Dublin Night Sky Observer - Astronomy Software

Planetarium Planetary / Solar System CCD / Image Processing

Satellite Tracking Miscellaneous Screen Savers

Java Applets

Planetarium Software

Earth Centered Universe V3.0
ECU is a Planetarium and Telescope Control Program for Amateur Astronomers capable of simulating many of the features visible in the Earth's night sky. You only need to enter your geographic location and the time; the local sky will then be simulated on the screen in a colourful display. This application is Shareware!

Home Planet
Home Planet is a comprehensive astronomy / space / satellite-tracking package. Well worth a look. It offers Solar and Lunar position and phase data, ephemerides for planet and asteroids, maps, catalogues and more. This application is Freeware!

NGC View V6.1
NGCView is a program which departs from the traditional astronomical software paradigms of planetariums, ephemerides and text-based database programs. It provides a fusion of the best qualities of all three into a single program designed to optimize the time you are looking through an eyepiece. An evaluation copy of the program (30-day limit) can be downloaded.

SkyChart
SkyChart 2000.0 is a planetarium program which provides accurate sky simulations. It accurately simulates the sky as it appears tonight, as well as hundreds or thousands of years in the past or future. The sky can be viewed from any place on Earth, or from any object in the solar system or beyond it. Also provides support for Meade LX200, Celestron AstroMaster, Orion SkyWizard and other telescope controllers.

SkyGlobe 3.6
This is a superb (DOS) astronomy program that presents a realistic and beautiful display of the stars and constellations as they appear in the sky at night from your location. It displays over 29,000 stars and as well as constellation lines, the planets, the Sun, the Moon, Messier Objects, the Milky Way, and grid lines. Location, time and date can be adjusted and the number and brightness of stars, zoom, print out screen displays, and more can be changed.

SkyMap
SkyMap is a 'planetarium' program that draws maps of the sky, as seen from anywhere on Earth, for any date between 4000BC and 8000AD. The program is very accurate (Planetary positions, for example, have a mean error of less than a half second of arc). Two different types of the map can be drawn; a 'Horizion' map, showing a local view of the sky as seen by an observer, and an 'Area' map showing a detailed view of a small area of the sky on an RA/Dec grid.

Planetary / Solar System Software

JupSat95 V1.14
This program calculates the positions of and displays side-on and plan views of Jupiter and its satellites (for three optical configurations), along with the Longitude of Jupiter's Central Meridian for both equatorial (System I) and non-equatorial (System II) zones. It also displays (and can print) monthly satellite tracks, Great Red Spot transit times and allows animation. Online documentation is included. V1.14 released on Mar. 09, 1999. For more information (and to download the application), see the JupSat95 Page.
(Featured in the April, 1999 edition of Sky & Telescope).

Lunar Occultation Workbench
This is the world's most accurate, versatile program for the computation of predictions of occultations by the Moon of some 53879 stars and the 8 major planets. For any location on Earth you can create list of predictions that suite your specific needs. In addition you can record your observations and send them in a standard format either to your local lunar occultations contact person, or to the International Lunar Occultation Centre in Japan.

LunarPhase
LunarPhase is a utility for Win 95/98/NT which provides rising, transit and setting times for both the Sun and Moon, start and end times for Civil, Nautical and Astronomical twilight and a range of information on the Moon and, to a lesser degree, the Sun, graphically displaying the current phase of the moon (in real time), its age, percentage illuminated, distance, position and the times and dates of the major lunar phases for the selected month and year. It also provides Lunar Eclipse information and Equinox and Solstice times. V2.20 released on Dec. 30, 1999. For more information (and screenshots) and to download the application, see the LunarPhase Page.

Planet Watch
Take a tour of the solar system with PlanetWatch, an atlas of the solar system, and learn about our planetary neighbor's motions, atmospheres, geology, and internal structure. Breathtaking color photographs, animated maps, and up-to-date information from Voyager, Galileo, and other space probes are combined into an informative and entertaining atlas of our solar system.

CCD / Image Processing Software

FitsView V2.01
FITSview is available a number of computer systems. The viewer has easy to use graphical controls and will display astronomical images in the Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) format (as saved by some CCD cameras) allowing zooming, scrolling, modifying the brightness, contrast and pseudo color and allow determination of celestial positions and the physical brightness units in the image. Both standard World Coordinate System (WCS) and Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) coordinates are supported. Positions and brightnesses of selected pixels may be logged to a text file and specified positions in the image may be marked. Images may be compared by "blinking" them and 3 dimensional images may be viewed a plane at a time or in the form of a movie. Blanked pixels and all defined FITS image data types are supported.

Satellite Tracking Software

STSPlus
STSORBIT PLUS, usually known as STSPLUS, is intended for use during Space Shuttle missions and for general satellite tracking using NASA/NORAD 2-Line Orbital Elements. One primary satellite and up to 32 additional "static" or "real time" satellites may be simultaneously tracked in real time on most computers. Both orthographic and rectangular VGA color map projections are available, displaying the Earth as a globe or the more traditional "flat map". A new "Night Vision" mode shows the maps in RED to protect the user's night vision, great for color laptops!

