Toolkits and Observing Utilities
Links
Deepsky 99 - Software for Observers
[shareware - Win95/98/NT] Deepsky 99 solves an important need for amateur and professional observers. The software allows the user to plan a productive observing session and record what was observed quickly and easily.
JPL Planetary and Lunar Ephemerides
http://www.willbell.com/software/jpl.htm
[commercial - multiplatform] This CD contains three Jet Propulsion Laboratory Planetary and Lunar Ephemerides along with a toolbox of FORTRAN subroutines that allow the user to obtain the coordinates of the Sun, Moon, and nine major planets.
STD Aurora Monitor Software
http://solar.spacew.com/aurora/
[commercial - Win95/98/NT/2000] Advanced auroral activity monitoring software.
PyEphem
http://www.rhodesmill.org/pyephem/
[open source - multiplatform] A module for performing astronomical computations using the Python scripting language.
NGCView
[commercial, demo available - Win95/98/NT] Astronomical Observation Suite - Astronomical observation and logging software.
SkySight
http://www.southernstars.com/skysight/index.html
[commercial, Win/Mac] CCD camera control and image processing, includes SkyChart III.
Calendar software
http://www.blibbleblobble.co.uk/Downloads/Calendar/
Windows program which creates sundials and calendars, see the dates and names of the year's moons, and calculate Easter.
Multiyear Interactive Computer Almanac
http://www.willbell.com/almanacs/almanac_mica.htm
[commercial - DOS, Macintosh] A software system that provides high-precision astronomical data in tabular form for a wide variety of objects; it calculates much of the information tabulated in the benchmark annual publication, The Astronomical Almanac, but it goes beyond traditional almanacs by enabling you to calculate data for specified locations at specified times within a fifteen year interval (1990-2005).
LunarPhase
http://indigo.ie/~gnugent/LunarPhase
[commercial, demo available - Win95/98/NT] A comprehensive tool for displaying a variety of information on the Moon and aspects of its behaviour.
GeoAstro Applet Collection
http://www.jgiesen.de/GeoAstro/GeoAstro.htm
[commercial & freeware - multiplatform] Interactive Java applets display the position, daily and annual path of the sun and the moon, for any time and location.
Starchart - Star mapping software
http://starchart.sourceforge.net/
[opensource - POSIX] There is a sky. There are things in the sky. This program draws maps of things in the sky.
Moon Tool
http://www.fourmilab.ch/moontoolw/
[Windows] A desktop application that displays the times of the various phases of the moon and a picture of the current phase of the moon.
The Sun API
http://www.sunlitdesign.com/products/thesunapi
[commercial & freeware - Windows] A library of functions for calculating key solar parameters for solar design including sundials.
Moonclock
http://balder.prohosting.com/stouch/MOONCLOCK.html
[shareware - MacOS] Real-time graphical representation of the lunar visual aspect for any time/date/location. Elongation, PA bright limb, RA, DEC, percent illuminated, alt/az, heliocentric lat/long, distance, and radius.
AstroNotes
[commercial - Windows] A tool for recording observations and planning future observing sessions. Allows tracking of progress on common amateur observing programs (Messier, Herschel).
C88 - an informational tool for amateur astronomers
http://www.alcyone.de/c88/english/index.htm
C88 provides detailed informations about the celestial sphere objects, visible with naked eyes and for the use of an eyepiece of a modest amateur telescope to observe deep sky objects.

