Resources for Dark Nebulae and other Deep Sky Objects
The Society’s speaker of the month in June 24, Owen Brazell gave an extremely interesting talk on Dark Nebulae. As part of the talk, Owen provided a list of references for books and tools he has found useful for imaging these beautiful (if challenging) objects.
Please note that this is not a comprehensive list of all software available for deep sky imaging / observation planning etc. Also note that CAWAS neither endorses nor provides any support for the software listed below.
Books / Atlases
Interstellarum – Ronald Stoyan, Stephan Schurig – Cambridge University Press
Photographic Atlas of Selected Regions of the Milky Way – Edward Emerson Bernard – Cambridge University Press (reprint)
The Night Sky Observers Guide – Volume 4 (the Glories of the Milky Way) – George Robert Kepple, Glenn W. Sanner
Online Tools / Software (Freeware)
Worldwide Telescope – (from the website) “a suite of free and open source software and datasets to create stunning scientific visualisations and stories…” : https://worldwidetelescope.org/home/
Stellarium – popular and fully featured Sky Atlas software tool: https://stellarium.org/
Sky Chart (Carte du Ciel) – software for drawing sky charts: https://www.ap-i.net/skychart/en/start
TUBA – Touring the Universe through Binoculars Atlas: http://www.philharrington.net/tuba.htm
Astro Planner – Windows / MAC software for astronomical observation planning, telescope control and other features: https://www.astroplanner.net/index.html
Eye and Telescope – planning software for Windows: https://www.eyeandtelescope.de/
Commercial Software
Starry Night Pro Plus – telescope control software for PC and MAC with features suitable across the range of abilities from amateurs to professionals: https://starrynight.com/starry-night-8-professional-astronomy-telescope-control-software.html
Guide 9.1 – charting software but no longer under active development: https://www.projectpluto.com/
Sky Tools 4 – windows planning software: https://www.skyhound.com/index.html
Deep Sky Planner – planning and logging software for Windows: https://knightware.biz/dsp/productinfo.htm
