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» BOINCmon Multi SETI@home Monitor 0.11+

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BOINCmon is an Open-Source graphical package to monitor seti activity that may be running on multiple computers over a network or multiple instances on the same computer. If you do not have multiple PCs BOINCmon is great for Monitoring SETI@home activity for a single client while saving space on your desktop. It is the first program to monitor multiple PC's without having to cross mount file systems. Rather than slowing down your cpu with fancy displays, BOINCmon displays only the necessary facts at a glance. This is especially helpful if you are monitoring multiple computers that may be running SETI@home. The main window will give you a quick look at the progress each of your systems are making. If you wish to see more information just left click on the desired PC name or directory and a detailed work unit screen will appear. A right click will show the position of that work unit in the SkyMap.

author:	Jeff Omick
required:	Windows
size:	2.9 m
added:	18-Mar-2013

(14 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» Aciqra 2.2+

Aciqra is an Open Source virtual planetarium and sky map program. It has the ability to track nearly 120,000 stars, the 8 planets, all 109 Messier object, the sun and the moon from any location on Earth to an accuracy of 1 degree for the next 50 years. It also includes a wealth of built-in tools called "widgets" which include a solar system viewer, an eclipse/transit predictor and a conjunction engine. Aciqra takes scientific data and converts it into an understandable form of astronomy for those new to the field. It's easy to use and requires no documentation. The program may be used by anyone with basic computer knowledge and an interest in astronomy.

author:	Caglow
required:	Win2K, WinXP, Vista, Win7, +.NET 2
size:	57.4 m
added:	27-Jun-2012

(10 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» StarryNight Sky 2012

StarryNight Sky is a planetarium software that displays the chart of the entire night sky in real time if the location latitude and longitude are entered. The images of the planets can be viewed by zooming near the area where they are located. The program also shows the phase of moon.

author:	Bapuli Online
required:	WinXP, Vista, Win7
size:	2.74 m
added:	10-Jan-2012

(16 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» Stellarium 0.11+

Stellarium is a free Open Source planetarium, it renders 3D photo-realistic skies in real time with OpenGL. It displays stars, constellations, planets, nebulas and others things like ground, landscape, atmosphere, etc. It can be used in planetarium projectors, just set your coordinates and go. It has a multilingual interface and a default catalogue of over 600,000 stars, extra catalogues with more than 210 million stars can be downloaded separately. » more info, screenshot

author:	Stellarium Project
required:	Windows, Mac, *NIX
size:	56.7 m
added:	07-Mar-2011

(174 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» Planetary, Lunar, and Stellar Visibility 3.1+

Planetary, Lunar, and Stellar Visibility presents a 3-color diagram that shows when a planet, a star, the moon or the sun is visible during any year from 3000 BC to AD 6000 at any location on the earth. The vertical axis marks the months of the year, the horizontal axis marks the hours of the day. The three colors create a contour map effect and show whether the body is under the horizon (black) and invisible, above the horizon with the sun (light color) and invisible, above the horizon without the sun (shaded color) and so possibly visible. By moving the mouse over the diagram, the date and time along with the object's altitude, azimuth, and magnitude, or the phase of the moon, are displayed. » more info, screenshot

author:	Noel M. Swerdlow & Rainer Lange
required:	Win98, Win2K, WinXP, Vista, Win7
size:	5.75 m
added:	11-Feb-2011

(24 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» EQAlign 2.3+

EQAlign is an Open Source program that was created to assist in aligning a German Equatorial Mount (GEM) exactly to the Earth's polar axis. In addition to the polar align feature, EQAlign is now a full featured astronomical program. Features include: Exactly polar align an equatorial mount; Periodic Error measure and analysis; Autoguide. ASCOM and direct LX200, DA1 and StarBook GoTo platform; Local Sky projection and comets/asteroids orbital computation.

author:	Antonio Fraga
required:	Win2K, WinXP, Vista, Win7
size:	6.1 m
added:	21-Jan-2011

(2 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» MAXCLOCK 3.2

MAXCLOCK is a high-precision, digital, astronomical clock. Co-ordinates may be referenced to mean dynamic equinox and ecliptic of date or to FK5. The inclusion of nutation and/or aberration is freely selectable. Time data are displayed for ITRF Greenwich zero meridian. Solar and sidereal times are also displayed for any other freely user-selectable location anywhere on planet earth, e.g. for your home observation site. Timely announcements are issued when Moon phases, solstices, or equinoxes are nearing. Display includes: Civil date & time, day number in the year; Julian date and modified Julian date both in terms of ephemeris time ET (TT) and universal time UT1; Delta-T, the difference between ET and UT1; Mean solar time, apparent solar time, equation of time; Mean sidereal time, apparent sidereal time, equation of equinoxes; Geocentric ecliptical and equatorial coordinates of Sun and Moon; and much more!

