Astrophotograghy planning software

[peter_4059 (Peter)]

Just wondering what people recommend for planning an astrophotography session? I've been using Astroplanner for years and really like it however the DSS images max out at 1 deg field so it isn't so well suited for the ED80. I'm looking for something that lets me frame the image including the camera angle.

Thoughts?

[Octane (Humayun)]

Starry Night Pro Plus 6.

H

[Geoff45 (Geoff)]

Low tech solution--Uranometria and a transparent overlay for your FOV

[AstroJunk (Jonathan)]

Hey Peter! Ive just converted from Astroplanner to SkyTools Pro3 and am wishing that I made the move a long time ago already.

It is certainly superb for telescope control and minor planet stuff that i'm interested in, but it may well be worth having a look at the imaging features: http://skyhound.com/imaging.html which look pretty useful too.

[peter_4059 (Peter)]

Thanks Jonathan - I'll take a look.

[Jon (Jonathan)]

I use SkyTools 3. It's a great piece of software IMHO. Its primary function is planning rather than planetarium per se. Certainly it has all the tools you want for framing your images. The exposure guide is also invaluable.

[DavidLJ (David)]

SkyTools3 lets you download a DSS image of a 2 degree field (and possibly even larger although I've never tried that). Moreover you have a choice of 16 different image types to choose from.