This astronomy software page contains links to sites with PC software of interest to the astronomy hobbyist. These programs include useful astronomy utilities and programs that are educational and fun. Some of this software is free and some is commercial or shareware. There are also a few demo versions of some commercial software products.
Google Earth Pro on desktop is free for users with advanced feature needs. Import and export GIS data, and go back in time with historical imagery. Available on PC, Mac, or Linux. To use Google Earth on a Mac, you must have at least the following: Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4 or later CPU: G3 500Mhz System Memory (RAM): 256MB RAM Hard Disk: 400MB free space Network Speed: 128 Kbits/sec Graphics Card: 3D-capable with 16MB of VRAM Screen: 1024x768, 'Thousands of Colors'. The new Apple TV+ documentary, 'The Year Earth Changed,' makes a convincing case that the coronavirus pandemic gave the planet a needed break. Review: XP-Pen Innovator 16 is an inexpensive upgrade.
Each entry contains a description of the software type as well as the last known price. Please read the information on each publisher's site for more detailed information. These astronomy software links are provided for informational purposes only. Sea and Sky does not endorse these products.
JMARS is an acronym that stands for Java Mission-planning and Analysis for Remote Sensing.It is a geospatial information system (GIS) developed by ASU's Mars Space Flight Facility to provide mission planning and data-analysis tools to NASA scientists, instrument team members, students of all ages and the general public. AstroViewer is a planetarium software that helps you to find your way in the night sky quickly and easily. Due to its intuitive and easy-to-use graphical user interface, it fits well to the demands of astronomy beginners. Celestia Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X Cost: Free Demo: N/A Celestia is a very unique 3-dimensional universe simulator.
Free Software Shareware Commercial Software
Astroviewer
Platform: Windows 98 and above Cost: Free Demo: Download available
AstroViewer is a planetarium software that helps you to find your way in the night sky quickly and easily. Due to its intuitive and easy-to-use graphical user interface, it fits well to the demands of astronomy beginners.
Celestia
Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X Cost: Free Demo: N/A
Celestia is a very unique 3-dimensional universe simulator. With it you can travel throughout the Solar System, to any of over 100,000 stars, or even beyond the galaxy. Celestia comes with a large catalog of stars, planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and spacecraft. If that's not enough, you can download dozens of easy to install add-ons with more objects. The program is highly configurable and expandable. A library of add-ons and expansions is available including everything from additional stars & galaxies to science fiction worlds and spacecraft. For those with fast processors, you can even download and install super high resolution images of the planets and moons enabling you to zoom in close and explore every subtle detail. You can even take screen shots of your favorite scenes. Celestia is highly recommended by Sea and Sky!
Home Planet
Platform: Windows 95 and above Cost: Free Demo: N/A
Home Planet is a comprehensive astronomy, space, and satellite-tracking package for Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 and above. Features include an Earth map showing day and night regions, position of selected satellites, positions of the planets, positions and phases of the Sun and Moon, sky map based on either the Yale Bright Star Catalogue or the 256,000 star SAO catalogue, including rendering of spectral types, planets, Earth satellites, asteroids and comets, and much more.
Stella 2000
Platform: Windows 95 and above Cost: Free Demo: N/A
Complete astronomy software suite exploring realistic skies in real time, with observing log, Sky Quiz, Live Orbits, telescope support, spoken pronunciation guide, a half-million word Encyclopedia Astronomica, and concentrated searches embracing planets, comets, asteroids, DSOs, and over 300,000 stars. An integral HTML guide to the solar system, a 1000-term astronomical dictionary, and the 2nd revised and enlarged edition of Aspects of Astronomy--a book-length primer covering topics such as 'What are the Stars?', 'Choosing a Telescope', 'Cosmology', 'Dark Matter', 'Eclipses', and 'The History of Astronomy', to name but a few--are closely coordinated with the sky display and picture windows.
Stellarium
Platform: Windows, Linux, Mac OS X Cost: Free Demo: N/A
Stellarium is a free GPL software program which renders realistic skies in real time with openGL. It is available for Linux/Unix, Windows and MacOSX. With Stellarium, you really see what you can see with your eyes, binoculars or a small telescope. Loaded with advanced features, this incredible software will turn your PC into a virtual planetarium! This is definitely one of the best free astronomy programs currently available for download. Stellarium is highly recommended by Sea and Sky!
