Listed here are software packages useful for conducting scientific research in astronomy, and for seeing, exploring, and learning about the data used in astronomy.
| Package Name | Pro | Interface | Connects to Online
(e.g. VO) Data |
Displays
or Manip. FITS Images |
Tiled Multi-Resolution All-Sky image Handling | Displays
or Manip. Spectra |
Handles Cubes
(Volumes) |
Statistics? | OS | Has API | Cost | Suppt'd
or Sold by |
website | Currently Supported? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| glue | Pro | GUI and command line | Yes | Manipulates | No | Yes | Yes | Basic, plus python terminal | Mac, Win, Linux | Yes | Free | NASA (JWST), NSF | http://glueviz.org | Yes |
| WorldWide Telescope | Pro/Am | GUI | Yes | Displays | TOAST | No | Limited | Limited (histograms) | Browser | Yes | Free | American Astronomical Society (originally by Microsoft) | http://worldwidetelescope.org/webclient | Yes |
| Google Sky | Am | GUI | Yes | Displays | Mercator | No | No | No | Browser | Yes | Free | https://www.google.com/sky/ | No | |
| IRAF | Pro | GUI and command line | Yes | Display & Manipulates | No | Yes | Yes | Limited | Mac, Linux | Yes | Free | NOAO | https://iraf-community.github.io | Yes |
| ds9 | Pro | GUI | Yes | Manipulates | No | Yes | Limited | Limited | Mac, Win, Linux | No | Free | NASA | http://ds9.si.edu/site/Home.html | Yes |
| js9 | Pro | GUI | Yes | Manipulates | No | Yes | No | Limited | Browser | No | NASA | https://js9.si.edu | Yes | |
| Aladin | Pro | GUI and command line | Yes | Displays & Manipulates | HiPS | No | Yes | Limited (histograms) | Mac, Win, Linux | yes (java plugins) | Free | CDS | https://aladin.u-strasbg.fr/Desktop | Yes |
| Aladin Lite | Pro/Am | GUI | Yes | Displays | HiPS | No | No | No | Browser | Yes | Free | CDS | http://aladin.u-strasbg.fr/AladinLite/ | Yes |
| ESASky | Pro/Am | GUI | Yes | Displays | HiPS | No | No | No | Browser | No | Free | ESA | http://sky.esa.int | Yes |
| Starry Night (planetarium software) | Am | GUI | No? | No | Yes | No | No | No | Mac, Win | No | $ | Simulation Curriculum Corp | http://www.starrynight.com/starry-night-7-professional-astronomy-telescope-control-software.html | Yes |
| Legacy Survey Sky Browser | Pro/Am | GUI | Yes | Displays | Yes | No | No | No | Browser | No | Free | NOAO, AURA | http://legacysurvey.org/viewer | Yes |
| QFitsView | Pro | GUI and command line | No | Displays & Manipulates | No | Yes | Yes | Limited | Mac, Win, Linux | No | Free | Thomas Ott, MPE | http://www.mpe.mpg.de/~ott/dpuser/qfitsview.html | Yes |
| Gaia Sky | Am | GUI and scripts | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Mac, Win, Linux | No | Free | ZAH | https://zah.uni-heidelberg.de/de/institute-des-zah/ari/gaia2/info-material-fuer-die-oeffentlichkeit-downloads/gaiasky/ | Yes |
| FITS Liberator | Pro/Am | GUI | No | Displays & Manipulates | No | No | No | No | Mac, Win | No | Free | ESA, ESO, NASA | https://spacetelescope.org/projects/fits_liberator/ | Yes |
| xTime | Pro | Utility | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Browser | No | Free | NASA Goddard | https://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/Tools/xTime/xTime.pl | Yes |
| wiseview | Pro/Am | GUI | Yes | Displays & Manipulates | No | No | No | No | Browser | No | Free | Dan Caselden and Paul Westin | http://byw.tools/wiseview | Yes |
| Astropy | Pro | GUI and command line | Yes | Displays & Manipulates | Limited | Yes | Yes | Yes | based on python | Yes | Free | NumFOCUS | https://www.astropy.org/ | Yes |
| Lightkurve | Pro | GUI and command line | Yes | Displays & Manipulates | No | No | No | Yes | based on python | Yes | Free | Lightkurve collaboration | https://docs.lightkurve.org/ | Yes |
| Chirp | Pro | Alert Software | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Browser, Google Play, App Store | No | Free | Aurore Simonnet, EPO Sonoma State University | http://chirp.sr.bham.ac.uk/ | Yes |
| TOPCAT | Pro | GUI and command line | Yes | Displays & Manipulates | Limited | Yes | Yes(?) | Yes | Mac, Win, Linux, Solaris | Yes | Free | Developed mostly in the UK | http://www.star.bris.ac.uk/~mbt/topcat/ | Yes |
| Space Engine | Am | GUI | No | No | No | No | No | No | Mac, Win, Linux | No | $ | Vladimir Romanyuk | http://spaceengine.org/ | Yes |
| Universe Sandbox | Am | GUI | No | No | No | No | No | No | Mac, Win, Linux | No | $ | Dan Dixon | http://universesandbox.com/ | Yes |
| Astrometry.net | Pro/Am | GUI | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Browser or Mac, Win, Linux | No | Free | NSF, NASA & NRC | https://web.archive.org/web/20101015122353/http://www.astrometry.net/ | Yes |
| MIST | Pro | GUI | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Browser | No | Free | NSF, NASA & Packard Foundation | http://waps.cfa.harvard.edu/MIST/index.html | Yes |
| Banyan Σ | Pro | GUI | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Browser, IDL code or python code | No | Free | Jonathan Gagné | http://www.exoplanetes.umontreal.ca/banyan/banyansigma.php | Yes |
| OpenSpace | Am | GUI | No? | No | No | No | No | No? | Mac, Win | No | Free | NASA, Knut & Alice Wallenberg Foundation, AMNH | https://www.openspaceproject.com/ | Yes |
| iDaVIE | Pro | VR and GUI | No | Displays | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Win | No | Free | IDIA and UCT | https://idavie.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ | Yes |
| Collimation Circles | Pro/Am | GUI | No | No | No | No | No | No | Win, Mac, Linux,
Raspberry PI OS |
No | Free | Simon Šander | https://saimons-astronomy.webador.com/software/collimation-circles | Yes |