Astronomy Software for Photographers - Recommendations

[Patti Edens]

I am looking for software that will help me find out what will be in the night sky on a night whenever I am planning to do some night photography.

If anyone has any experience with the various programs that will do this, please let me know which one you prefer and why.

I found this comparison and review of several entry level programs, but the reviews are more aimed at budding astronomers and not photographers.

I saw Sky Gazer 4.5 in action a few days ago. I was shooting at night in Big Bend with another photographer and she got a solid streak through her photo that we thought must be a satellite. We plugged the coordinates into her Sky Gazer program and put in the time and date and viewing direction. When we started it at a few minutes before the photo and ran it through a few minutes after the photo, we saw an object moving through the sky right where the streak was in the photo. We clicked on the object and the program identified it as the Hubble Space Telescope. Very cool. So, I am tending toward this program, but I just want to see what other photographers are using.

Thanks,
Patti

[Patti Edens]

I just got Sky Gazer 4.5. It is pretty simple to use and does all I need for now.

[texkam]

Best Free Astronomy Software

[Patti Edens]

Thanks Mark. I'll take a look and see if any of the free stuff does something SkyGazer doesn't do. For $29 for the download version, SkyGazer is really turning out to be pretty good.