KStars

There are billions upon billions of stars and other bodies universe, so there is always something to see on the night sky. KStars can serve you well if you're an amateur stargazer or astronomy professor. This desktop planetarium program simulates around 100 million stars, along with another 13.000 deep-sky objects, as well as all 8 planets in our solar system. It shows everything as seen from any location in the world at any time, so not only can you see the current location of planets, asteroids, comets and other objects, but you can also predict their movement if you want to observe them at a later date when the conditions are more favorable.

KStars is free and open source, and it's available for all modern Windows versions, as well as other operating systems, like Linux or Mac OS X. Its setup package is just a bit larger than that of your average software application, but it doesn't take more than a minute to download it and install its components. There are no advanced settings to be made along the way, and you don't need powerful hardware to run the program.

When you first launch the software, you must specify your location so that you receive an accurate simulation of the night sky in the 3D environment that takes up most of the user interface. You can zoom and pan the camera in any direction by using the mouse wheel and by clicking and dragging. Additionally, the options on the toolbar allow you to filter out some of the displayed objects, which is quite useful if you feel that it's getting a bit crowded.

To make navigation and measurements easier, the program displays an FOV reticle in the center of the screen, which you can customize to simulate various optical devices. Furthermore, enabling the equatorial and horizontal coordinate grids will definitely help in establishing object positions and measuring their movements. Besides showing all the stars in the correct locations, the software can show many other distant objects, such as supernovae. An interesting feature is the possibility of highlighting constellations and overlaying images so you may see them better.

One of KStars' more advanced features is the built-in Ekos astrophotography suite, which can control a connected telescope to help you aim it at an object with pinpoint accuracy. It supports a wide range of devices, including CCD and DSLR telescopes, focusers, filters and many others. A wizard will help you with step-by-step instructions so that you may connect and configure your device without any difficulties. Once connected, you can use the program to point your telescope at a specific object in the sky, track it and much more.

Whether you're an amateur or a professional, KStars will bring a great deal of convenience to your stargazing activities.