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There’s an App For That

A Starmap 2 screenshot. Courtesy Starmap.

A few years ago I got an interesting e-mail from a fellow who was expanding his astronomy app for iOS devices and wanted me to work on a set of narrated star tours to play as part of the app. We chatted back and forth about the extent of the project, and eventually I found myself writing 31 short scripts for the tours. The app is called Starmap, and I’ve really had a lot of fun working on the project. So much so that I want to share some thoughts about it here.

Here it is, a couple of years later, and there’s a new version available, called Starmap 2. And, now I’m working with the developer again to get the word out about this next-generation version. It works on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and soon will be available on Apple TV, which should be pretty cool.

A Starmap 2 screen shot showing planetary info

As an app user myself, I’m always interested in new “toys” for the devices. In particular, I’ve looked at a lot of computer programs and apps that give you star charts and other goodies to help you learn the sky. I have a bunch of them on my iPhone and iPad, just so I can see “whats out there.” They seem to come in a wide range of prices, from free to overpriced. And, the quality range is pretty wide, too. There are good free and paid apps, and there are bad ones. Some of the free apps are markedly better than some of the pay ones, although there are some very nice paid apps that are well worth the money.

Starmap 2 is one of the nicest I’ve seen, if I do say so myself! It’s pretty in its design, and easy to use. And, the good news: it’s a free download. Just head over to Star-map.fr and click on the App Store link to get started. It comes with a number of useful features in the free version, which is designed to give the user just what is needed for stargazing while using a device outdoors. There are stars out to magnitude 10, all the planets, constellation outlines, one star tour plus an animated tutorial. You can set your location quickly and be outside stargazing just a few minutes after you download and install the app. Want to know what that bright star is overhead? The chart will tell. A quick tap on the star in the chart brings up a little data box that gives you more information. It doesn’t get easier than that, which is why I like Starmap 2. (And, I’d say that even if I wasn’t working on it!)

Expanding the Universe of Starmap 2

Constellation information screen shot.

I’ve noticed a marked trend toward free apps for all kinds of devices, with in-app purchases enabled. As long as the app is fairly well-featured, I don’t mind that I might have to pay something to download an expansion or something like that. Starmap 2 has in-app purchases that are designed to let the user customize the experience. For example, once you’re comfortable stargazing, you might decide you want more databases. There’s a download area that lets you update the app to a version that as additional databases for deep-sky objects, comets, asteroids, and satellites. The full update is $14.99 and it’s well worth it. I’ve seen more expensive competitor apps out there with fewer features. You can also a purchase all the animated star tours, or a telescope controller that works with most major computerized scopes.

Share Your Thoughts

I’ve often thought about who uses these apps. In my mind’s eye, I see a family out there doing some stargazing with Starmap in chart mode, checking out the stars and planets. Or, maybe a teacher, using it to acquaint him or herself with the sky before teaching an astronomy unit in the classroom. Certainly I’ve run across colleagues in the planetarium community who use this app for a variety of reasons, and I know of many amateur observers who have the upgraded versions as one of their essential stargazing tools. I talk to some of them on the Starmap Facebook page (you’re welcome to come visit!). If you’re a Starmap user, I’d love to hear from you about how you use it. I’m getting ready to write a few lessons and curriculum outlines for teachers who want an easy intro to the stars for their students, and all the feedback you can send via the Facebook page will be gratefully accepted. Or, if you like, write to me at carolyn.petersen at star-map dot fr and share your thoughts there.

Mars Scientists Keep Finding Evidence for Water: This is Good!

These dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks called recurring slope lineae flowing downhill on Mars are inferred to have been formed by contemporary flowing water. Recently, planetary scientists detected hydrated salts on these slopes at Hale crater, corroborating their original hypothesis that the streaks are indeed formed by liquid water. The blue color seen upslope of the dark streaks are thought not to be related to their formation, but instead are from the presence of the mineral pyroxene. The image is produced by draping an orthorectified (Infrared-Red-Blue/Green(IRB)) false color image (ESP_030570_1440) on a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) of the same site produced by High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (University of Arizona). Vertical exaggeration is 1.5. Credits: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona — These dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks called recurring slope lineae flowing downhill on Mars are inferred to have been formed by contemporary flowing water. Recently, planetary scientists detected hydrated salts on these slopes at Hale crater, corroborating their original hypothesis that the streaks are indeed formed by liquid water. The blue color seen upslope of the dark streaks are thought not to be related to their formation, but instead are from the presence of the mineral pyroxene.
Credits: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

While I was on travel this past week, the Mars water announcement occurred. It set off a lot of interest among people interested in Mars science, plus a bunch of commentary about “what, again?” somehow implying that we only need one announcement of Mars water and that’s that. There were worse reactions, including an incredibly stupid one from a so-called “entertainment” radio talk show host who claimed the announcement was a leftist hoax.

So, I just thought I’d tell you that science doesn’t work the way some people think it does. It’s not a leftist or rightist hoax. Although, I can certainly understand how an undereducated oaf who probably flunked his “Rocks for Jocks” class in college might think so. Particularly one who has made a career of hoaxing radio audiences for years.

Let’s take the Mars water discovery. It’s not just one discovery. It’s many small steps that add up to a final confirmation of water on the Red Planet. Mars is not a place where you can just look at it and see shimmering lakes of water. The place makes you work for your discoveries. Since nobody has walked on the planet and seen it “up close and personal”, we don’t have the same first-person evidence that you get here on Earth. Here, you can simply walk up to the lake or river or ocean, put your hand into it and get it wet. You know it’s water. You can take samples, measure it, figure out what minerals are dissolved in it, and so on.

You can also see what water DOES on our planet first-hand. Just go visit some geological formations near your home and learn about how they came to be. I just drove through several canyonland areas in the U.S. Southwest, with many landforms carved, deposited, and cemented by water. There are rocks and minerals that need water to exist the way they are. Geologists have figured this out, and you can learn from their work.

Studying Water on Mars

Dark narrow streaks, called "recurring slope lineae," emanate from the walls of Garni Crater on Mars, in this view constructed from observations by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. — Dark narrow streaks, called “recurring slope lineae,” emanate from the walls of Garni Crater on Mars, in this view constructed from observations by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

On Mars, we don’t have the luxury—yet—of being able to touch the land or feel for the water. So, we use our robotic probes to test the surface rocks, image the landforms, and do chemistry tests on the rocks that are on the surface. Imaging shows us forms that look like they were formed by water. The chemistry tests give more data pointing toward the existence of water on Mars.

So, each time that an experiment on Mars has proven the existence of water in the samples and images, the finding is announced. And, it should be. Each test is a step toward proving that water is part of Mars (and has been). And, each step has been announced, also as it should be. This is the way science works — and taxpayers who whine about how “scientists are always finding water on Mars” — are showing their ignorance of the process they’re paying for. They should be happy that scientists ARE telling us about each step of the process that it takes to determine the existence and amounts of water on Mars. This is also how science works.

The next steps will be to figure out more about the water, which may (I stress MAY) give us some clue about whether or not life ever existed on the planet. There’s no proof that it did, or didn’t. That will take more investigative science. Which is also how science works.

Want to read more about the science of Mars exploration? Here are some links, from people who are doing the science.

Journey to Mars

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

NASA and Mars

The more you know, the better you’ll understand the scientific process of Mars exploration.

The Spacewriter's Ramblings

Digital Star Exploration

There’s an App For That

Expanding the Universe of Starmap 2

Share Your Thoughts

How Science Works: Mars Edition

Mars Scientists Keep Finding Evidence for Water: This is Good!

Exploring Science and the Cosmos