Telescope Reviews: Online Astrophotography Software

A compilation of links for Astroimaging which may be helpful. All of these links have all been checked (working) as of 4/Dec/2010.

Webcam & CCD Image Capture Programs
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ArtemisCCD / Atik-cameras

Image capture software for Atik and Artemis Cameras with Atik USB filter wheel support.

Astrosnap Pro 2.1 (shareware)

Image capture program with LX (long Exposure) support.

Craterlet (freeware)

AVI and still capture application compatible with DirectX and WDM.

K3 CCD (freeware/$50)

Image capture and processing program that supports LX (long Exposure) SC modified webcams.
K3 CCD Tools3 ($50.00)
K3 CCD Tools1 (free)

Nebulosity ($60.00)

Capture and processing application - supports CR2/CRW, FITS, JPEG, PNG, TIFF etc).

Virtual Dub (free)

Video capture and image manipulation for webcams.

WcCtrl (free)

Web Cam Control Software.

wx Astro Capture (free)

Image capture that supports LX SC modified webcams and Artemis astro cameras.

Stacking, Registration and Processing Software
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Astrostack ($39) - demo is free

Image stacking and processing software.

Autostitch (free)

A fully-automatic multiple image stitcher.

AviStack (free)

Registers, stacks and processes AVIs and image sequences.

Deep Sky Stacker (free)

Combines multiple deep sky images in a variety of formats including RAW.

GIMP Photo Editor (free)

Image editing software (like Photoshop - but free).

Glass2K (free)

Allows a Windows 2000/XP computer to make any window transparent (like VISTA's Aero Interface).

Iris (free)

Astronomical images processing software.

Pix Insight (LE freeware is no longer available)

An advanced image processing package.
Full program cost is €201 euros.

Registax (free) Versions 2, 3, 4 & 5 (version 6 is in development!)

Software for the alignment/stacking/processing of images.

Star Trails (free)

Combines multiple images to produce star trails.

Webcam Driver Software
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Quickcam Driver

Driver for the QC3K with the full control set.

SPC900NC Drivers

SPC900 Drivers for Win ME, 2000, XP, VISTA & Windows 7.

ToUcam Drivers

XP Drivers for TouCam PC VC740K and 840K.

Focusing Aids/Control Software/Utilities
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Bahtinov Mask Free Templates / Bahtinov Mask Generator

Bahtinov Masks - focusing aids

Bahtinov-Grabber (free)

Niels Noordhoek’s weblog

Software that analyses a screen capture (updated 10x per second) and lets you know the accuracy of your focus. Use with Bahtinov mask.

Hartmann Mask Generator (free)

Hartmann mask generator program.

Inkscape (free)

Vector-based graphics package - use with Bahtinov Focusing Mask Generator (above).

ShoeString Focus (free)

Motorised focuser control via your PC.

DSLR Control Software
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DSLR Control (free)

DSLRControl provides automated exposures for a Canon DSLR.

DSLR Shutter (free)

Allows you to capture long-exposure images from digital SLR cameras using their "bulb" setting.

Guiding Software
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GuideDog (free)

Allows you to use your webcam to autoguide any ASCOM supported telescope mount.

PHD Guiding

Intelligent auto-guiding of your telescope for both PCs and Macs. PHD = "Push Here Dummy"!

Miscellaneous Software
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FITS Liberator (free)

Open FITS files directly in Photoshop.

HuffYUV(free)

Lossless AVI video compression codec.

I-Merge(free)

Multiple image mosaic creation software.

PEAS - Periodic Error Analysis Software (free)

Evaluates and analyses periodicaerrors in equatorial mount.

Solar Observing
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Helio Software

Three comprehensive solar observing programmes for solar activity recording.

Tilting Sun

This shows the Sun's orientation, poles, equator, rotation direction, prominence position angles and drift direction for any date, time and location.

Hope this helps.

Art