- 2001.08.23
This is the first in a series of reviews of planetarium software
for the Macintosh, with emphasis on its use in schools. Planetarium
software, at a minimum, simulates the appearance of the night sky
given certain parameters such as the date, time, and observer
location.
System Requirements
- Power Mac, 90 MHz or faster
- 16 MB RAM
- 4x CD-ROM
- 680x480 display, 256 colors
- Internet connection for full functionality
Overview
At one point in time, RedShift was the premier planetarium program
for the Mac or the PC, offering the most versatile feature set and
the best looking simulations available. Flaws in the earlier 1.x and
2.x releases were corrected in the 3.0 release, but good luck finding
a copy of the program. Maris has completely abandoned the Mac
platform. RedShift used to be included in the Apple education
software packages, but it has since been replaced by Starry Night. If
you can find a copy of the software on eBay,
it's a good value if you pay less then $10 for it. While the
mechanism for Internet updates still seems to be in place, I was
never successful in getting it to display any data due to lack of
response from Maris's outdated and slow Web servers.
Why review an obsolete program? Because RedShift for the PC is
currently on sale at version 4, and is still being marketed. This
review is of the latest Mac version in existence, version 3, last
published 3 years ago in 1998.
Cost
Maris no longer publishes RedShift for the Mac as far as I can
tell (see below). To purchase this product you will need to search
for it on eBay and can probably get it for $10 or less.
Publisher/web site
Maris, www.Maris.com
Note: Netscape 4.x loads the pages slowly due to background
graphics being Netscape-unfriendly. Explorer loads normally.
The links to purchase the older versions of the software do not
work. If the vendor is identifiable, a visit to the vendor's site
(such as www.learningco.com) shows they do not carry the product.
(This is a problem for PC users wishing to find an older version as
well.) In general, the Web site is poorly maintained, slow loading,
and offers no way to immediately purchase the product. It is implied
that older versions are still available, but no mechanism is
available to purchase them. Furthermore, RedShift is at version 4 for
the PC but is stuck at version 3 for the Mac. Maris is not planning
(or even thinking) about a port of the version 4 software to the Mac,
in either Classic or OS X mode.
Test Activities
Ease of sky navigation
This function is improved somewhat with a more versatile and
controllable interface for moving one's position, direction, and so
on. It takes an annoyingly large number of clicks to get from one
place to another or to change modes, obviously a holdover from the
program's PC origins. The find object feature works well but
lacks any animation to show you how the point of view shifts; you
simply click OK and you're there.
Mac-like interface
Although greatly improved from the 1.x and 2.x versions of the
software, the interface still requires users to memorize a series of
icons which look alike to be able to control the program. Many
buttons appear to be 16-bit drawings similar to what appear in many
DOS games, and take time to learn to interpret. The controls window
is now more configurable and takes up less screen real estate overall
than the old version. It is more difficult to switch to "follow
planet" mode, which still makes you lose all current settings. The
function still exists, but unfortunately does not recognize the
"undo" command, so you can still send yourself off to deep space
without knowing how you got there or how to get back. Overall, the
program's interface is obviously a faithful port of a Windows
application, complete with all the negative connotations that brings
along with it.
Appearance of Objects
This
illustration of Jupiter shows that RedShift's handling of extended
objects is dated. This static image of Jupiter's surface clearly
shows the Great Red Spot (lower left), but the fuzzy area just to the
right of center is where the digital image used to make this model of
the planet didn't match up quite right so they blurred the image to
avoid having a line stand out. Also, the image of the planet in
full-screen mode is almost lumpy, which is definitely not the case
with real photos of the giant planet.
Draw an Analemma
An analemma is a relatively obscure astronomy term referring to
the figure 8 shape the sun makes in the earth's sky if observed every
day at exactly the same time of day. These figures were often made on
the side of older globes. In order to draw an analemma, you must be
able to trail behind images of the sun relative to the horizon over
the course of a year. All trail images in RedShift 3 are relative to
the stars, regardless of any other settings you may make; so it is
not easy to draw an analemma in the sky relative to the horizon with
this version of the software. I have successfully done this with
earlier versions, however.
Define Horizon
RedShift 3 does not allow one to create a customized horizon to
show local geography, buildings, or trees.
