Cartes du Ciel: Simply the best!

In the middle of the Internet boom around 1998 (i.e., when the net was accessible to everyone around the globe and downloads were a click away), I started my quest for the best astronomy software around. My budget was limited but I ended up testing a few software packages such as Starrynight Deluxe and Deepsky 1999. When testing the latter, I realized there was a command to launch a mysterious application called “Cartes du Ciel”. The French appeal (or Swiss to be precise) of this program inserted in a US based software was nothing but a proof of the Internet miracle.

I considered that if this program was interfaced with Deepsky1999, it must I’ve been a good one (i.e., why bothering interfacing with other software if it is not worth the effort, right?) So, I decided to download this application and give it a try. It was version 2.2 if do recall this correctly. At first sight, a good performer although a lack of fancy graphics such as those present in Starrynight or The Sky, but good enough to explore (why not, it’s FREE!).

After a few days of testing and finding my way around, I was astonished by the capabilities of this freeware application. It definitely was far more complete than Starrynight Backyard 3.0 which I finally bought a few months later, but not as good when it came to graphics (that is why I bought Starrynight, so yes,…I was obsessed with the graphics).

Time went by and the developer, Patrick Chevalley, made the big hit. With version 2.7, graphics were dramatically improved. The result: It was finally the best application around!

With 2.7, I decided that my search was over and no extra money should be spent because as incredible as it may sound, this program was FREE and by far much more reliable, stable and complete than commercially available programs. We are now with version 2.76 (and anytime soon, the largely awaited version 3) and guess what: The only planetarium software still installed on my laptop for field use is Cartes du Ciel which by the way, I still interface with DAS (formerly Deepsky99).

What I like: Almost unlimited catalogs and easy downloads; sky images available for download (and merged into charts); ease of use; will run on slow PCs; the most stable telescope interface I have ever tried; overall performance.

What I do not like: Scrolling around is not as simple as with Starrynight.

In conclusion, this software is simply the best around and clearly underrated by several reviews out there that for some reason do not give it 5 stars. OK, maybe it is because of the paradigm that FREE software cannot beat commercial ones. Allow me to make a clear statement on this: This IS a 5 STAR software. Period.

Added:  Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Reviewer:  Guillermo Yanez
Score:
Related Link:  Cartes du Ciel
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