author:	Udo Mark
required:	Win9x, Win2K, WinXP, Vista, Win7
size:	198/485 k
added:	01-Mar-2010

(6 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» Moonphase 3.3

Moonphase - displays the current moon phase of the current day as an icon in the Activity field. You can change the time zone, latitude and longitude (just click on the map) to get a more accurate moon rise and set time and also the sunrise and sunset. A little bonus: If you like to fish, mark the 'Show good fish days' option (fishing calendar, derived from 'the anglers Almanac'). Note: there is a separate version for the Southern Hemisphere.
Feb.2011: Important Note: Several anti virus programs are reporting *possible* infections in this download file. The file has been checked, the reports are *ALL* false positives! See author's notes here. PLEASE DO NOT report this to FH.

author:	Henrik Tingstrom
required:	WinXP, Vista, Win7
size:	1.35 m
added:	22-Feb-2010

(47 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» Asynx Planetarium 2.60+

Asynx Planetarium is a easy to use planetarium program and solar system simulator. Planetarium allows you to see the brightest 2500 stars, all 88 constellations, all nine planets and the moonphase from 1600 AD to 9999 AD from any location on earth. Geocentric and heliocentric views also available. It displays detailed information for every planet, just click on any one. South America and Australia can see the southern hemisphere. Perfect for students, kids and astronomy beginners. Try it, it's free !

author:	Asynx Software Inc.
required:	Win2K, WinXP, Vista, Win7
size:	1.7 m
added:	23-Nov-2009

(7 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» KidsAstronomy Online

Astronomy for children, students, and kids of all ages. KidsAstronomy.com, part of the KidsKnowIt Network, is the absolutely free astronomy resource designed to teach children about the exciting world of outer space. Learning about science should never be boring. We will take you to the moons of Jupiter, and explore the possibility of life on these distant worlds. Travel through the expanse of the universe and discover just how much SPACE there is in Space. And we will learn how modern day scientists are pushing the limits of space exploration every day. So strap yourself in for a great ride. Our astronomy website is packed with games, activities, fun facts, and resources to help Teachers, Parents, and Students of all ages reach out and touch our universe.

author:	The KidsKnowIt Network
required:	Any Browser
size:	-
added:	25-Sep-2009

(2 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» Celestia 1.6

Celestia is a free, Open Source, real-time space simulation that lets you experience our universe in three dimensions. Unlike most planetarium software, Celestia doesn't confine you to the surface of the Earth, you can travel throughout the solar system, to any of over 100,000 stars, or even beyond the galaxy. All travel in Celestia is seamless; the exponential zoom feature lets you explore space across a huge range of scales, from galaxy clusters down to spacecraft only a few meters across. A 'point-and-go-to' interface makes it simple to navigate through the universe to the object you want to visit.

author:	Chris Laurel
required:	Windows, Mac, Linux,
size:	33.6 m
added:	29-Jul-2009

(344 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» Neave Planetarium Online

Neave Planetarium is an online, browser-based, virtual planetarium of stars and planets customizable by location (latitude and longitude) and time of day. Get the correct view for your sky by setting your position on the world map in the Location menu on the right-hand side. The default location is London, England, but you can move the crosshairs on the map to view the sky from any point on Earth. Click the sky to start or stop moving around. As you move your mouse, your view will change. Pointing at a star will reveal its name, its constellation, its magnitude and its distance. You can also use the arrow keys to change the view.

author:	Paul Neave
required:	Any Browser
size:	-
added:	30-Jun-2009

(10 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» Mitaka 1.2+

Mitaka : A Four-Dimensional Universe Viewer is software for visualizing theoretical, computational, and observational astronomical data. Users can seamlessly navigate across the universe from Earth to the edges of the known universe. Mitaka is developed by the Four Dimensional Digital Universe (4D2U) project of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ). It is optimized for 3D visualizations on multiple screens at the 4D2U theater in NAOJ's Mitaka headquarters. However, it can also be used on a single Windows PC.

author:	Tsunehiko Kato
required:	Win2K, WinXP, Vista
size:	+/- 35.0 m
added:	29-Jun-2009

(5 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» Zindaiji 0.9+

Zindaiji was developed to create 3D movies for NAOJ's 4D2U theaters, but it can also be used as a GUI for viewing many-body simulation data. By reading in a file with particle positions, speeds and radii in sequential order, Zindaiji can display the simulations results as they evolve in time from any view point. These visualizations can be saved to a series of images or an AVI file. It is also possible to generate left and right eye view movies for 3D visualization. Zindaiji helps researchers visualize large many-body simulations with an intuitive GUI. It also creates high quality movies suitable for theater presentations. Zindaiji is designed to display, points, spheres, planes, textures, background images, and other small ornamental details efficiently and beautifully.

