Which Planetarium Software You Like and Why?

[Stangazer]

I'm doing a research on which planetarium software people use and why. I'm interested in desktop software, not mobile apps. Any comments are welcome. Cheers, Stan

[Stangazer]

I've just realised there is a similar topic already. Apologies for that. Admins, pls feel free to delete this. Cheers, Stan

[ronin]

Still answer this:

People seem to prefer different ones, Stellarium and Cartes du Ceil being the obvious 2.

Stellarium is free and a version of CdC is also (I think that the full version is a purchased item).

Stellarium on mine I find not so good, but the same on a friends laptop seems somewhat better - I just cannot see the set up wimdows and the constellation lines by themselves are not there on mine. Something odd.

Each has bits the other doesn't and often it is those differences that one person likes not the main software.

Got to be honest, I still find a book one of the best

[Vox45]

+1 for Stellarium which is visually stunning. Easy enough for my 5 yrs old to search for Messier's object by herself (she loves M57) and for me to use to guide my C6.

Carte du ciel is also very good with more feature but visually not as good. To each their own

[AndyWB]

I bought SkySafari for my Mac - it was on offer. I have since removed Stellarium. I just found that Stellarium's user interface - the buttons, dialogs, etc. - were very hard to understand. SkySafari was much easier to user. For the stated purpose of displaying the night sky, though, I reckon they're pretty much equally good.

[nigelbeaumont]

Carte due Ciel on laptop to control / GoTo mount in conjunction with Eqmod (because it just works out of the box), Stellarium on mobile phone for ease / speed of checking what's visible and when, transit times for mount flips etc

[Astro Imp]

I like Stellarium as I find it easy to use. I suppose part of the reason it was the first astro software I used and had to figure it out, I did have a look at Carte de Ciel and could't get on with it as well but that's just me.

[Dave In Vermont]

I have Stellarium and Cartes du Ciel - both wonderful programs. And I have The SkyX Serious edition, which costs money. Each has it's own unique charm and use.

Clear Skies,

Dave

[Liquid360]

I'm a mac user also. I own TheSkyX, starry night, and SkySafari. I love sky safari when I'm looking around, but SkyX for everything else.

[LukeSkywatcher]

I prefer Stellarium (dont use it much). I tried CdC on the laptop and desktop once and i couldnt make head nor tail or it. I like Sky Safari on my Android phone. 

[StuartJPP]

Coming from Stellarium, Cartes du Ciel feels like a serious step backwards in the visual department, however it is much, much better than Stellarium at controlling a scope and using it to control sessions. Best thing is that both are free to use...

I have also got SkySafari Plus for my Android phone which is pretty good and can be used to control your scope as well, however it is not free.

[Merlin66]

CdC is still freeware.

I think the issue with CdC is that it's more of an interactive "Star Atlas" rather than s wiz bang Planetarium "visual" type display.

The added catalogues and ease of use with the telescope control makes it a winner for me.

[Bart]

CdC is still freeware.

I think the issue with CdC is that it's more of an interactive "Star Atlas" rather than s wiz bang Planetarium "visual" type display.

The added catalogues and ease of use with the telescope control makes it a winner for me.

My sentiments exactly. Stellarium never really had the detail I wanted and it always felt a bit too 'visual'. Love CdC.

Have skysafari pro in phone, but skysafari plus was significantly cheaper and almost as good.

Barry

[steppenwolf]

Cartes du Ciel for me - I acknowledge that it has a rather 'clunky' appearance but it just works perfectly. When I moved from EQMod/EQ6 to SiTech/Mesu 200 it was a seamless change. C du C is just sooo reliable.

[Scott]

I've just realised there is a similar topic already. Apologies for that. Admins, pls feel free to delete this. Cheers, Stan

Stan, no need to apologies, most topics are covered more than once . For me, it's stellerium on the pc which I use for planning etc and cdc for mount control etc .

[philj]

Skymap pro 11 for me. Its a bit old now, just like ne, but Ive used Skymap for years, Im used to it, it has all the databases I require and I prefer it to cdc, stellarium

[bruno]

stellarium for me, just because it's so easy to use just upgraded to version 13 i do have small problems setting it up with the scope  but once it's going it's spot on.