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Questions about the Gregorian calendar, Orion Special Edition vs Pro, and contacting support

Originally from ticket #6520.

Hi,

I'm considering purchasing Starry Night Pro 6 but first want to understand better what I'd be getting in order to be sure it meets my needs.

I'll be looking way back in time and way forward in time and SN Pro 6 claims to do that. It's the issue of calendar dates that leads to my questions.

1) For studying the Orion Correlation Theory in, say, 10500 BC do I simply enter 10500 BC and the software gives me a snapshot of the skies in 10500 BC ?

If so, is that 10500 BC on the Gregorian calendar applied retroactively or the Julian calendar applied retroactively or some other time count that would require converting ? I checked the Common Issues page and didn't see a clear answer.

Or do I enter the number of years backward from today and the software takes it from there ? In other words, would I enter 12511 years ago to look at 10500 BC which would effectively be a Gregorian calendar date because 2012 on the Gregorian calendar is where the backward count began from ?

2) What does the Orion Special Edition cover that SN Pro 6 doesn't ?

3) What does the $60 Pro upgrade add or fix ? Maybe I wouldn't need it.

4) Is there ever anyone in the office manning the Customer Service and Technical Support lines ?

Thank you ...

Forrest Aston

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    Keiron Smith

    Hi Forrest,

    Thank you for contacting Starry Night Support. My name is Keiron, and I'm here to help.

    1) Yes, just enter the date and Starry Night will reposition all celestial events as they would have been seen from that location, at that time. Its not just a snapshot, however. Your time and location is interactive. You can pan/scroll through the sky, go to planets, etc.

    2) Starry Night uses the old Julian calendar for all dates before Oct. 15, 1582, and the Gregorian calendar for all dates more recent than this. The dates Oct. 5-Oct. 14, 1582 do not exist in Starry Night, to account for the ten days which were skipped when the new calendar was introduced.

    3) Orion Special Edition is a basic version of Starry Night. Its greatest feature/asset is the telescope control. Orion SE does not have anything that is not also in Pro. But, Pro has tons of features/databases/interactives/etc that are not in Orion SE. Orion SE is the same as the Complete Space and Astronomy Program (but includes telescope control). See these KB articles here:

    The full list of KB articles for comparing programs:

    https://support.simulationcurriculum.com/forums/20450041-comparing-starry-night-products

    These two articles show what features and databases are included in Pro and *not* in Enthusiast. The same will be true for Pro vs Orion SE.

    https://support.simulationcurriculum.com/entries/21179213-pro-plus-6-pro-6-vs-enthusiast-6-features

    https://support.simulationcurriculum.com/entries/20698387-pro-plus-6-pro-6-vs-enthusiast-6-databases

    If you have Orion SE and are considering upgrading to Pro, the difference is quite significant. I think, however, given your line of questioning, you may have to upgrade to Pro because Orion SE and Enthusiast do not go backwards in time beyond 4,713 BC. In order to plot 10500 BC you will need Starry Night Pro (or Pro Plus).

    4) Line 3 - Technical phone support is reserved for College/University IT departments and consumer tickets that have first been reviewed and then escalated. You have this ticket with me. I am confident we can resolve any issue/question or concern that you might encounter. If the phone is required, I will call you.

    Line 4 - Michele answers the phone for customer support during the day (and calls back if it is missed).

    Let me know if this helps, and/or need anything else. If you decide to upgrade, purchase with confidence.

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