WinOrbit
Platform: Windows 3.1 or later Cost: Free Demo: N/A
WinOrbit is a free software package for Microsoft Windows (3.1 or later), which will compute and display the position of artificial Earth satellites. The principal feature of WinOrbit is a series of Map Windows, which display the current position of satellites and observers on a simple world map, together with information such as bearing (azimuth), distance, and elevation above the observer's horizon. The maps can be updated in real time, or in simulated time, or manually set to show the situation at any time past or future. An additional Table Window displays much more-detailed information about one or more satellites in a tabular form.
Cybersky
Platform: Windows XP and above Cost: $34.95 Demo: 30-day trial download available
CyberSky is an exciting, entertaining, and educational astronomy program that transforms your personal computer into your personal planetarium. CyberSky provides an excellent way to learn about astronomy and to explore the wonders of the sky visible in the distant past, the present, and the far-off future. CyberSky displays accurate charts of the sky as seen from any location on the Earth. Sky charts can include stars, constellations, deep sky objects, and solar system objects, and can be enhanced by the addition of labels, coordinate system grids, and reference lines. CyberSky's user-friendly interface allows you to easily change your view of the sky, search for celestial objects, and display data about those objects. CyberSky also prints attractive sky charts that you can take outside with you.
StarStrider
Platform: Windows XP and above Cost: $22.00 Demo: 30-day trial download available
StarStrider is a three-dimensional star plotting program that allows the user to see the stars and constellations from distant points in the sky. With the help of StarStrider you will be able to travel to the stars and watch their alien skies. Travel to Vega and see how the Sun pales to a faint star, a star among thousands of others. Look at the Pleiades from behind! With ordinary red/blue 3D glasses your experience will be even greater. Now you can see the variable distances to the stars - without even leaving our solar system if you don't want to! Cassiopeia looks really different when you realize that the constellation aren't flat. You'll also learn to appreciate the fact that the closest stars are not always the brightest.
MegaStar Sky Atlas
Platform: Windows 95 and above Cost: $129.95 Demo: N/A
MegaStar is the first software to integrate the Hubble Guide Star Catalog, and combine it with a massive deep sky database of 84,000 objects. It is also the first to implement the 'eyepiece view,' with deep sky objects plotted to scale and galaxies rotated to show position angle. This is an extremely detailed visual sky atlas program with too many features to mention here. Check out their site for more information. A demo version of the software is available for download.
Starry Night
Platform: Windows XP & above, Mac OS X 10.4 & above Cost: $24.95 - $239.95 Demo: N/A
Starry Night is the most visually stunning and realistic astronomy program in its class. A powerful tool for both serious observers and casual stargazers, Starry Night lets you view the universe from anywhere in the Solar System. Explore over 19 million celestial objects and travel across 14,700 years of night skies. Features include a 19 million object Hubble Guide Star catalog and the ability to add new objects and databases. An evaluation version of the Basic version is available for download.
Glossary of Terms Astronomy FAQ Messier Catalog Astronomical Calendar
Events & Star Parties Clubs & Organizations Equipment Guide Astronomy Software
Astrophoto Gallery Astronomy Suppliers Astronomy Resources My Sky
Google Earth is a computer, mobile, and web-based application that renders a 3D representation of Earth based on Satellite Imagery. It maps the earth by superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and GIS data on the 3D global that allows users to see cities and landscapes from multiple angles.
With this service, you can easily explore the worldwide by simply entering addresses and coordinates or using your mouse or keyboard. After finding your place, you zoom in, then dive in for 360 perspectives with street view.
You can also use it to add their data using Keyhole Markup Language and upload them through several sources such as forums, blogs, etc. There is also an option that allows you to watch different kinds of images overlaid on the earth’s surface and is also a web map service client.
Google Earth also includes core features such as measuring distance and area, 360 views, explore on any devices, easy to understand, and much more. Google Earth also offers a Pro version that unlocks some new tools and features.
Earth Pilot is a complete application that permits you to see excellent places wherever on Earth, by necessarily indicating an area on the guide. The app can recover noteworthy pictures assumed in the showed position, from committed sites, and empowered you to download them.
