SOURCES OF ASTRONOMICAL SOFTWARE

Such has been the growth in excellent astronomical software, almost all of it available from, and supported on, the internet that any list published in a handbook is certain to be eclectic and probably out of date before publication. Notwithstanding these risks, I have given pointers to three websites which are comprehensive, actively maintained, and catholic in their tastes, as a first stopping off point for anyone searching for software for any platform. Beyond that, the list of specific software suppliers remains eclectic and UK-biased. However it may still be useful for those who want brief details of major, or niche, suppliers without browsing the web.

For a very comprehensive list of astronomical software for Windows, Mac and Palm, with links to developers sites, see the SEDS site at http://www.seds.org/billa/astrosoftware.html

Dan's Astronomy Software http://www.physics.sfasu.edu/astro/software.html has additional sources for Linux, Java applications, code etc.

Sky and Telescope also maintain an excellent list of Basic and freeware programs, as well as links to commercial and non-commercial software at http://skyandtelescope.com/resources/software/default.asp

The Accretion Disk at http://www.accretiondisk.org/ contains many Planetarium Applications, Astronomy Applets, Astronomy Session Planners, Image Processing, Satellite Trackers, Utilities, Simulations and Astronomy Screensavers.

UNITED KINGDOM

DR. CHRIS BADDILEY

1 Kingshill Close, Stanley Road, MALVERN Worcs. WR14 2BP1
Tel: 01684 894432 / 566205
Email Home Email
General astronomical software for the Archimedes using large databases of stars and galaxies in 3D. Accurate simulations of Earth, or time shifting of, or remote/flying through, constellations to mag 9 and the supercluster of galaxies to mag 15. Stereo options on some. Interstellar relativistic journey with all effects, dynamic H-R diagrams, etc. Dr Baddiley is also on the FAS list of Speakers.

MR. J.S. COOMBES

97 Hollyfast Road, Coventry, CV6 2AE
SKY PROGRAM for 48K Spectrum, Spectrum+, 32K BBC and 16K ZX81 computers. Send for details and lists of other astronomical programs.

GRAYSTEL SOFTWARE LTD

Ian Gray 175, Pershore Road, EVESHAM, Worcs WR11 6NB
Tel No: 01386 47352 Email Website: http://members.aol.com/graystel/
Specifically GRAYSTEL Star atlas. An extremely versatile Windows astronomy program capable of producing almanacs and star charts with or without the Hubble GSC. Interactive with telescopes capable of computer control. Very good value for money and it's British.

LAMBDA PUBLICATIONS

194 Cheney Manor Road, Swindon, SN2 2NZ
Tel. 01793 695296 Email
Website: http://www.lambdapub.demon.co.uk
Suppliers of astronomy CD-ROM's for the PC. Titles include Red Shift, Astroware and Discover Astronomy.

SKYMAP PRO

The Thompson Partnership, Lion Buildings, Market Place, Uttoxeter, Staffs., ST14 8HZ
Tel. 01889 564601 Fax. 01889 563219 Email
Website: http://www.skymap.com
Steve Marriott's acclaimed planetarium program. It can display the sky as seen from any location on earth for any date between 4000BC and 8000AD, showing fields of view ranging from the entire visible sky down to a detailed telescopic "finder chart" for a faint galaxy. The program also provides a powerful set of tools for observation planning and recording. Can link to encoders for goto telescope operation.
Active and extensive support through mailing list.

NON - UK

ARC SCIENCE SIMULATION SOFTWARE

PO Box 1955S, Loveland, CO80539
Top product "Dance of the Planets" - a DOS program using standard VGA graphics

ASTROART

Fabio Cavicchio, Via Romea Vecchia 67, Classe, 48100 Ravenna RA. P.IVA 01379350398,
TEL/FAX +39 0544 473589, Mobile +39 0339 2739548. Email Email
Website http://www.msb-astroart.com/
Astroart 2.0 is a complete software for image processing, photometry, astrometry, CCD control and image stacking for CCD and film images. Extensive support by mailing list. Plug-ins for most ccd cameras, and with the SkyMap plug in it's possible to use SkyMap to control the telescope and Astroart to autoguide an exposure, connecting just one cable from the PC to the telescope.