author:	4D2U Project
required:	Win2K, WinXP, Vista
size:	8.26 m
added:	29-Jun-2009

(2 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» WorldWide Telescope 2.0

WorldWide Telescope (WWT) enables your computer to function as a virtual telescope, bringing together imagery from the best ground and space-based telescopes in the world. Experience narrated guided tours from astronomers and educators featuring interesting places in the sky. A web-based version of WorldWide Telescope is also now available for preview. This version enables seamless, guided explorations of the universe from within a web browser on PC and Intel Mac OS X by using the power of Microsoft Silverlight. The WorldWide Telescope Academic program facilitates and enhances WWT-based research and education collaboration with academics worldwide. In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy, WWT is now available with a localized user-interface in several languages.

author:	Microsoft Corp.
required:	WinXP, Vista, +.NET 2
size:	27.5 m
added:	25-Jun-2009

(3 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» The Eight Planets Online

The Eight Planets, a Multimedia Tour of the Solar System: one star, eight planets, and more. This website is an overview of the history, mythology, and current scientific knowledge of the planets, moons and other objects in our solar system. Each page has my text and NASA's images, some have sounds and movies, most provide references to additional related information. All eight planets can be seen with a small telescope or binoculars. And large observatories continue to provide much useful information. But the possibility of getting up close with interplanetary spacecraft has revolutionized planetary science. Very little of this site would have been possible without the space program.

author:	Bill Arnett
required:	Any Browser
size:	-
added:	14-Oct-2008

(128 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» StarCalc 5.7+

StarCalc is the fastest professional astronomy planetarium and star mapping program today. It illustrates star positions of any instance of the day observed from any geographic locations on the Earth. The star positions can be viewed and presented as images of semi spherical whole sky or any of the user defined sub-areas. These images can be zoomed at different scales, rotated, screen-captured and printed. Note: A number of plugins for StarCalc, that extend its capabilities are available. Pocket PC version can be found on a web site as well. » more info, screenshot

author:	Alexander E. Zavalishin
required:	Win98, Win2K, WinXP
size:	753 k
added:	26-Aug-2008

(189 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» 3D Solar System 3.9

rolling advanced 3D solar system with all eight planets, dwarf planet Pluto and some big moons orbit. If you have a very fast computer - set 'True Worlds'-option 'On', and you will not be disappointed. You can manually select view of planet or moon and the camera takes you there. It includes options like 'Freeze All', 'Height of view', 'Orbit speed / Distance', 'Light and Shadow on/off', 'Atmosphere on/off', 'Rotation speed', 'Bank Angle', 'Model scale' and 'Zoom scale'. Support 800x600 up to 1600x1200 and also widescreen 1280x768 or 1680x1050 GFX resolution. You can also save the preferences. Recommended system: A 3D-card GFX hardware (64 MB or better); 1 GHZ CPU; 256 MB RAM.
Note: the program file size is *22,140 K* (22.14 Mb) - CHECK your downloaded file size BEFORE you try to begin the install.

author:	Henrik Tingstrom
required:	Windows, Vista
size:	22.1 m
added:	28-May-2008

(126 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» WJO What's Up 1.0

WJO What's Up is the answer for observers wanting to look at all those fuzzies but unsure what is above the horizon, high enough in the sky to be worth looking at and bright enough to see/image with your scope. No need to prepare lists, just get out there and observe. The lazy person's ultimate weapon against those organised astronomers - pretend to be as organised as the best of them. Does two jobs - 1. Tells you what objects are available for viewing at the telescope right now. 2. Creates a report saying what months objects are available and which months are the best to observe them. Filter by: Catalogue, Magnitude, Object Type, minimum altitude. There is even some bright stars especially for doing drift alignment of the polar axis with your scope.

