Starry Night Backyard CD FAQ

This FAQ answers questions about the CD version of Starry Night Backyard. If you have a different version of Starry Night (including the downloaded version of Starry Night Backyard), please return to the technical support page and select the FAQ for the appropriate version of Starry Night.

If you want to know what features are in Starry Night Backyard, or how it compares with other versions of Starry Night, please go to the Backyard features page.

QuickTime
Information about the multimedia program QuickTime needed to run Starry Night

• What is QuickTime and why do I need it?
• Where do I get it and how do I install it?
• When I install QuickTime, what type of installation should I choose?
• I get an error message when I try to install QuickTime.
• I am trying to install QuickTime, and it asks me to enter a registration number. Why doesn't my Starry Night registration number work?

Registration Number
Questions about the Starry Night Backyard registration number

• Where do I find my registration number for the program?
• How do I register my copy of the program?
• I downloaded the trial version of Starry Night Backyard, then ordered the CD. Why doesn't the registration number I got with the CD version work?
• I want to move my copy of Starry Night Backyard to a new computer. How do I retrieve my registration number?
• I am trying to install QuickTime, and it asks me to enter a registration number. Why doesn't my Starry Night registration number work?

Installation Problems
Installing Starry Night Backyard on your computer

• How do I install Starry Night?
• I already have Starry Night Basic/Deluxe/Pro on my computer. Do I need to remove them before I install Starry Night Backyard?
• When I try to install the program, I get an "Unhandled Exception" error message. (Windows only).
• The installation seemed to go OK. How do I run the program?
• When I try to install the program, I get a "General Protection Fault" error message.

Support
Where to turn for more help with the program

• My questions aren't answered in the manual or this FAQ. Who can I contact?
• Are there any other support resources?

Updates/Upgrades
Updating to the latest version of Starry Night Backyard, or upgrading from/to another version of Starry Night

• How do I find out if I have the latest version of Starry Night Backyard?
• Are updates free to owners of an earlier version of Starry Night Backyard?
• Is there an upgrade path to Starry Night Pro if I want to buy it at some time in the future?
• I own Starry Night Basic/Deluxe. Can I upgrade to Starry Night Backyard?

General Run-Time Problems
Problems with the way the program runs

• The installation seemed to go OK. How do I run the program?
• I get an error message when I try to run Starry Night Backyard.
• When I try to run Starry Night Backyard, it is really slow. The hourglass icon is onscreen as much as the cursor! (Windows only)
• When I run Starry Night, it will slow down after about 10 seconds if I am not doing anything. I need to use the mouse or keyboard to speed it up again. (Macintosh only)
• How do I save customized settings and make them open automatically when I start the program?
• When I start Starry Night, I get the following message in a window labeled "ERROR STARTING PROGRAM". The error message is the following: "A required DLL file, WININET.DLL, was not found."
• Starry Night freezes up whenever I click on an object or use the time controls (Windows only).

Time & Date
Time zones, daylight savings time, sunrise/sunset times, eclipse times, etc.

• Starry Night Backyard doesn’t display the correct time when I start up. How do I fix this?
• The correct time is shown when I start Starry Night Backyard, but the sun rises and sets at the wrong time. How do I fix this?
• Do the sunrise/sunset times account for the refraction of light due to the earth's atmosphere?
• How does Daylight Savings Time work in Starry Night?
• Can I get Starry Night to show the time using the 24-hour clock?
• Can I get Starry Night to show dates in the European format?
• When I view from off the Earth, the time reads "UT". What does this mean?
• Does Starry Night use the Gregorian or Julian calendar for old dates?
• How do I find the time & date of eclipses?

Viewing Location
Setting or changing your home location or your viewing location, to places on and off the earth

• I’ve tried to change my home location, but everytime the program starts up, it reverts to the old location. How do I change my home location?
• My city isn’t in the list of cities in Starry Night Backyard’s location window, and I don’t know my latitude and longitude. Where can I find this information?
• How do I go to Mars or another planet?
• How do I go to a star?

LiveSky
Starry Night's interactive Internet database

• When I choose "LiveSky.com Info" for an object in Starry Night Backyard, it opens using Internet Explorer. How do I get it to use Netscape?

Printing & Making Movies
Printing star charts and making QuickTime animation sequences

• How do I print star charts?
• Can I print images in colour?
• Can I print star charts showing the whole sky?
• Neither the "Export as Image" feature nor the "Make Movie" feature do anything. What's wrong?
• Can I adjust the size of the movie window?
• Why do the movies I made with Starry Night have distorted colors when I play them back?

Constellations & The Zodiac
Finding your birth sign, seeing the sun on the Vernal Equinox

• How do I follow the sun's path through the Zodiac over the course of a year?
• The sun appears to be in the wrong Zodiac constellation on a given date.
• How do I find my birth sign?

Solar System Bodies
Planets, moons, comets, satellites, and asteroids

• How do I see the phases of the moon?
• How accurate are the positions of the planets and moons in Starry Night Backyard?
• When I view the solar system from above the sun by selecting "Go | Outer Solar System", why don't the orbits of Pluto and Neptune overlap?
• Why can't I find Halley's Comet at the Battle of Hastings?
• How do I add my own objects?
• Where can I get orbital elements for new objects I want to add using the Orbit Editor?
• Why doesn't the location of the International Space Station match what I see in the sky?

Stars
Information on the star data in Starry Night

• Where does the star data in Starry Night come from?
• When I zoom far away from the earth, the stars all appear to group together in a ball around the sun. Is this the Miky Way?
• Can I add recently discovered planets around stars other than our sun?

Still confused?
Feel free to send us an email if you have any questions that haven't been answered here. We also welcome your feedback and suggestions.