Skychart

There are countless bodies to see on the night sky if you know where to look. If you don't, you can turn to a planetarium application such as Skychart (Cartes du Ciel) for all the information you need. The software places a highly detailed map of the stars in front of you, as well as a wide range of customization options, which allow you to prepare the right maps for presentations or any other purposes. Whether you're looking for a star, constellation or galaxy, you can find it in no time with this program.

Paying for Skychart is optional, in the form of donations, but people can also help with translations or other improvements. Downloading and installing the software doesn't take more than a minute, even on slower PCs. You can launch it right away, without having to install any prerequisite tools or drivers.

As you might have guessed, the software displays a map of the stars on the largest part of its user interface, seen from a specified location on the planet. The map is essentially a cupola-like observatory, and you can pan and zoom in any direction using only the mouse. You can find numerous options all around the map, which enable and disable celestial bodies, labels, borders, highlights, coordinate grids and many other visual cues.

If you're looking for a specific body, just type its name into a search box, and the application will focus on it right away. Double-clicking an object will bring up a huge amount of information, on a separate window, including its size, mass, phases and velocity. Alternatively, you can perform an advanced search and specify additional details about the body you're looking for.

One of the best features is the possibility of connecting Skychart to a telescope. The best part is that it's capable of aiming electronically-controlled telescopes at the object you're looking at on the main user interface. If you don't have an electronically-controlled telescope, the software can still provide you with detailed instructions on how to aim it manually at the object you're focusing on.

Regardless of what celestial body you're looking for, Skychart will show you the way and tell you everything you need to know about it.