App recommendations?

[Eruliaf]

Hi,

Following the purchase of my first scope (SW 200P, EQ5) I am getting the know the sky slowly, but was wondering if any of you have suggestions for apps to assist with locating when and where the planets are available for viewing? I can see there are many available, but thought I would seek some guidance on which one is preferred by those who know.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Luke

[Guest]

Hi Luke, 

R U LUKE SKYWWALKER ?? 

When you say APP!! do you mean an APP for your TABLET or IPAD ?? or for your WINDOWS PC ?

For Windows application !!

Try http://stellarium.org/en/ is the best I know and did ever use ( my opinion ) you also can connect your EQ5 to the APP!! by installing also the STELLARIUM SCOPE http://welshdragoncomputing.ca/x/ and then from the STELLARIUM Application send command, so your mount move and points to the object of your desire !!

 

Good luck

Martin

[popeye85]

Stellarium is probably the best one to use on a laptop for planning sessions, great wee program, as for it in the field I have 'skysafari 5', the full app is pretty pricey ( can't remember the price of the top of my head to be honest) but they do have a range of versions at different Prices so just pick the one that suits you. I have also found a planisphere invaluable for learning the constellations.

[Floater]

Stellarium and Sky Safari are the most popular - and probably best - apps.

The link below is not an app but you may find it helpful for planning observing sessions - providing you can handle some French ...

http://www.univers-astronomie.fr/generateur-soiree/

Your location will be in Royaume-Uni, of course.

[R26 oldtimer]

I use "skEye" & "dso planner free"  on my android phone.

They can also be used as push-to, although the accuracy is determined by the phones sensors (not good on mine).

Star Chart free is also very good on but on Ios.

[Geoff Lister]

+1 for Stellarium on a PC. I tend to use Celestron's free SkyPortal on my tablet.

[Owmuchonomy]

Make sure you can run it forward a few years as the juicy planetary targets aren't visible until then.  I use Sky Safari on all my iOS and Mac devices.  It is an excellent app.

[Kriss Craik]

All on my phone:

Stellarium 

clear outside (thanks FLO)

Seasky.org (bookmarked)

aurora watch

polar align

think that’s all I use. Hope this helps

[ronin]

I was looking for when the planets will make an appearance at a reasonable time and basically it is next year and even then they are going to be low in the sky, likely very low.

If you load Stellarium on to your PC you can advance the date+time via F5. If you place the Ecliptic on the East and advance the date by days or months then eventually Jupiter will just appear. Saturn comes up a bit later. Think Jupiter is May and Saturn July. They will be higher later during the night but it depends on when you want to stand outside and observe.

Basically from my enquiring last night it will be some time to have a view of planets.

Stellarium is probably the best on a PC, and many including myself find Skysafari 5 Plus is likely to optimal on a phone/tablet. The Skysafari 5 Pro has more but only in numeric values as in 2.6 million stars and not 13 million. Being bigger it also takes more processing and can run therefore slow. The Plus is likely the best overall. The basic one will do fine but occasionally they are at half price offer and then the Plus is good value.

Will say I tried just about all the free options and deleted each within a few minutes as they just didn't do the job.

Will also say I find a decent book about the best way to determine where things are and where to look. That means just getting out and learning which constellation is which.

[popeye85]

It is possible to find the position of planets using a planisphere ( well on a Phillips one at least)

[Nyctimene]

SkySafari Plus or Pro (depending on the size of your scope;  for an 8",  Plus will do) for use at the scope with smartphone /tablet; Stellarium with PC.

LunarMap HD in LRO hi-res mode.

Stephan

[JOC]

A hand held mobile phone and the apps above is very useful and I use the same.  Another resource that I found lovely and useful and visit regularly is this one

https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/night/uk/london

You can enter your own location, and then if you click on each planet it shows when they are 'up', their rough directions and some degrees data and the best time to see them.  I find the list is simple, effective and even easier sometimes than playing with a planetarium app in the first instance.  It's useful for finding out quickly what might be up there, and then I use stellarium or google sky if I need to (I also have goto) to find the target on my mobile phone outside with the telescope.

[Dave In Vermont]

Here's my 'Copy & Paste' to help you get Stellarium up and running on your PC or laptop:

On this link is the main page for downloading Stellarium. Choose which version is correct for your computer. Here you go:

http://www.stellarium.org/
 
As for instructions, a full copy of them is bundled with the program that you download. But if you need another copy for some reason, these can be downloaded here:
 
https://sourceforge.net/projects/stellarium/files/Stellarium-user-guide/0.16.0-1/stellarium_user_guide-0.16.0-1.pdf/download

This program is quite large, so download when you have a few minutes. I'll leave you with 2 screenshots: First one shows basically how Stellarium appears before you customizes it, while the 2nd. shows my copy while identifying a satellite. Mine is much more advanced - just to give you an idea about Stellarium's great range of options. Please know that I am an experienced user.

 

Similar to what you'll see when you first start the program after installing -

 

My copy while identifying a satellite -

Click on image for larger size.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

That should get you going. And many of us are familiar with Stellarium, so just ask if you need any help. Alex Wolf, one of the developer's of this program, is a member here. So if we don't know - he just might...

Enjoy!

Dave

[Eruliaf]

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I have downloaded the Skysafari 5 app on my phone, which is very good. I will look at the computer based apps next to see if I would benefit from one of those as well.

More beginner questions to follow at some point!

[Chefgage]

On 22/11/2017 at 14:09, Eruliaf said:

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I have downloaded the Skysafari 5 app on my phone, which is very good. I will look at the computer based apps next to see if I would benefit from one of those as well.

More beginner questions to follow at some point!

I very usefull thing i find using skysafari is the ability to set field of view circles based on the equipment you are using. That way what is shown inside the circle on sky safari is what you will see through your eye piece

 

[Dave In Vermont]

Stellarium can also be programmed by you to show you views through telescope/eyepiece combinations, as well as to run telescopes remotely. Click on your screen, the telescope goes to the object you select on the screen. This for a PC or laptop - I don't know about other versions. But the full Stellarium is a very powerful program! A stroll through it's latest User Guide will show you how powerful it truly is - all 24.7MB for the User Guide alone:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/stellarium/files/Stellarium-user-guide/0.16.0-1/stellarium_user_guide-0.16.0-1.pdf/download

Greatest FREE bargain in, and on, the Universe!

Dave

[mystyco]

I use: Sky Live, Universe2go, SkySafari. For me these 3 are a must for any observing/imaging session.

[Olisuds]

On 11/22/2017 at 14:09, Eruliaf said:

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I have downloaded the Skysafari 5 app on my phone, which is very good. I will look at the computer based apps next to see if I would benefit from one of those as well.

More beginner questions to follow at some point!

I'm just starting out myself and also purchased the Skysafari 5 app for my iphone 7 plus which i thought was excellent with the compass and locate tool particularly for 99p - i think it was. I also just purchased the computer based app for my Mac for £4.99 which has a lot more advanced features like moving the sky forward in time it but doesnt have the compass alignment like on the mobile.