ASTRONOMY SOFTWARE

 

 

Categories:

  1. Sky Observation or Planetarium Software
  2. Object based Software
  3. FITS Image Viewers
  4. Astronomy Image Processing Software
  5. Astronomy Equipment/Astronomical Observatory Controllers
  6. Software for Scientific Analysis

 

  1. Sky Observation or Planetarium Software

Stellarium              Free

By far the most popular software in amateur astronomers’ community around the globe is this free open-source Planetarium program.

Windows, Linux, MacOS, iOS, Android

Cartes Du Ciel      Free

A free and open-source Planetarium program with the capability of controlling the computerized telescopes.

Windows, Linux, MacOS,

Celestia                 Free

A real-time 3D Universe simulator, which has been used by NASA and ESA in their education programs.

Windows, Linus, MacOS, iOS, Android

Starrynight            Free

One of the most advanced, detailed and packed with features, this software is available in many versions.

Windows, MacOS

NASA’s Eyes                 Free

One of our recommended platform to visually appreciate Planet Earth, Mars, Asteroids, Solar System and Exoplanets

 

  1. Object Based Software

Our Moon

Lunar Phase Pro   Paid

An interactive Moon Atlas with detailed information on lunar phases & the surface features.

Virtual Moon Atlas         Free

A popular program for displaying lunar features on an interactive globe and used by European Space Agency.

Windows

International Space Station

ISS Finder   Free

This software helps you to spot the ISS and watch the station’s position above the ground in real-time.

Windows

ISS Mobile Apps

There are many apps for your mobile devices; some popular ones are:

  • ISS Detector iOS
  • ISS Detector Pro Android
  • ISS Spotter Android
  • ISS Live Now iOS
  • ISS Finder Android
  • ISS On Live Android
  • Satellite Tracker iOS

 

  1. FITS Image Viewers

First released in 1981, Flexible Image Transport System is NASA’s endorsed file format for Astronomical Images and is used by professional Astronomers as well as amateur Astronomers around the world.

FITS File Viewer  Free

This Link has many softwares and tools to view, analyse and operate on FITS Files.

 

  1. Astronomy Image Processing Software

SIRIL          Free

An Astrophotography processing tool which allows you to calibrate, stack and process FITS Images.

Windows, Linux, MacOS

Deep Sky Stacker Free

Usually, this software is the first step for new comers into Astrophotography.

Windows

Maxim DL  Paid

Tried and tested for decades, MDL has been a gold standard for Astro-imagers and it does everything from taking images to processing and analyzing them.

Windows

StarTools     Paid

A very powerful yet underappreciated tool for Astrophotographers

Windows

PixInsight   Paid

Probably the most respected software when it comes to Post Processing Astro-imagers.

 

  1. Astronomy Equipment/Astronomical Observatory Controllers

Maxim DL  Paid

Astrophotographers have used this software for decades for controlling their telescopes, cameras, filter wheels, dome, weather station and more.

Windows

NINA          Free

  • Complete equipment control
  • Image Recognition
  • Sequencing
  • Sky Atlas
  • Plugins
  • And much more

Windows

 

  1. Software for Scientific Analysis

Aperture Photometry Tool        Free

A software to perform scientific calculations related to Aperture Photometry

Windows

Salsa J         Free

A student friendly software developed to display, analyze and explore real astronomical images.

Windows

Astrometrica         Paid

An excellent software for asteroids’ positioning for Astrometry

RSpec         Paid

With the help of Star Analyser, this software can show you the elements in stellar atmospheres, chemical elements in comets and much more.