SOFTWARE?

[bcfcciderhead]

Is there any type of pc software about that is useful to a newbie?, what i'm looking for is something that works real time, that will show the stars, planets etc that are on view in real time.

Also any downloads that got a full moon countdown timer i can put on the desk top?, been told there is but can't find nothing.

Just after something that is easy to understand and follow and to give me a clue of where and when to look.

Hope you made sense of this and look forward to your replys

[Starblazer]

Stellarium, Ideal for the job until you want that little bit more, then it's Carte Du Ciel.

Free downloads and realtime, enter your location, Long/Lat and your off. Search functions and you can advance or rewind time

[Dai150PL]

As a fellow newbie I have found Stellarium to be to be the easiest to use within in minutes of downloading, and its free. I have tried the more advanced software out there and honestly prefer Stellarium at present. Compared to the others, there is very little required in the way of learning, just straight in and the night sky comes alive.

Hope my two pennies worth help.

[GJBC]

I agree Stellarium but it uses the system resources so you need something decent to run the newest versions i have a few pcs and it runs great on the newer ones but really strugles on the older ones. the thing with stellarium is it is visual and really eats processes power and memory just run it no and it is using 25% of my processor power as i watch it now avg use at stnd by 1s 15 percent so as long as you have the system stellarium is the one for you

once you get an understanding of what's there you can use the ones with no visuals I use Meade auto star suite it free and runs on older kit and less than 256 memory if needed i have used it for over 5 years now and I find it most adequate.

[matt c]

What I do with stellarium personally is print off screen shots of the part of the sky I'm interested in that night, perfect for finding the more distant planets like Uranus and Neptune. It means you can adjust the amount of stars shown on the chart for reference points etc.

[darkly]

Here you go mate, Stellarium, Moonphase and metacheck all in one place and a really helpful lady who answers questions on SGL too.

What more could you want

Astro-Baby FREE Resources

Check out the other pages as there's loads of stuff for beginners, especially if you have a 'Skywatcher' scope, and even if you haven't - good luck!!!

[optical thrombosis]

Stellarium. Every time.

[bcfcciderhead]

Thanks guys, got Stellarium on my pc now and starting to get to grips with it, me thinks this will come in very handy