author:	Simon Dawes
required:	WinXP
size:	216 k
added:	16-Oct-2007

(6 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» Polar View 1.0 beta

This is a simple program that displays a map of the north celestial pole, it can be configured to show the same view as your polar alignment telescope. PolarView's main purpose is for accurate polar alignment in the field. All good astronomers will know that the pole star 'Polaris' or the 'North Star' is not exactly on the north celestial pole, indeed, due to precession, nutation and proper motion it's position is moving, so, if like me your Vixen GPDX mount is fitted with a reticule that only shows the precession up to the year 2000, then this is the software for you. Unlike a polar alignment reticule, you don't need to adjust this for the date and time, the software does this for you. Available for Windows and Pocket PC

author:	Simon Dawes
required:	Windows
size:	74 k
added:	10-Oct-2007

(5 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» Sky Screen Saver 3.1

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. Outlines, boundaries, and names of constellations can be displayed, as well as names and Bayer/Flamsteed designations of stars brighter than a given threshold. A database of more than 500 deep-sky objects, including all the Messier objects and bright NGC objects can be plotted to a given magnitude. The ecliptic and celestial equator can be plotted, complete with co-ordinates. To fulfill its mission as a screen saver, the sky map shifts position on the display every 10 minutes to avoid burning in those few components of the display which do not move as the Earth revolves. The Sky Screen Saver is in the public domain, source code can be downloaded. You can do anything you like with it. Several different versions of the Sky Screen Saver are available for different hardware and software configurations; download the one appropriate for your machine.

author:	John Walker
required:	Windows
size:	183 k
added:	22-Aug-2007

(149 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» Cartes du Ciel-Sky Charts 2.75

The purpose of this program is to prepare different sky maps for a particular observation. A large number of parameters help you to choose specifically or automatically which catalogs to use, the colour and the dimension of stars and nebulae, the representation of planets, the display of labels and coordinate grids, the superposition of pictures, the condition of visibility and more. All these features make this celestial atlas more complete than a conventional planetarium.

author:	Patrick Chevalley
required:	Windows
size:	15.0 m
added:	05-Apr-2004

(173 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» SETI Monitor 3.35

SETI Monitor is a free add-on for SETI@home. It allows you to monitor the activity of your SETI@home client and see what it finds using virtually no CPU power. SETI Monitor shows the signals found by your SETI@home client and saves information about completed work units. You can see the signals found in your current work unit, browse through previous results and see the totals. SETI Monitor is extremely efficient as it uses less than 0.01% of CPU power. SETI Monitor also features the easiest to use work unit caching system for SETI@home in existence.

author:	Lior Fainshil
required:	Windows
size:	200 k
added:	08-Dec-2003

(24 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» GrandTour 4.1

GrandTour creates accurate wireframe scenes from Voyager or Giotto spacecraft, and from space or Earth (spacecraft visible). User has considerable control over time, field, etc., and many frames/second are generated. Developed at JPL to assist in analysis of science and optical navigation data, it was also filmed by the BBC/NOVA for a Voyager documentary. Conveniently runs from any Windows/DOS.

author:	John D. Callahan
required:	Windows
size:	341 k
added:	21-Aug-2003

(30 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» Planet's Visibility 2.0

Planet's Visibility presents a 3-color graph that shows when a planet, the moon or the sun is visible during any year from 3000 BC to AD 6000 at any location on the earth. The vertical axis marks the months of the year, the horizontal axis marks the hours of the day. The three colors create a contour map effect and show whether the body is under the horizon (black) and invisible, above the horizon with the sun (light color) and invisible, above the horizon without the sun (shaded color) and so possibly visible. The times of sunrise and sunset can be shown on all the diagrams.

author:	Alcyone Software
required:	Windows
size:	5.34 m
added:	19-Aug-2003

(26 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» Home Planet 3.0

A comprehensive astronomy / space / satellite-tracking package. It allows you to view: An earth map, showing day and night regions, location of the Moon and current phase, and position of a selected earth satellite. Panel showing positions of planets and a selected asteroid or comet, both geocentric and from the observer's location. A sky map, based on either the Yale Bright Star Catalogue or the 256,000 star SAO catalogue, including rendering of spectral types, planets, earth satellites, asteroids and comets. Databases of the orbital elements of 5632 asteroids and principal periodic comets are included, allowing selection of any for tracking. A telescope window which can be aimed by clicking in the sky map or telescope itself, by entering coordinates, or by selecting an object in the Object Catalogue. And more and more and more...

author:	John Walker
required:	Win95,WinNT
size:	7 m
added:	02-Dec-2000

(99 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

» Xearth for Windows 1.0

Xearth for Windows is a port of Kirk Johnson's original xearth program to Microsoft Windows. Xearth renders a shaded image of the earth on your desktop, as seen from your favorite vantage point in space. By default, the image is updated every five minutes according to the current position of the sun.
One of the features of xearth is the ability to place markers on the globe at specific locations. Xearth comes with 76 locations built-in. If you know the latitude and longitude of a city, you can place a marker on your xearth map.
The source code to Xearth for Windows is now available!

author:	Greg Hewgill
required:	Win95,Win98,WinNT
size:	170 k
added:	03-Jul-1999

(54 votes) » rate it (5 = best)

Education » Astronomy