iObserve 1.7

iObserve is intended for planning, gathering and organizing data about astronomical observations. In this respect, the application can be useful for both amateur and professional astronomers.

It has a carefully crafted interface. There are tabs to switch views, including Airmass, Visibility, Star Tracks, Sky Maps, Charts, Aladin, SIMBAD, NED and WikiSky. Moreover, the left panel allows you to navigate through different objects. Likewise, the left panel is where you can visualize and enter information.

The tool is very complete in terms of planning astronomical observations. In this regard, it has the main advantage of putting together information that would otherwise require consulting several sources. It lets you readily import information from SIMBAD Astronomical Database, where you can find basic data, cross-identifications, bibliography and measurements for astronomical objects outside the solar system. Likewise, it supports browsing the Exoplanets catalogue.

As to planning observations, this tool allows drawing and tracking airmass curves. Moreover, you can use it to draw several star tracks, which includes using horizon masks as well as following targets across the sky.

The application supports different measurement systems. For instance, you can convert magnitudes between the Johnson, Strömgren, Cousins, SDSS, TYCHO2 and 2MASS systems. Similarly, it can be used to convert object coordinates, times and dates as well as small and large distance.

All in all, iObserve has everything astronomers need to create their own observatories. Regrettably, the application has been reported to crash. The product can be bought from the Mac App Store.