KStars Desktop Planetarium KDE e.V.
winget install --id=KDE.KStars -e KStars is freely licensed, open source, cross-platform Astronomy Software by KDE. It provides an accurate graphical simulation of the night sky, from any location on Earth, at any date and time. The display includes up to 100 million stars, 13,000 deep-sky objects,all 8 planets, the Sun and Moon, and thousands of comets, asteroids, supernovae, and satellites. For students and teachers, it supports adjustable simulation speeds in order to view phenomena that happen over long timescales, the KStars Astrocalculator to predict conjunctions, and many common astronomical calculations. For the amateur astronomer, it provides an observation planner, a sky calendar tool, and an FOV editor to calculate field of view of equipment and display them. Find out interesting objects in the "What's up Tonight" tool, plot altitude vs. time graphs for any object, print high-quality sky charts, and gain access to lots of information and resources to help you explore the universe! Included with KStars is Ekos astrophotography suite, a complete astrophotography solution that can control all INDI devices including numerous telescopes, CCDs, DSLRs, focusers, filters, and a lot more. Ekos supports highly accurate tracking using online and offline astrometry solver, autofocus and autoguiding capabilities, and capture of single or multiple images using the powerful built in sequence manager. Astronomical Catalogs: - Default catalog consisting of stars to magnitude 8 - Extra catalogs consisting of 100 million stars to magnitude 16 - Downloadable catalogs including Messier Images, Abell Planetary Nebulae, Sharpless Catalog, Lynds Dark Nebula Catalog - Corrections for precession, nutation and atmospheric refraction - Tools for retrieval of data from online databases
KStars Desktop Planetarium is a cross-platform astronomy software designed to provide an accurate graphical simulation of the night sky. It enables users to explore celestial objects from any location on Earth, at any date and time, with high precision.
Key Features:
- Simulates up to 100 million stars, 13,000 deep-sky objects, planets, comets, asteroids, supernovae, and satellites.
- Adjustable simulation speeds for observing long-term astronomical phenomena.
- Observation planner, sky calendar tool, and FOV editor for equipment field of view calculations.
- What's up Tonight tool to discover interesting celestial objects.
- Ekos astrophotography suite for controlling INDI devices, including telescopes, CCDs, and DSLRs.
- Tools for conjunction prediction, altitude vs. time graphs, and high-quality sky chart printing.
- Access to extensive astronomical catalogs, including corrections for precession, nutation, and atmospheric refraction.
Audience & Benefit:
Ideal for students, educators, amateur astronomers, and astronomy enthusiasts seeking a comprehensive toolset for observation planning, celestial exploration, and astrophotography. KStars enhances understanding of the universe by providing detailed simulations and practical tools to support astronomical research and enjoyment.
Available as open-source software, KStars can be installed via winget, offering a powerful platform for anyone interested in astronomy.