Can anyone tell me if the stars.dat file which is still available on the fsim.net ( FS Global) for FS2002 is compatible with FSX ?I enjoyed the greater number of stars in that compared to the default ones in FSX. There is another app which can add planets etc, but I still prefer the fsim.net night sky.cheers, Joe

If its any help to you, you can try "autostarx.zip" from the library. Quote: "AutoStar is a program that allows new features to be added to the night sky. It adds the brighter planets in the correct position for any date. Optionally it can add comets, images or user objects such as a lunar eclipse or Messier objects. The program can import the SAO star catalogue, thus allowing the number of background stars to be significantly increased."

If its any help to you, you can try "autostarx.zip" from the library. Quote: "AutoStar is a program that allows new features to be added to the night sky. It adds the brighter planets in the correct position for any date. Optionally it can add comets, images or user objects such as a lunar eclipse or Messier objects. The program can import the SAO star catalogue, thus allowing the number of background stars to be significantly increased."

Funny that this subject should come up. I just installed and used Autostar the other day. Works well and adds the planets in the position I see them in my area at night, plus lets yu adjust the brightness.

For some reason my stars all disappear when I try to use this program in win7 64bit

Maybe my age causes me to get confused easier these days - but the downloaded stars.dat update (I still have in FS9) contains the same number of starts as FSX default. What number are you expecting in the update?Loyd

Maybe my age causes me to get confused easier these days - but the downloaded stars.dat update (I still have in FS9) contains the same number of starts as FSX default. What number are you expecting in the update?Loyd

Agreed. I was surprised that Autostar added a grand total of FIVE more stars to FSX. It did add the planets which is really cool right now since Jupiter is the brightest object in the sky right now (and Uranus is aligned behind and to the left of it) but for the most part adding stars.dat won't buy you very much.

It also adjusts the sky according to the current date and lets you change it to the southern hemisphere.

Agreed. I was surprised that Autostar added a grand total of FIVE more stars to FSX. It did add the planets which is really cool right now since Jupiter is the brightest object in the sky right now (and Uranus is aligned behind and to the left of it) but for the most part adding stars.dat won't buy you very much.

Try downloading and importing the SAO catalog. The author says it will increase the amount of stars from the default FSX value of 9000 stars to 16,000 stars if you limit the magnitude to 7, otherwise if you leave it at 9 you will get around 250,000 but due to the faint magnitude you probably wont be able to see any of the stars fainter than 8 or 9 magnitude.