A lot of astronomical software can be found on the Internet. One of the main FTP sites is the SEDS.LPL.Arizona.EDU organization. It's next to impossible to review all the software that is available. Here is but a very small selection.

DOS programs

• Astronomical Computer Ephemeris, part 1 of 2. A real MUST if you want to do your own calculations. Positions and co-ordinates of Sun, Moon, planets and stars from 1800 to 2050. Rise and set times, topocentric positions, sidereal times and much, much more. Identical to ICE (Interactive Computer Ephemeris) of the U.S. Nautical Almanac Office. Part 1: 182 Kb exe-file.
• Astronomical Computer Ephemeris, part 2 of 2. Part 2: 144 Kb exe-file.
• Hello Northern Sky". Planetarium software for Windows 3.1 en 95. Shows stars down to magnitude +8.0. Includes our Moon, the planets and moons of Jupiter. Displays tracks of comets and asteroids.
• Messier Oberver's Guide. Guide to Messier objects. Shows each Messier object in its constellation and gives an impression of the visual image as seen through a telescope. 360 Kb zip-file.
• Moon Calculator. Lunar observation program by Dr. Monzur Ahmed. Calculates the lunar phase and predicts the area of visiblity for the small crescent of the Moon! 209 Kb zip-file.
• Our Cosmohood. Our cosmical neighbourhood. 3-Dimensional representation of the 2300 nearest galaxies. 131 Kb zip-file.
• Skyglobe. Very nice planetarium program! Very accurate as well. 363 Kb zip-file.
• STSORBIT Plus, part 1 of 2. 308 Kb zip-file. Magnificent program to follow the orbits of space shuttles and other satellites around the Earth. Also predicts their visiblity as seen from the ground! Uses NORAD two-line elements that are frequently updated on the CelesTrak WWW of Dr. T.S. Kelso.
• STSORBIT Plus, part 2 of 2. 346 Kb zip-file.
• Tonite. Calculates rise and set times of Sun and Moon. 88 Kb exe-file.

Further useful programs

• MAXCLOCK. A high-precision digital astronomical software clock, released Jan. 2010. MAXCLOCK can be run under any DOS or WINDOWS system.

Back to ASTRONOMY

Back to ASTRONET's home page