Earth Pilot permits you to see any area on the Planet Earth, from the space, down to lanes and structures. The program utilizes the Google Earth Plugin to render the 3D landscapes or to rapidly zoom and container to the coveted area.
Also, the application can recover delightful photographs of the chose put, delineating nature, city life, structures, and other vacation destinations. The program permits you to download the photos straight from their source and make a collection on your PC. You can indicate the area you wish to see and obtain the images.
You don’t have to zoom into a distinct separation keeping in mind the end goal to secure the photographs, simply skillet over a nation, and the program can uncover all the applicable pictures. Another great instrument is the video recorder that catches the guided travel from a particular spot to the demonstrated goal.
The video delineates the 3D outline the development of the camera sees from the source to the goal. Play pandoras box online. Earth Pilot is a dependable voyaging associate and also a visual reference book of the considerable number of spots you can visit. The recovered pictures are shown altogether of their prevalence on the facilitating site, and you may effortlessly get to the site page or the creator’s profile.
Earth 3D is a lovely Mac OS X application that gives a 3D Earth intelligent live desktop backdrop and screensaver. The Earth 3D application shows Earth in all its wonder on your desktop. Besides, 3D gives you the feeling that you are a space explorer who looks through the window of an area carry window.
Earth 3D gives an exact proliferation of Earth’s geological components such as seas, mists, mountains, fields, urban areas, streams, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. With Earth 3D, you can investigate the planet from space.
More than 1300 geographic items and 300 miracles of the world are shown in the full form of the application. You can see essential building structures, and that’s just the beginning. Besides, 3D accompanies superior quality surfaces for screen resolutions of 1920 x 1080 and up.
It likewise incorporates a unique music track that runs as an integrated unit with the stunning perspective of Earth. The application puts a thing on your menu bar that you can use to get to the Preferences window and begin the screensaver mode.
From the inclinations, you can choose the screen, pick where to put the application symbols, set the pivot speed, and select the view alternatives (mists, water liveliness, and compass). Moreover, from the advanced tab of the inclinations, you can choose the running mode on AC control and battery control.
What’s more, you can set the time before beginning the screensaver mode, request secret word on exit and allow an alternate console route to begin the screensaver. Since Earth 3D renders astounding illustrations, the asset utilization is entirely high: around 350 MB or genuine memory and 3% CPU control.
ArcGIS is a leading mapping and analytics platform designed to help businesses explore information and share location-based insights. The software avails contextual tools for spatial reasoning and mapping industries, developers, and educators worldwide.
It comes with all the premium features that use the Geographical Information system to solve problems. The solution offers a set of capabilities such as 3D GIS, mapping and vitalization, remote sensing, analytics, and data collection and management.
All the platform’s functionalities are a location-based analysis of the business practices to create a deeper understanding and help you quickly visualize your business information is connected and where everything is happening.
To make it usable for everyone, it uses common visual language to connect everyone everywhere and inspire positive change. Online casinos that accept paypal deposits. As compared to all the other similar software, it offers more features and primary tools that manage your entire process.
One notable advantage of this solution is that GIS (geographical information system) helps organizations of all sizes to question, analyze, and interpret data to understand the relationship, trends, and patterns.
Regardless of what place on Earth you need to look at, Marble will bail you out with it. The vigorous Google Earth elective has different survey modes, which can be utilized to see the Earth as a 3D globe as well as highlight its geological components, road sees, and even temperature and precipitation information.
This is further improved by data like photographs, constant activity overhauls, and online/disconnected addresses look. Marble is a Flexible, yet simple-to-use app that includes directing and turn-by-turn route (both online and offline) highlights.
You can precisely look for spots of intrigue, view Wikipedia articles, make courses by the move and customize, thus considerably more. The app itself is lightweight, as it boats with no additional information sets.
There are even information sets that let you see virtual models of the moon and different planets, and take after satellites and space stations circles, which are overhauled continuously. Add to it, and there are numerous valuable instruments like time reproduction, bookmarks, and so forth, that improves Marble even further.
MapInfo Pro is a platform that enables businesses to visualize the relationship between their data and geography through the angle of location. The platform allows the users to identify people, places, and patterns of interests and make better decisions through it. The software helps the businesses to explore and act with confidence in asset management, and site selection.
