Freeware EXPLORED

There's a wealth of free astronomical software available online to enhance your observations. Pete Lawrence looks at some of the best on offer

- Pete Lawrence

Computers and astronomy have always been well-matched partners. While the huge amount of data available in astronomy today and repetitive calculations would be taxing for humans to manipulate manually, they present no such difficulty for modern computers.

That's why there is a great selection of astronomy software, covering everything from trivial tasks like calculating the positions of Jupiter's four main moons, up to taxing simulations of the whole Universe. Amateur astronomers have a rich library of applications to choose from - some are commercial, costing anything from a few to several hundred pounds, but many options are free.

In this article we will look at a few of these 'freeware' applications, many of which have been around for a while. The test of time has seen these pieces of software refined to a point where, once used, they can become an integral part of the observing experience. Although our list is not exhaustive, we hope it will help you discover some of the incredible free astronomical programs out there.

Solar System freeware

These apps deal with objects within the Sun's family, and include simulation, planning, and reference programs

WinJupos

http://jupos.org

Download: http://jupos.org/gh/ download.htm

Operating System (OS): Windows 2000 - 11; Linux/Mac OS (with Wine)