
We've Moved!
Southern Stars has moved to a newer, hipper, cooler office space located at 123 Tenth Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. Please use this new address for all physical mailings and shipments.
April has arrived - time to crack out the 'scope and check out those springtime galaxies! If you can get away from city lights, M81/M82 in Ursa Major are great targets for beginners. For more of a challenge, try M101 or M51 - the famous Whirlpool Galaxy.
Saturn reaches opposition on April 3rd - a "don't miss" opportunity for observers in cities and small towns alike. The Ringed Planet is ideally positioned for viewers all month, located in Virgo near the famous double star Porrima (Gamma Virginis). Porrima is a nearby binary star system with one of the most eccentric orbits known; it's a challenging object for small telescopes. Meanwhile, the Lyrid Meteor shower peaks on April 22nd.
NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has just settled into orbit around the planet Mercury. While Mercury is lost in the Sun's glare this April, armchair astronomers should expect new images and discoveries from the solar system's innermost planet. And, if all goes as planned, the space shuttle Endeavour will lift off on its final mission (STS-134) on April 19th. You can use SkySafari to find out when Endeavour will pass overhead!
Finally, April 2011 is Global Astronomy Month - a great time to share your passion for astronomy with others. We hope you'll get a chance to do so. Clear skies!
Looks like Sky Safari Mac is getting close to release. These are the first screenshots I've seen, and I like the cleaner look over that of the incumbent Voyager. I really hope that it hasn't lost functionality to its older sibling, and that it's just as capable. They speak of comparisons to their iDevice offerings, but don't seem to address their old customer base who still love Voyager for what it was.
It will certainly look more modern with new controls that don't look like they've come from System 9 days - these and the updated OpenGL smoothness that I really love on the iPad version.
I can't wait to get hold of it.
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SkySafari for Mac OS X
Southern Stars was one of the first developers of Mac desktop planetarium software. Now, after our success on the iPhone, we're going back to our roots! SkySafari's high-performance OpenGL astronomy engine, developed for the iPhone, absolutely screams on the Mac - and a full-sized monitor, mouse, and keyboard open up a universe of new possibilities.
We've redesigned SkySafari's interface from scratch for the Mac, using 100% native Cocoa OS X controls. We've streamlined the workflow to keep commonly-used functions handy, without sacrificing the power you've come to expect from our apps. And SkySafari's Plus and Pro versions include both wired and wireless telescope control!
Like our iPhone apps, SkySafari for Mac OS X will come in three versions:
SkySafari - our introductory version, with 120,000 stars and the 220 Messier/Caldwell deep sky objects.
SkySafari Plus - adds 2.5 million stars, 30,000 deep sky objects, and wired or wireless telescope control.
SkySafari Pro - adds 15 million stars, 740,000 deep sky objects, 550,000 solar system objects, and telescope control. For the obsessed observer who wants it all!
All versions include the same encyclopedic descriptive content and astronomical image gallery found in our iPhone apps, but with a higher resolution designed to fill your Mac's screen. SkySafari requires Mac OS X version 10.6 or higher.
SkySafari for Mac OS will be sold exclusively on the Mac App Store. Pricing has not yet been determined at this time, but will be similar to our iPhone app pricing. Availability is expected in late June, 2011, pending Apple's approval. We can notify you by email when SkySafari for Mac OS X ships!
Here are some screen shots from a pre-release version of SkySafari, running on a 13" MacBook Pro. (Note: screens pictured here may differ slightly from the final release).
Looks like Sky Safari Mac is getting close to release. These are the first screenshots I've seen, and I like the cleaner look over that of the incumbent Voyager. I really hope that it hasn't lost functionality to its older sibling, and that it's just as capable. They speak of comparisons to their iDevice offerings, but don't seem to address their old customer base who still love Voyager for what it was.
Hi, this is Bill from Southern Stars. Glad you guys are interested in the Mac version of SkySafari. The initial release will have a functionality similar to the iOS products. So there will be some Voyager functionality missing, but in other ways it will far surpass Voyager. Hope that helps.
I downloaded it no problems when they first announced it on their yahoo groups a few days ago. Today though there have been a couple of posts about how the downloads are slow or timing out, so I'd say there is an issue with their server or hosting service.
Hopefully it'll get sorted out within the next day or so.
After CarinaSoft going pear-shaped, and Voyager for Mac/PC subsequently going south - we have a replacement in the works. YAY! 