The platform helps businesses to create a model according to their business need, which can guide them in taking the right actions. It aids the companies in preparing data for web mapping applications and helps in creating a map that contains data analysis and visual insights.
MapInfo Pro enables the users to visualize their data on maps with themes and labels to understand patterns better and deliver maximal value. Lastly, it comes with a MapInfo community that guides the users and provides them tips and offers a free trial and a paid version.
QGIS is a platform that is used for viewing, analyzing, and editing geospatial data. You can use this software for free. By working with this software, you can handle various functionalities and formats of the databases. By using QGIS, you can use raster data, overlay vector, and can also view the data in a variety of formats.
This platform also features the operations of editing, creating, managing and exporting vectors, raster layers, and data in many formats. It is very straightforward to use this platform because of the simple GUI. You can also explore data and compose maps through this platform. You can use the extensible plugin libraries and architectures to leverage the software according to your requirements.
QGIS can be used on multiple operating systems, including Windows, Mac, Unix, Android, and Linux. This software not only available in the desktop version, but you can also run it on the servers, websites, and multiple fast working browsers. QGIS is free to use.
Waze Navigation and Live Traffic is a free mobile application that helps you know what’s happening on the road. Even if you know your way, it will tell you instantly about traffic, constriction, polices, crashes and all the other related things.
If the traffic is terrible, this powerful application will change your way of saving you time. Waze is an alternative app to Google Earth and offers all the vital services that make it better than others. With this app, you can also find your place, measure distance, and deliver the exact way that wants.
It is free to use a mobile application and available to use on the iOS platform only. Waze Navigation app includes core features such as traffic alert, instant routing change to avoid traffic, know when you’ll arrive, no registration requirements, and simple interface.
These days, various tools can give satellite symbolism free, permitting the clients to see any edge of the world straight from their web program. FlashEarth is an advanced level solution that allows you to explore the whole world right into your web browser.
It is an excellent solution and comes with all the leading tools and features. With the help of this, you can get complete access to the vast majority of the mapping devices made by the product organizations. As of now, we can discuss Google Maps, Virtual Earth, Yahoo Maps, and the Ask.com mapping arrangement, the vast majority of them giving the same components.
That is the reason FlashEarth was made. It incorporates all the above advancements in addition to OpenLayers and NASA Terra. The main contrast is that it is altogether given Flash, giving better usefulness to all the mapping instruments.
Flash Earth has the whole gathering of symbolism gave by Google maps, and it offers zoom capacities and move and customizes bolster. As you expected, the administration is accessible for nothing and can be gotten to without the need to introduce a product.
GeoServer is a java-based mapping software that enables users to edit geospatial data and view it. The platform is designed for interoperability and can publish data from any spatial data sources such as REST, WFS, WMS, etc. It also offers services to those users who want to create highly detailed maps, and users can create maps in various output formats.
The platform is based on the standards set by OGC, which encourages the development of open standards for GIS data processing and sharing. Users can also use various formats while using GeoServer, such as PostGIS, Spatial, MongoDB, etc. Moreover, it comes with a free mapping library, which makes map generation intuitive and fast.
The open-source characteristics of the software allow any user to access the maps created by other developers. Furthermore, the platform is developed, tested, and supported as a community-driven project by individuals and is free of cost.
EarthDesk gives you various choices for designing the guide pictures put on your desktop. Outline options include: Natural starting point (0N, 0E). It utilizes the same Atlas database innovation as Time Palette, furnishing the application with a point by point land and time zone data for 10,000 urban communities all through the world. The Atlas keeps up far-reaching rules for Daylight Saving Time (Summer Time), giving EarthDesk a level of precision unmatched by different applications.
EarthDesk offers various choices for arranging the guide pictures put on your desktop. Maps can be fixated on a city so that the guide stays stationary while the sun and the moon move. Then again, the guide focus might be bolted to the position of the sun or satellite so that the shadow stays settled, while the guide moves.
EarthBrowser is a three-dimensional model of the earth with always upgrading live data. Investigating the Earth is fun and simple to a point and snap interface that gives you a chance to turn and zoom to any covered area. Its dynamic nature makes it a data asset that is always valuable and intriguing.
For them, the solution is the ideal, as it will offer everyone to use the data of what happens to the world in angles like the climate, climate figures, quakes, volcanoes, webcams, and so on.