TrakSat
TRAKSAT is a satellite tracking program for amateur radio and optical users alike. The program provides all the features you would expect from satellite tracking software and much more. What makes this program so different is all the options available to the user. The program uses "pop-up" and "pull down" style windows for easy use. in this version are two fully rendered 3D earth views with full color Sun/Shadow. TRAKSAT is now a fully protected mode program with no DOS 640K limits! The program works in a Win95 DOS box.

WinTrack Pro
WinTrak Pro is an easy-to-use program for tracking satellites in real-time on PC type personal computers running Win95/98/NT 4.0. It provides a variety of features required by Amateur Radio Operaors, Astronomers, and Satellite Watchers.

Miscellaneous Software

AstroCal
AstroCal is an astronomical calendar application which displays a calendar for the selected month and year, lunar phases for the selected month, highlights national holidays and astronomical dates, provides day/week numbers and julian dates, millenium countdown clock, monthly calendar printout and more. V1.12 released 22 Jul 1998.

Astro-Mania
Blast off to learning excitement with Astro-Mania, a software game that makes astronomy fun. Eight levels and captivating graphics will keep you entertained for hours. For all ages, Win95/98.

Custom Sundial Generator
This is an Internet based application that generates a PostScript file, the first page of which is a fully corrected Horizontal Sundial for your location and the second page a template to aid in constructing a gnomon i.e., shadow caster. Check out http://www.groknet.com/dialuse.html

Java Applets

JupSat Java Applet
My JupSat applet (featured on the Skynotes page and now on the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Galileo Page) displays a real-time side-on view of Jupiter and its satellites. Clicking on Jupiter or the satellite images takes you to a webpage dedicated to that object. This version now works properly on Windows NT.

Lunar Phases Applet
This applet displays the current phase of the moon and the time/date of the next four major lunar phases. The current age of the moon, its distance and apogee/perigee dates are also displayed. All times displayed are in UT except for the clock which displays the local time. The applet updates in realtime.
NOTE: This applet uses long filenames. Use WinZip to unzip the archive.

Screen Savers

Craters Screen Saver
What better way to protect your monitor's phosphor than by smashing rocks into it at dozens of kilometres per second? This screen saver simulates cratering of initially flat terrain, obeying the same power-law relating crater size to number observed on airless solar system bodies.

Earth Screen Saver
The Earth screen saver displays an image of the Earth as currently illuminated by the Sun, from a variety of viewpoints. You can view the Earth from the Sun (day side), the night side, from the Moon, or from an arbitrary altitude above any point on the globe specified by latitude and longitude.

Sky Screen Saver
The Sky Screen Saver shows the sky above any location on Earth, including stars (from the Yale Bright Star Catalogue of more than 9000 stars to the 7th magnitude), the Moon in its correct phase and position in the sky, and the position of the Sun and all the planets in the sky.

Planetarium	Planetary / Solar System	CCD / Image Processing
Satellite Tracking	Miscellaneous	Screen Savers
	Java Applets

		Earth Centered Universe V3.0 ECU is a Planetarium and Telescope Control Program for Amateur Astronomers capable of simulating many of the features visible in the Earth's night sky. You only need to enter your geographic location and the time; the local sky will then be simulated on the screen in a colourful display. This application is Shareware!
		Home Planet Home Planet is a comprehensive astronomy / space / satellite-tracking package. Well worth a look. It offers Solar and Lunar position and phase data, ephemerides for planet and asteroids, maps, catalogues and more. This application is Freeware!
		NGC View V6.1 NGCView is a program which departs from the traditional astronomical software paradigms of planetariums, ephemerides and text-based database programs. It provides a fusion of the best qualities of all three into a single program designed to optimize the time you are looking through an eyepiece. An evaluation copy of the program (30-day limit) can be downloaded.
		SkyChart SkyChart 2000.0 is a planetarium program which provides accurate sky simulations. It accurately simulates the sky as it appears tonight, as well as hundreds or thousands of years in the past or future. The sky can be viewed from any place on Earth, or from any object in the solar system or beyond it. Also provides support for Meade LX200, Celestron AstroMaster, Orion SkyWizard and other telescope controllers.
		SkyGlobe 3.6 This is a superb (DOS) astronomy program that presents a realistic and beautiful display of the stars and constellations as they appear in the sky at night from your location. It displays over 29,000 stars and as well as constellation lines, the planets, the Sun, the Moon, Messier Objects, the Milky Way, and grid lines. Location, time and date can be adjusted and the number and brightness of stars, zoom, print out screen displays, and more can be changed.
		SkyMap SkyMap is a 'planetarium' program that draws maps of the sky, as seen from anywhere on Earth, for any date between 4000BC and 8000AD. The program is very accurate (Planetary positions, for example, have a mean error of less than a half second of arc). Two different types of the map can be drawn; a 'Horizion' map, showing a local view of the sky as seen by an observer, and an 'Area' map showing a detailed view of a small area of the sky on an RA/Dec grid.