CAPELLASOFT

PO Box 1182, Cloudcroft, NM, 88317, Toll free 888-4-CAPELLA
Tel: 505-682-1183 Email
Website http://www.skyhound.com
SkyTools is designed to aid observers with observation planning, charting, and logging. It tells you what you can observe on a given night and how to find it. The program makes eight different kinds of charts, plots comets and asteroids, and shows the visible moons and features of the planets. Custom finder charts are created automatically when you enter the information for your own telescope or binoculars.

CARTES DU CIEL - SKY CHARTS

Free software from Patrick Chevalley Email
Website http://www.astrosurf.com/astropc/cartes/
The purpose of this program is to prepare different sky maps for a particular observation.
A large number of parameters help you to choose specifically or automatically which catalogs to use, the colour and the dimension of stars and nebulae, the representation of planets, the display of labels and coordinate grids, the superposition of pictures, the condition of visibility and more. All these features make this celestial atlas more complete than a conventional planetarium.
Extensive support from the author via website and mailing list.

DAVE CHANDLER CO.

PO Box 309, LA Verne, CA 91750
Tel: 909 988 9756 Fax: 909 988 5618 Email
DeepSpace: prints custom star charts of up to 15 million stars, 10,000 deep-sky objects, planets and 10,000 comets and asteroids in several map projections; maintains observing notes on deep space objects; calculates ephemeris & plots 3-D comet orbits from orbital elements; Planet Tracker: orrery specializes in understanding planet motions; includes classroom activity booklet http://www.davidchandler.com/

DEEPSKY

Steven S. Tuma, 1425 Greenwich Ln., Janesville, WI 53545, USATel: 608 752-8366 Fax 608 752-8942 Email
Website http://www.deepsky2002.net
Steve Tuma's well-regarded Spreadsheet Database of 426,000 Deepsky Objects, Interactive Star Charts with Stars to Magnitude 15.5, Observer's Logbook and Planner and integration with Cartes du Ciel software. ASCOM Telescope Support, Image Processing, Solar System Information, Link to Digital Sky Survey, NGC On-Line, & Skyrover, Query, Reports, Herschel List, Messier Lists, Finder Charts

THE EARTH CENTERED UNIVERSE

David J. Lane, Nova Astronomics, PO Box 31013, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3K 5T9 Canada
Tel: 902-499-6196 Fax: 902-826-7957 Email
Website http://www.nova-astro.com
ECU V3.2 is a Planetarium and Telescope Control Program for Amateur Astronomers. This includes a database of over 15,000,000 stars, the planets, Sun, Moon, comets, 150,000+ asteroids, 91,800+ "deep sky" objects, 28,332 variable stars, and 78,100 double star pairs. Add your own objects too! It also prints high quality star charts and also controls most computerized telescopes.

FREE SOFTWARE SITE

By David Paul Green Email
Website http://www.davidpaulgreen.com/software.html
Observing Logs and utilities

SKY PUBLISHING CORPORATION

PO Box 9111, Belmont, MA 02178-9111 http://skyandtelescope.com/resources/software/default.asp
Publishers of "NGC 2000" for the PC and Mac.
Copies of programs which have appeared in the magazine are also available from their Web site for downloading.

SOFTWARE BISQUE

912 12th Street, Golden, Colorado 80401, USA
Tel: 303 278-4478 Email
Website: http://www.bisque.com
"The Sky": adjustable planisphere for any location plus variable-scale orrery; astronomical database and graphic display of constellations, Messier objects etc. with customizing facility, telescope drivers etc.
CCDSOFT Windows-based CCD camera control software, especially for SBIG cameras
Dome control software, etc.

STARRY NIGHT

SPACE.com Canada, Inc.,284 Richmond Street East, Toronto Ontario, CANADA, M5A 1P4
Tel: 416 410-0259 Fax: 416 410-0359 Email
http://www.starrynight.com
Starry Night, astronomy software for personal computers, include Starry Night Pro, Starry Night Backyard, Starry Night Beginner. In addition, Deep Space Explorer claims to accurately model the universe in three-dimensions. Contains a database of 30 000 galaxies each of which can be sized, positioned and rotated correctly, allowing you to see the clusters, filaments and voids that dominate the large-scale structure of our universe. A special "spaceship" mode lets you fly around through this world.