Desktop planning, station dashboards and data sorting

Astronomy Observation Planner

Astronomy Observation Planner for macOS · version 23.0 (114) · Apple silicon only

Save observing sites, choose your smart telescope and accessories, filter a bundled catalog by visibility and magnitude, and build a timed plan in which each target starts when the one before it ends. Astronomy Observation Planner for iOS is the same planner on iPhone and iPad, also version 23.0 (114). On the App Store that listing is Smart Telescope Planner, and the app is named BigSky Planner on the device.

Supported smart telescopes: Celestron Origin Mark II; DWARFLAB DWARF 3, DWARF II, DWARF mini and Draco; Unistellar eVscope, eVscope 2, eQuinox, eQuinox 2, Odyssey and Odyssey Pro; Vaonis Stellina, Hyperia, Vespera, Vespera II, Vespera II X Edition, Vespera 3, Vespera Pro and Vespera Pro 2; ZWO Seestar S30, S30 Pro, S50 and S50 Pro. Also works with any alt-az mount that calculates its own location.

New telescopes: DWARF Draco and Seestar S50 Pro are in the telescope list in version 23.0 (114).

On the Mac App Store: version 23.0 (114). Apple silicon only. On Macs that can run macOS 27 it runs on macOS 14 and later, including macOS Tahoe and macOS 27. It does not run on Intel Macs. Sky Track is the new look. Build Plan overlaps Clear Sky time, and Balance Plan and Use Priority set the time shares. Free to download with a 20-day free trial. Full Access is a one-time purchase ($12.99 in the US). If you bought the app, you keep Full Access.

Weather Magic PWS

Version 3.1: macOS 15 or later, Apple silicon or Intel

You don’t need to own a weather station: use a supported nearby station. Free has no time limit and includes current readings and the Today graph. Pro is a one-time purchase for additional providers and API keys, custom radar and forecast sites, extended history and graphs, and export.

Version 3.1 is on the App Store. Pro keeps your station's data in your own Turso or Supabase cloud database, with collection every minute and automatic takeover by another computer. Requires macOS 15 or later, Apple silicon or Intel.

Telescope Data Sort

Version 1.2.1 · free · open source · macOS 15 or later

Formerly Smart Telescope Sort. Detects your capture folder layout, then copies, checks and organizes TIFF, FITS and JPG into Targets by year and object. It also sorts data from any telescope or camera when the files are in folders named for the object. Not affiliated with telescope manufacturers.

Open source: github.com/rderry/Smart-Telescope-Sort. If you change it and give it away, please give credit to BigSkyAstro: include the BigSkyAstro logo and a link to bigskyastro.com.