Image Acquisition:

MaxIm DL: ($$$$) (windows) The weapon of choice for many astrophotographers. It does just about everything. It takes a bit to get used to it.

Nebulosity: ($$) (windows, mac) A great overall tool for a single image sequence. It can also edit, align and stack pictures.

Sequence Generator Pro: ($$) (windows) The software package I use. You can control telescope, focuser, rotator, camera, guider. Bonus it has a flat frame calibration tool.

Software Bisque Camera Add-on for the SkyX: ($$$$) (windows, mac) It requires theSkyX pro software. I found this a bit confusing but if you are guiding your telescope with the tSX then it provides some great integration features.

Equinox Image: ($) (mac) A great imaging program for mac, includes autoguiding capabilities

Telescope Control:

TheSkyX : ($$$$) (windows, mac) This is my telescope control software. I am using the pro version. It allows me to script it so I can use it from Sequence Generator Pro. The most important feature is imagelink that allows me to map my pictures in the sky and the help calibrate the telescope.

Equinoxpro: ($$) (mac) A quite amazing telescope and sky map for mac. Easy to use

Stellarium: (free) (windows) Open source planetarium software

Skytools: ($$) (windows) It is predominantly planetarium program that allows telescope control. It has the ability to download a list of what is visible in the sky based on your equipment and it can calculate exposure times. I use this tool to decide the nights imaging targets.

World Wide Telescope: (free) (windows) Planetarium program that allows telescope control

Guiding software:

PHD Guiding: (free) (windows, mac): The must have guiding software

Metaguide: (free) (windows) Autoguiding software to be used with video/webcams

Single purpose useful tools:

Astrophotograpy Tools: (shareware, $) (windows) A general set of tools. Very useful for Canon Cameras.

Neil’s Noordhoek’s Bahtinov Grabber : (free) (windows) Useful tool for focusing using a Bahtinov mask.

Als Focus Aid: (free), (windows) Creates an overlay on your screen and helps focusing using a Bahtinov mask.

FITS Image Grader: (free) (windows) Helps grade FITS images before processing and stacking.

FITS liberator: (free) (windows, mac) Reads FITS images, views metadata and can save FITS to different formats.

Aperture Photometry tool: (free) (windows) Accepts FITS images and does all sorts of photometry calculations

Image processing software:

PixInsight: ($$$) (windows, mac): The photoshop of astrophotography.

Astrostrack ($$) (windows) Image stacking and processing software

Deepskystacker: (free)(windows) Image stacking and processing software

Starstax: (free) (windows, mac) Image stacking and processing software

Startrails: (free)(windows) Image stacking to create star trails

Lynkeos: (free) (mac) Image processing software