		JupSat95 V1.14 This program calculates the positions of and displays side-on and plan views of Jupiter and its satellites (for three optical configurations), along with the Longitude of Jupiter's Central Meridian for both equatorial (System I) and non-equatorial (System II) zones. It also displays (and can print) monthly satellite tracks, Great Red Spot transit times and allows animation. Online documentation is included. V1.14 released on Mar. 09, 1999. For more information (and to download the application), see the JupSat95 Page. (Featured in the April, 1999 edition of Sky & Telescope).
		Lunar Occultation Workbench This is the world's most accurate, versatile program for the computation of predictions of occultations by the Moon of some 53879 stars and the 8 major planets. For any location on Earth you can create list of predictions that suite your specific needs. In addition you can record your observations and send them in a standard format either to your local lunar occultations contact person, or to the International Lunar Occultation Centre in Japan.
		LunarPhase LunarPhase is a utility for Win 95/98/NT which provides rising, transit and setting times for both the Sun and Moon, start and end times for Civil, Nautical and Astronomical twilight and a range of information on the Moon and, to a lesser degree, the Sun, graphically displaying the current phase of the moon (in real time), its age, percentage illuminated, distance, position and the times and dates of the major lunar phases for the selected month and year. It also provides Lunar Eclipse information and Equinox and Solstice times. V2.20 released on Dec. 30, 1999. For more information (and screenshots) and to download the application, see the LunarPhase Page.
		Planet Watch Take a tour of the solar system with PlanetWatch, an atlas of the solar system, and learn about our planetary neighbor's motions, atmospheres, geology, and internal structure. Breathtaking color photographs, animated maps, and up-to-date information from Voyager, Galileo, and other space probes are combined into an informative and entertaining atlas of our solar system.

		STSPlus STSORBIT PLUS, usually known as STSPLUS, is intended for use during Space Shuttle missions and for general satellite tracking using NASA/NORAD 2-Line Orbital Elements. One primary satellite and up to 32 additional "static" or "real time" satellites may be simultaneously tracked in real time on most computers. Both orthographic and rectangular VGA color map projections are available, displaying the Earth as a globe or the more traditional "flat map". A new "Night Vision" mode shows the maps in RED to protect the user's night vision, great for color laptops!
		TrakSat TRAKSAT is a satellite tracking program for amateur radio and optical users alike. The program provides all the features you would expect from satellite tracking software and much more. What makes this program so different is all the options available to the user. The program uses "pop-up" and "pull down" style windows for easy use. in this version are two fully rendered 3D earth views with full color Sun/Shadow. TRAKSAT is now a fully protected mode program with no DOS 640K limits! The program works in a Win95 DOS box.
		WinTrack Pro WinTrak Pro is an easy-to-use program for tracking satellites in real-time on PC type personal computers running Win95/98/NT 4.0. It provides a variety of features required by Amateur Radio Operaors, Astronomers, and Satellite Watchers.

		AstroCal AstroCal is an astronomical calendar application which displays a calendar for the selected month and year, lunar phases for the selected month, highlights national holidays and astronomical dates, provides day/week numbers and julian dates, millenium countdown clock, monthly calendar printout and more. V1.12 released 22 Jul 1998.
		Astro-Mania Blast off to learning excitement with Astro-Mania, a software game that makes astronomy fun. Eight levels and captivating graphics will keep you entertained for hours. For all ages, Win95/98.
		Custom Sundial Generator This is an Internet based application that generates a PostScript file, the first page of which is a fully corrected Horizontal Sundial for your location and the second page a template to aid in constructing a gnomon i.e., shadow caster. Check out http://www.groknet.com/dialuse.html

		JupSat Java Applet My JupSat applet (featured on the Skynotes page and now on the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Galileo Page) displays a real-time side-on view of Jupiter and its satellites. Clicking on Jupiter or the satellite images takes you to a webpage dedicated to that object. This version now works properly on Windows NT.
		Lunar Phases Applet This applet displays the current phase of the moon and the time/date of the next four major lunar phases. The current age of the moon, its distance and apogee/perigee dates are also displayed. All times displayed are in UT except for the clock which displays the local time. The applet updates in realtime. NOTE: This applet uses long filenames. Use WinZip to unzip the archive.

		Craters Screen Saver What better way to protect your monitor's phosphor than by smashing rocks into it at dozens of kilometres per second? This screen saver simulates cratering of initially flat terrain, obeying the same power-law relating crater size to number observed on airless solar system bodies.
		Earth Screen Saver The Earth screen saver displays an image of the Earth as currently illuminated by the Sun, from a variety of viewpoints. You can view the Earth from the Sun (day side), the night side, from the Moon, or from an arbitrary altitude above any point on the globe specified by latitude and longitude.
		Sky Screen Saver The Sky Screen Saver shows the sky above any location on Earth, including stars (from the Yale Bright Star Catalogue of more than 9000 stars to the 7th magnitude), the Moon in its correct phase and position in the sky, and the position of the Sun and all the planets in the sky.