Stellarium is a free open source planetarium application for Windows, MacOS or Linux, and there is also a web based version. Not only is it an extremely useful reference for astronomers to find information about countless objects in the sky, it is a fabulous way for non astronomers to learn about what is visible when you stop to look up.

My main use of Stellarium is for searching for objects that will produce a nice image, and also previewing how they will fit in the camera frame for any given set of equipment. It also provides an very convenient link to other astrophotography applications that enables the coordinates of the selected object to be passed automatically to the targeting system. By doing this you can be sure that the telescope can be pointed exactly at the point of sky you want to capture.

For visitors to this website who have only a passing interest in looking at the sky, I would still recommend that you consider installing this application on your computer. I have been known to lose hours just searching around the sky looking for objects to photograph, and even before I started to capture images I could always find something amazing to look at within this software. It is also really useful in helping to identify objects that you might see in your own local sky, whether it's helping you to recognise that the bright object you can see from your garden could be one of the planets in our Solar System, or letting you track when the next full moon occurs.

To learn more about Stellarium (or even find the link to download it to your own computer) you can visit its website here.