EarthBrowser is an imaginative earth reenactment that joins a simple to explore three-dimensional globes with constant climate conditions and seven-day gauges for a large number of areas around the world.
The app brandishes a genuinely intuitive and straightforward to utilize graphical interface with numerous instruments and components within reach. You can make some broad settings to the application and pick from the metric or magnificent frameworks for separation. You can likewise pick estimation units for directions, and it gives you a chance to confirm some online security settings and is accessible in different dialects.
The program can demonstrate your present position and record your tracks, given that you utilize a GPS beneficiary. https://gambler-for-infini-poker-slang-bei.peatix.com. MapSphere app helps you to impart your outing to others fastly and in practically robotized mode. It doesn’t contain any maps. However, it associates with open wellsprings of mapping information, for example, OpenStreetMap and Microsoft Research Maps.
It consequently stores information on your hard drive while you are parchment or zooms the guide. Maps are likewise accessible in disconnected mode, so you can explore without being associated with the Internet. The maps can be downloaded along with any way or inside a given range.
You can scan for populated spots and geological protests everywhere throughout the world in any dialect, yet roads and locations are, for the most part, spoken to in the USA. You can likewise discover an area by utilizing its directions.
Some more elements are accessible on the web, and you can store your track on the engineer’s server, oversee contact rundown, and talk in gatherings. With everything taken into account, MapSphere is an incredibly perfect app for making your excursion agenda and following every one of the spots that you’ve gone by.
Google Earth Pro allows you to fly anywhere around the earth to view satellite imagery, maps, 3D building, and terrain, from galaxies in outer space to the canyons of the ocean. It is an enhanced and pro version of Google Earth that introduces lots of new features that make it more interesting.
With the help of this platform, you can explore rich geographical content, save places, and share it with others. Google Earth Pro enables you to see global changes with decades of historical imagery if you have ever wondered how your neighborhood has changed throughout time.
It gives you access to the past with simple click, checks out suburban sprawl melting ice caps, and more. Google Earth Pro also includes core features such as track and share your locations, view 3D buildings, add soundtrack or narration to personalize the journey, etc.
NASA World Wind permits any user to enjoy the complete and in-depth detail of any part of the earth with precise results using Landsat symbolism and SRTM information to experience Earth in an outwardly beautiful 3D environment. Besides this, there is another extra added feature to rearrange the menu according to your ease. A simple mouse click ou will visualize a detailed image of any particular location without any limitation to zoom in.
The more you zoom down to a specific place, the more names of urban communities and noteworthy areas appear. The main drawback of this application is that it requires a ton of RAM to work efficiently, and if various projects are running on the PC, slacks and even crashes may occur. With everything taken into account, NASA World Wind is a fun application.
Google is the world’s biggest search engine, where it gives you the result in nanoseconds. It has also released an application where you can find your home and map your area. I used it for fun, and now I am using it for information. I cannot stop praising this platform because it is innovative, attractive, and intuitive. Google allows the user to make changes and contribute to the platform. You can add your data by using keyhole markup language and upload them to several sources.
So, when I first log in to Google Earth, the features were so amazing that I use it to find my home, just for the sake of fun. Besides giving a remarkable interface, the application also provides you with measuring distance and area right on the platform, and you can know the distance between Times Square and Central Park. Locating a place is now so much easy and fun that it does not take much time to find the location after you put in the coordinates. In my case, this is the topmost used platform in the category of maps.
Irrespective of the interface, the application works so fine, and it is so amazing that you are hooked to it at first sight. The layout is smart, and you can easily navigate the whole website because this feature is only given for the web-based platform. It not only shows the map but also allows you to measure distance and area, which is the brand new features. Google updates all the features yearly with the new technology. I am amazed to see it, and I have been using it to measure land across Europe. I am a travel blogger, and that’s what I do.
After a successful launch on the web platform, they also turn their functionalities and features to mobile devices where you can access Google Earth anywhere, anytime you want. I am really in love with the interface because it is intuitive, as well as it is guiding. There is a list of features that give you detail on every small aspect, and it made you feel like that the world is a global village, and everything is reachable. Zooming feature, 360 perspective, satellite view, co-ordinate matching, 3D Globe, whatever you can think of this site already has it. If you have used it before, I recommend you try now, and you will find it amazing and informative.