Software Every Astropotamus Needs

If you're just starting out, like this Astropotamus, you're more likely to want to spend money on better Time Machines and cameras than software. That's fine - when you're ready, there's some commercial software that you will probably want to buy. Until then, here's some free software that will make your life much easier! These links are generally in the order in which you would use the software in capturing, processing, and finalizing an image from a Time Machine.

Astro Software Purpose
ASCOM Driver framework for most of your equipment for Windows
GSS Green Swamp Server EQMOD driver for Sky Watcher mounts
NINA Free image capture, mount control, guiding, automation, and more
Astro Photography Tool Camera control and more, especially useful for DSLR imaging
Stellarium Planetarium software for Windows that lets you travel the Cosmos virtually
Kstars/Ekos Linux mount and camera control server plus Linux/Windows/Mac remote client
SharpCap Image capture and automation
Autostakkert! Planetary, lunar, solar, and more stacking
Deep Sky Stacker Image stacking software (useful for comets, too!)
PIPP Planetary Imaging PreProcessor converter/processor
Siril Absolute best free post-processing (and more) for your astro images
Other Software Purpose
GIMP Absolute best free photo editing software (think Photoshop without the expense)
Notepad++ A superior editor for Windows compared to Notepad
TCP/IP Serial Port A serial-to-IP virtual serial port
OBS Studio If you're going to stream or use a live cam to monitor your rig, you probably want this
VLC Player The reverse of OBS, VLC is an incredibly powerful and diverse media/stream player

Please consider supporting the creators, developers, and maintainers of these products. Many are free only because of the incredible hard work that they have put into creating the software, relying mainly on small donations to help get by. Your support can make a big difference and I strongly urge you to consider donating to keep these works free!

Virtual Serial Port

A software driver that redirects a Windows virtual serial port via a TCP/IP network to another hardware interface specified by IP address.

windows
Mission Control

Some pictures from NASA's web site of the first Mission Control Center. It's amazing how far we've come!

nasa