Once you get into Astronomy, you're going to need some reference
material to help find your way around the night sky. The list here is a
mix of books, charts, online guides, free software and high end personal
planetarium software.
So where to begin?
Southern Skies Star Chart by XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX as shown in the
picture. approximately $20NZD from most good bookstores.
Sky and Telescope Magazine, US edition or Austraila New Zealand edition.
Both have articles and monthly star charts that can be laminated and
re-used year after year. Under $10 per month, cheaper if you subscribe.
David Levy A guide to the night sky
The night sky observers guide
www.astronomy.org.nz
Astronomy New Zealand. Find out about the Southern Sky, Maori Astronomy,
Phoenix Astronomy Society and the latest Astronomy news. Lead by Richard
Hall for many years, and there's some great presentations of the night
sky on the website.
http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/
A fantastic database of astronomy questions and answers.
www.space.com
Space.com - Up-to date astronomy and space news with interesting feature
articles.
www.seds.org/MESSIER
Comprehensive catalogue of Messier objects.
http://www.stargazing.net/astropc
FREE SOFTWARE! Cartes du Ciel Sky Charts. Possibly the best sky charts you can
download for free. Ideal for planning an observation session and what
I've used to provide information about each of my photos.
http://www.cyanogen.com/
Diffraction Limited. Home of Maxim DL, MaxPoint MaxDome etc. Awesome
astronomy software...
Http://www.starrynightstore.com
Starry Night Planetarium software. It's reasonably priced and is a
fantasic product. Various editions from Student to Professional and can
connect to any ASCOM compatible GOTO telescope and drive it. Better yet,
it'll help improve GOTO pointing accuracy.
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