W. eWatson:
wrote:
I'd like to get a list of stars below mag 4 at a specific time of
night.
I need the az/el for them. The Sky 6 seems befuddled by this
attempt
with their Data Wizard. Maybe there's a freebie program that does
this.

P.S. I think there's a modestly price program that is something
like a
night sky planner for something like $50. I've forgotten the name.
SkyPlanner?

Paul Schlyter:
Why not write such a program yourself? It's not particularly
difficult.

That has to be the most ridiculous thing I have read here in a long
time, including /anything/ I have read about flat Earths, 6000 y.o.
Universes, non-orbiting planets, a Poughkeepsie-centric Universe, and
the Earth's 27-3/4 hour rotation period.

"I think I'll go out and buy a Rolex." "They're very small and it can't
be difficult for the average person to build one from scratch. Why not
make such a watch yourself?"

"I need a new car." "Why buy one when you can mine some ores, cast and
bore an engine block, machine, mold, or extrude, or otherwise fabricate
a few thousand other metal parts, make some plastics and safety glass,
manufacture some fibers and weave them for upholstery, refine some raw
latex from Malaysia to make the tires, cobble together some light bulbs
and a few other parts, and just make such a car yourself? It's not
particularly difficult?"

"I'm hungry for a steak and baked potato, maybe with some sour cream."
"You should buy a cattle ranch, which you can do just about anywhere.
You ought to go to Idaho or Maine to get your potato farm. I would
recommend buying your dairy farm in Wisconsin. So why not produce your
own steak and potato with sour cream? It's not particularly difficult.
You can easily enough make yourself a porcelain plate and some
flatware. I assume you know how to harvest wood and make charcoal or
build a stove and oven."

The answer to your utterly ridiculous question and my brilliant and
mildly hyperbolic analogues is that it makes no sense for a consumer to
reinvent what someone else has already made very well. Uncountable
planetarium programs, including the obsolete TheSky6 and a number of
free applications that can be downloaded in moments can do this.
Suppose W. eWatson decides at 1900 hours that he wants his software at
1930 hours the same day? Or wants his Rolex or his car or his steak in
less than 10 or 20 years?

Now, why don't you set about writing yourself a Usenet client that can
quote without garbling? It's not particularly difficult and you should
be able to finish it by lunchtime.

--
I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that
you will say in your entire life.

usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm