The Object Info view shows a variety of information about the selected object. The exact information displayed depends upon the type of object you have selected (e.g. a star, planet, deep sky object, etc). For hundreds of the brightest stars, planets, and deep sky objects, the Object Info view also displays English-language descriptions and images of the object. Other controls let you center the object in the sky chart, slew or align your telescope to the object, or - in SkySafari Plus and Pro - go into orbit around the object!
In SkySafari Plus and Pro, when you're in orbit around another solar system object, the Object Info view provides all information about an object as it is seen from your perspective in orbit. For example, it gives the constellation in which the object appears, and the object's visual magnitude and distance, as seen from your simulated location in space - not as seen from Earth.
At a minimum, SkySafari displays the following information for the object you selected:
Names - the object's proper name, and any alternate names by which it is commonly known.
Catalog Numbers - the object's numerical designation(s) in the catalogs of stars and deep sky objects most commonly used by astronomers. The object's best-known catalog numbers are listed first.
Description - the type of the object, and the constellation that it appears in.
Apparent Size or Separation- how large the object appears in the sky, or the component separation for double stars; measured in arcminutes (') or arcseconds ("). The full moon appears about 30 arcminutes across. Double stars are typically separated by a few arcseconds.
Visual Magnitude - how bright the object appears in the sky; smaller numbers imply a brighter object. Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, is magnitude -1.44; the faintest stars visible to the naked eye are about magnitude +6.5.
Distance - the distance to the object, if it is known. For solar system objects, the distance is displayed in miles, kilometers, or Astronomical Units; 1 AU is the distance from the Earth to the Sun, or about 149.6 million km. For stars and deep sky objects, the distance is given in light years or parsecs. One light year, the distance light travels in a year, is about 63,300 AU. One parsec is the distance from which the Earth's orbit appears 1 arcsecond in radius, and equals about 3.26 light years, or 206,265 AU.
RA and Dec - the object's Right Ascension and Declination describe its position in the Equatorial coordinate system used with printed star atlases. The Equatorial coordinate system rotates with the Earth, so the object's RA and Dec do not change (unless the object itself is moving!)
Azimuth and Altitude - the object's coordinates in the local Horizon coordinate system describe its current position in the sky. As the Earth turns, the object appears to move across the sky, so these coordinates change even if the object itself is not moving.
Rise and Set Times - when the object appears on the horizon for the current local day. For the Sun and Moon, rise/set times are when the upper limb of the visible disk appears on the horizon. Depending on your current latitude, and the object's declination, the object may not set (e.g. Polaris seen from the northern hemisphere); or it may not rise (e.g. the Sun from Antarctica in winter). Due to varying atmospheric conditions and local horizon obstruction, rise/set times should only be considered accurate to about a minutes.
Transit Time - if the object is visible from your location on the current date, the transit time is when the object crosses the meridian and appears highest in the sky.
Angular Separation - SkySafari Plus and Pro show the object's angular separation and position angle from the Sun, from the last object you selected, and from the chart center.
The Object Info view contains a Description button. This shows an English-language description, along with images, for several hundred of the brightest and best-known stars and deep sky objects. You can tap on image links within the descriptions to display full-screen images of the object. If your selected object has no description, this Description button not appear.
On iPads and Android tablets, the object's description (if it has one!) will appear along side its numerical information. There is no Description button. On iPads and other tablets, images are displayed in-line with the object descriptions. As on phones or other devices with smaller screens, you can tap on image links embedded in the descriptions to show full-screen versions of these images.
Along the bottom of the Object Info view are other buttons which let you center the object in the sky chart, go into orbit around it, slew your telescope to the object, or align the scope on the object.
Center: this button centers the object in the sky chart. See the Center button Help for more information.
If you are using your device's gyroscope or compass/altimeter, then tapping the Center button will not center the selected object directly. Instead, an arrow appears, leading you toward the selected object. Move your phone in the direction of the arrow to center the object in the field of view. When the object is centered, the arrow disappears, and your phone will be pointing toward the object's position in the sky.
iOS Users Please Note: for best results with the compass, turn your phone sideways to landscape mode.
Orbit: this button lets you leave Earth and orbit the object, if it's a solar system object. See the Orbit button Help for more information. Please Note: this button is only present in SkySafari Plus on Pro!
GoTo and Align: If you have connected with a GoTo telescope using your mobile device's Wi-Fi or bluetooth capability, or with SkyWire, additional buttons appear. These let you slew (GoTo) the object with your telescope, or to Align your telescope on the object. See the Scope Control view for more information about this.
Add Object to Observing List: Tap this button to add the object to an observing list. If you only have one observing list, the object will be added to that list. If you have more than one list, SkySafari will let you choose which list you want to add the object to.
Please Note: This feature is only available in SkySafari Plus and Pro.