47 FAQs about Astronomical Software (The Astronomy Cafe)

SETI@Home

Planetarium Simulators

Freeware programs

More astronomy software

Sun,moon and earth calculator , Temperature Conversion


  1. How do you compute the physical distance between two stars with known coordinates and distances?
  2. Is there an online catalog of the 500 - 1000 nearest stars?
  3. Do you know of any software that simulates stellar evolution?
  4. Are there places on the Internet where 1-3rd grade students can get information about the planets?
  5. Where can I find interesting astronomical software on the Internet?
  6. Could you explain how the formula for finding the spring equinox actually works?
  7. Where can I get online nearby star catalogs?
  8. Where can I get more information about the 'Starry Night' Software?
  9. Where can I find a website for 'Carina Software'?
  10. Is there a simple formula to calculate the current lunar phase or eclipses?
  11. Where can I get star catalogs on line that give names, distances, constellation boundaries etc?
  12. Is there any software that can show the 3-D relationships between objects near the sun in the Milky Way out to a few thousand light years?
  13. Where can I get information about computing the orbits of artificial satellites?
  14. Where can I get an email address list of astronomers?
  15. How can I locate the email address of a particular astronomer on the Internet?
  16. Can you give me a catalog of microwave/radio sources suitable for a 30 meter telescope?
  17. Where can I get SW to tell me the azimuth and elevation of the North Star Polaris from any location?
  18. Where can I get southern hemisphere sky maps?
  19. Where can I get an 'Hour Glass' diagram computed for a latitude of +67?
  20. Do you have any software for science fair experiments like YAHOO says you do?
  21. Where can I get a star catalog that includes stars to +6.5 or +7.0 magnitude?
  22. The data files at the NASA Astronomy Data Center are in .gz format. What is this, and how do I use it on a PC?
  23. What language is used in automated commercial telescopes?
  24. Where can I get shareware to calculate gravity-assist trajectories?
  25. Where can I get software to predict the dates for the solstices and the equinoxes from 1583 AD onwards?
  26. Where can I get the orbital elements for asteroids and comets on the Internet?
  27. Where does the formula for calculating the distance between two stars in the sky come from?
  28. How do you calculate the Right Ascension and Declination of a planet in the sky?
  29. Where can I get a database for the Sun and Moon for 1996?
  30. How do you track the planets from Niagra Falls?
  31. Where can I get Planetary Ephemeris software to do my own forecasting?
  32. Where can I find a lunar calendar on the Internet?
  33. What is the relationship between RA and Dec, and an objects visibility at a specific point on the earth?
  34. Where can I get information about celestial navigation?
  35. When will sunrise occur on 4-7-96 as seen from Orange County California?
  36. How do you calculate Moon rise times at a given location and time?
  37. How do you calculate the date of the Autumnal and Vernal Equinoxes?
  38. Where can I get software to predict the azimuth angle of Polaris to better than 1 arc second accuracy?
  39. Where can I find a catalog of 3.8 - 4.2 micron irradiances for stars?
  40. How can I calculate the rise/set times of the Sun on a particular day and location?
  41. What is the equation for the sunrise/sunset curve on a Mercator projection of the earth?
  42. Where can I get software to predict the azimuth and elevation for the Sun and Moon?
  43. Where can I get software for predicting the azimuth and elevation of the Moon for any day and latitude?
  44. Where can I get a program to show the relative sizes of things in the solar system and Milky Way?
  45. Where can I get an on-line ephemeris for the Sun, Moon and planets?
  46. Where can I get software to calculate sunrise and sunset on a given day?
  47. By how much does the sunset position on the horizon move each week?


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