Sun!, Moon!, and J-Moons! are also available as a package called AstroPak, with a shareware fee of $17.95. For a bigger bundle, see the notice below under "StarPilot".

I've compared Wilborne's results with the results of a desktop computer application, and they check out very well. Actually, all of the programs mentioned here provide adequate accuracy for all but the most discriminating observer. And no, I don't know what the exclamation points in Wilborne's program titles signify.

Moon
Stargazers are generally interested in the phase of the moon. A thin crescent moon is a delight to see, while a bright Full Moon will wash out everything else in the sky and render observing impossible. Alex Garza's application draws a calendar for the month with a small graphic of the phase for each day. By tapping on a graphic, you find out exactly how old (how far past New phase) the moon is on that day. Garza provides information about terms and definitions for the beginner. An added bonus: the day view gives you the Julian day, a number which is used in many astronomical tables. Moon's shareware fee is $5.

Moon Phase
Steven Kienle takes a different angle on the problem. Moon Phase draws a large (well, large for the Palm computer) graphic of the current moon, like the one in Figure C.

FIGURE C

Moon Phase displays a graphic of the current phase of the Moon, and a table of dates for the next four major phases.

You can step forward or backward a day at a time; you can also select whatever date you wish to see. Dates for the next four main phases (New, First Quarter, Full, Last Quarter, though Kienle labels them in a different, non-standard way) are shown at the bottom, and selecting one of those goes directly to that date. Kienle also provides plenty of explanatory help. This application is freeware.

Astro Info
There are many ways to skin a Leo [Denise, who is a Leo, read that and yelled "Hey!" -- DG], and Michael Heinz provides a lot of data in table form for the main solar system bodies. You get rise and set times, but also local positions in the sky (altitude and azimuth) as well as celestial coordinates (right ascension and declination). Heinz includes a routine to convert local clock time to sidereal (star) time for the serious stargazers. Astro Info is freeware.

Star chart programs
Once the telescope came into vogue, we humans began to look beyond the solar system and to the stars. You can too, by using the programs described below.

StarPilot
If you've ever used one of those two-dimensional circular maps of the sky, Figure D will look familiar. StarPilot plots both stars and solar system objects on a chart of the entire sky for a chosen date and time. But, unlike the paper charts, this program allows you to adjust the display in various ways. You can set the display for any date, time, or location.

FIGURE D

The main screen in StarPilot is a circular star chart familiar to beginning star-gazers. You can adjust how many stars are displayed.