Show Jupiter's moons
RedShift identifies Jupiter's moons using its filter panel. The
moons' labels are easily read and can be used to identify the moons
in a small telescope. However, the images in a telescope are often
reversed from what they appear to be in the sky, and there is no
option to simulate a telescopic view in RedShift. Neither can you
generate a chart over time similar to what appears in Sky and
Telescope each month, providing positions plotted against time.
Measure angular separation
There is no function in RedShift for measuring the angular
separation between objects or for selecting two objects
simultaneously, an essential tool in using simulator software for
generating data for simulated experiments.
Adding objects to the database
RedShift 3, unlike its predecessors, allows the user to add
asteroids, comets, and satellites to its database so you can keep the
database current or experiment with orbital parameters. This is a
great improvement over earlier versions, but does require some
technical expertise to use correctly.
Ability to remote-control telescopes
RedShift has no ability to control telescopes or follow their
motion by remote control. In all fairness, such functions only became
widely popular after this version of RedShift was published.
Realistic sky
Sunrise and sunset effects are improved, and zooming in on objects
now reveals photographs instead of drawings in many cases. While not
the best sky simulator on the market today, RedShift at least gives
you a feel for what the sky is like.
Constellations
Constellations are depicted as either lines or drawings. The
drawings are crudely executed, in contrast to the images of the
constellations displayed in the program's opening splash screen. The
images often overlap, as shown in this illustration of Cygnus, the
Swan.
Ephemerides
The ephemerides, or tables of data, provided by RedShift for an
object contain all the usual things like coordinates and time of day.
A new feature is helpful charts showing the change in position over
time. Ephemerides are printable, which is useful for simulated
experiments. There is, however, no feature allowing one to either
export or select and copy that data.
Sky Charts
While the Sky Charts function prints a useful header at the top of
each page, the ability of the user to control the look and feel of
the charts is severely limited. This is an essential function for
planetarium software, as one of its primary uses is for planning a
night observing. For example, in my test print the sky came out white
with black stars, with apparently no way to control the background or
print the inverse.
Other Features
Compared to most other software of this type, RedShift inherits
its CD-ROM origins by being mostly self-contained. Extensive
tutorials and online resources such as the Penguin Dictionary of
Astronomy still provide useful information, although of course the
software does not reflect the very latest discoveries in
astronomy.
PC Version Differences
The version 4 update includes more and expanded star catalogs,
some new calculation algorithms, and updates to the various disk
resources such as the online astronomy dictionary. However, the basic
functionality of the program appears to be unaltered. Since there is
no Mac version of this software in version 4, I had to settle for the
information listed on Maris' web site.
Conclusion
I have included RedShift in this series of reviews only for the
sake of completeness and because many schools may have the earlier
version and may consider attempting to upgrade.
What used to be my favorite sky simulator for the Mac has now
become my least favorite. After only three years, RedShift's feature
set lags far behind other modern astronomy simulation packages.
Maris' complete lack of understanding of the Mac user, plus its
limited view of "interactive" astronomy education, limits the
usefulness of this product in a modern classroom. Although my school
has a classroom set of the version 1.x disks left over from our
initial opening, I will probably only use them as a last resort, as
Starry Night and other software does a much better job.
I cannot recommend you purchase it if you can find it new. If you
find a copy for a few bucks at a garage sale or wish to pursue it on
eBay, it is not totally without value, particularly its online tours,
dictionaries, and photo gallery. It is certainly a cut above many of
the free packages manufacturers dump in the box with cheap telescopes
and easily bests the crude PC software found in the tumble-bins at
CompUSA. If Maris is serious about the educational market, however,
it should revise this program to bring it up to date with its
competitors and make the interface more intuitive, provide for remote
telescope control, and add the tools that amateur astronomers and
educators need to make this the one program they have to have, for
both Mac and PC users.
Packages examined in this series
Jeff Adkins is a science teacher who isn't afraid to state his preferences in computing platforms. In his classroom he has everything from a beige All-in-One to a a G4 XServe, and they all work together nicely. He calls himself the "poster child for technology integration" in the classroom. He was the 2006 Outstanding Educator of the Year for the California Computer Using Educators (CUE) organization. He also maintains a site for astronomy teachers at www.AstronomyTeacher.com.
