Programs for Mac OS X

In the professional astronomical community, there a large number of people who use Linux, Unix, and Mac computers. They use these computers to control the large telescopes, to process astronomical data, and to run astronomical research programs. I actually started using both Linux and Mac OS X over a decade ago as a result of the astronomical research that I did in college. I used to be a die-hard windows power user. But my experience using these alternative platforms in my research made me change my mind about these operating systems. Ever since I graduated, I have used Linux and Mac OS X even more than I have used Windows. I have nothing against Windows and I still do use Windows, I have just found that I prefer to use these other operating systems for a lot of applications.

In the amateur astronomical community, the situation is very different. Quite a few amateur astronomers are Windows users and many of the astronomical programs and devices out there are designed to cater to this market. That does not mean that nothing is available for these platforms however. I am hoping that this page can help inform you about some of the programs that are available for Mac OS X computers. This list is by no means a complete list and I do not endorse these programs, nor was I paid to list any of them here, but I thought I would explain some of the software that is available because many people are not aware of how much is actually out there.

Device Sharing:

INDIServer (http://indilib.org)

Planning Software:

AstroPlanner (http://www.astroplanner.net)

Planetarium Programs:

KStars (https://edu.kde.org/kstars/)

Stellarium (http://stellarium.org)

Starry Night Pro (https://starrynight.com)

The Sky X (http://www.bisque.com/sc/pages/TheSkyX-Editions.aspx)

Cartes Du Ciel (https://www.ap-i.net/skychart/en/start)

Image Capture:

Nebulosity (http://www.stark-labs.com/nebulosity.html)