Astro Planning Software

[NoelC]

Does anyone use image planning software?
If so what sort and how well does it work for you?
I'm trying to locate suitable targets and match them to the scales of kit and time I have available.  I use CdC almost exclusively and have the display settings /finder rectangles set up for my different equipment settings, but it is pretty clunky to try to plan on (although the observiing list feature is good, but basic). 

Skytools 4 looks the business, but at $200 I'm not about to buy it to find out (yet).
Deep-Sky Planner 7 at £73 seems heavily biased to observation work
AstroPlanner at $45 seems difficult to get the hang of, and there are questions about it's target selection accuracy (missing targets)
Deepsky (as opposed to Deep-sky) is free, but watching the video it has few of the features of skytools (filters, suggested exposures, shooting plan, target rating) that make it an imaging tool.

What are your thoughts?
Noel

[ApophisAstros]

I use https://dso-browser.com/telescope-simulator and Carte Du Ciel and Stellarium to manually do it for free!
Roger

[The Thing]

My main image planning involves looking at CdC, seeing whats rising and pointing the scope at it! I have an app on my phone (Mobile Observatory - android) which give a filtered Tonights Best in RA order and that gives me ideas.

I will probably use N.I.N.A. more as mentioned before in another thread. An extensive 10k object image browser with lots of search criteria and an easy framing tool. It will build a string of sequences for you for each target (tip: create a default exposure sequence with all your filter exposures and other settings in it and save it then set it in the Settings, save a lot of clicking). And Free. My only beef is some parts of the interface are hard to read e.g. time to completion of a sequence.

[NoelC]

Roger - thanks for that link; looks really good, I will use that.
Duncan - I'll look at NiNa again, I was looking just at it's camera control features.

The good thing about Skytools is it works out when your best viewing will be (based on Moon illumination mostly) then plans your sequence around the best viewing and giving you a total exposure time + schedule of exposures - but it can't allow for clouds!

Noel

[Carole]

I always used 12Dstring.  You can import your kit and planned target and it will show you how much you can get into the FOV.  However it doesn't have all targets, so some need to be downloaded from somewhere and often those ones are not clearly showing the nebula but mainly the starfield.
http://www.12dstring.me.uk/fovcalc.php

Then recently I discovered Imaging Toolbox, and this works even better, and includes more targets, and you can also zoom in and out and see what's around your target, and even rotate the FOV.
http://www.blackwaterskies.co.uk/imaging-toolbox/

HTH

Carole

[NoelC]

Thanks Carole
They are really good, particularly like the imaging toolbox.

Noel

[Carole]

particularly like the imaging toolbox.

Yes so do I, I only discovered it a few weeks ago and find it works really well.

Carole