Internet Tip # 9 - Moon and Stars - moon screensaver, moon background, starry night

If you're like me you like to look at the stars. But I also like to know the names of the different stars and to know whether or not I'm looking at a planet or star, and I like to know when it is going to be a full moon and what time the moon will rise and when the sun will set.

Moon Phase

Moon Phase Calender

http://www.stardate.org/nightsky/moon/ - This site will show you the current phase the moon is in for the month. It shows you a picture of the moon for the whole month, so you can know whether it is going to be a full moon or a new moon, etc.

Sunrise/Sunset/Moonrise/Moonset Time

The Old Farmer's Almanac Site

http://www.almanac.com/rise/ - Enter in your ZIP code and this site will tell you when the sun will rise and set and when the moon will rise and set.

Sun/Moon Calender

http://www.sunrisesunset.com/custom_srss_calendar.asp - This site is a little more difficult because you have to find a city that is near you and select it or enter in your latitude and longitude and understand GMT. But this site will afterward display a calender showing the sunrise/sunset/moonrise/moonset times for the whole month.

Tides

http://www.saltwatertides.com/pickpred.html - This is a great site. First you pick the state you want to know the tide times for. Then you select which Bay and which part of that Bay. Then you scroll down and select which month and what starting day and ending day you want for that month.

The website will then display the high tide and low tide times for the days you selected. It will also display the height in feet of the tides. In addition, it will display the sunrise/sunset/moonrise/moonset times and tell you how much of the moon's surface will be visible in the sky (99% to 100% means full moon).

Starry Night

The best astronomy program that shows me the exact position of the moon and stars is Starry night. They have many different versions with many different prices, but all you will need is the cheapest version, which is at the time of this writing $49.95. Unfortunately they no longer have a free trial at their website http://www.starrynight.com/

However, download.com still offers a free trial of version 3.1.2, which is the version I bought and currently use. http://www.download.com/3000-20-10066547.html?part=undefined&subj=dl&tag=button

StarMessage Screensaver

This screensaver shows you the moon in the exact phase it will be in that night. Whether it will be a crescent moon, a full moon, or a new moon, this screensaver will show it to you.

Go to: http://www.moonscreensaver.com/download.html

Phase of Moon Wallpaper

Phoon is a program that will change your desktop wallpaper to a picture of the current phase of the moon. I like to put the executable (phoon.exe) in my startup folder so that it starts every time I turn on the computer. dlc_b

Download

Sky Calender

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/sky_calendar.html - Website shows you what is happening in the night sky around the current date.