Free Astronomy Software

When it comes to astronomy software, it seems the best things in life really are free. The three programs listed below are of the highest quality. I use them all almost daily, and highly recommend them. They will enhance your enjoyment of astronomy by at least one order of magnitude. The fact that they are all free is hard to believe, and makes one think there might be hope for our species after all.

Home Planet

by John Walker

This is the workhorse in my stable. This program will do just about anything, with professional accuracy, and clear, concise graphics. Almost all my weekly sky maps are designed with the help of this program. The programmer has other free goodies at his website as well, including an excellent screen saver that I use myself. It displays the current positions of the stars and everything else in the sky, day and night. All of this and more at http://www.fourmilab.ch/.

Stellarium

(Open Source Program)

This is the prettiest horse in my stable. This program has the most realistic portrayal of the night sky I've ever seen. You will swear you are looking at the real thing. The graphics are exceedingly awesome. This is a free, open source program, which means that a lot of programmers have pooled their talents, and it really shows. You can download it at www.stellarium.org.

Celestia

(Open Source Program)

This is the most fun horse in my stable. This program is a flight simulator for space. It is another free, open source program, so a lot of very talented folk have put their heads together and come up with an extremely detailed and realistic program that lets you go out into space and fly around the planets and the stars and anything else that's out there. The scope of this program seems almost as limitless as space itself. And just as in the flight simulator world, there is a huge community of people who have designed add-ons and enhancements for this program. If you have any interest in flying, or in space travel, or astronomy, go and get Celestia right away at www.shatters.net/celestia/.

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HOME PAGE - Weekly map of the night sky, and current astronomical events.	OUR PLACE - Weekly article on things terrestrial.
SOLAR SYSTEM - All Things Held Captive By The Sun	KEEP MEXICAN SKIES FREE - Ways you can help...
CONSTELLATIONS - Everything Else In The Universe	MUSIC - "The food of love..." Original songs, and more...
PLANET WATCH - Weekly update of the planets in our sky.	GUITAR TUTORIAL - Learn the basics of playing the guitar.
E. T. WATCH - The scientific search for extraterrestrial life.	HIGHWAY 61 - An original novel about polar bears, suicide bombers, and God.
CLOSE ENCOUNTER WATCH - Comets and asteroids heading our way.	PHOTO GALLERY - A collection of original observatory photos.
SHUTTLE WATCH - The exploits of NASA's Space Shuttle.	HUMOUR GALLERY - A collection of humour from the web.
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - The latest news from the first Human home in space.	THE FRANK GALBRAITH LEGACY - The legacy of a Cariboo musician.
FREE ASTRONOMY SOFTWARE - The best things in life really are free.	THE MEXICAN SKIES OBSERVATORY - Santa Elena, Oaxaca, Mexico.
ASTROLOGY - Astronomy's Evil Twin?	MEXICAN SKIES ARCHIVES - Selected articles from previous years.

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