Some of the best Mac Astronomy and Astrophotography
software available today.
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Mac Observatory
Native Mac Apps for Astrophotography
Built for Mac astronomers, by a Mac astronomer. Filling the gaps in the Mac astro ecosystem.
Software Directory
Planetarium & Sky Simulation
Visual sky maps, star catalogs, celestial object databases, and solar system simulators.
The open-source planetarium that most astronomers start with. Renders a realistic sky from any location and time, with a catalog of over a million objects. Plugin support adds telescope control.
The most polished visual planetarium on the Mac, with beautiful deep sky renderings, Hubble imagery, and detailed object info. Pro tier adds telescope GOTO control.
Starry Night
Paid
A long-running commercial planetarium with a 38,000-object database, telescope control, and an interactive sky guide that walks you through what's up tonight.
Cartes du Ciel
Free
Free desktop planetarium focused on chart accuracy and catalog access rather than visual polish. Pulls data from numerous professional catalogs.
HNSKY
Free
Lightweight planetarium with a 30,000-object database and INDI telescope control. From the same developer as ASTAP, so they work well together.
AstroGrav
Paid
Not a traditional planetarium — a gravity simulator. Calculates real gravitational interactions for much more accurate asteroid and comet trajectories.
A 3D visualization of the Milky Way that helps you understand the spatial relationships between objects within our galaxy. Not for planning — for building intuition.
Software Directory
Telescope & Mount Control
Standalone GOTO control, tracking, and observatory automation. Many suites also offer mount control — see All-in-One Suites.
The professional-grade observatory control platform from Software Bisque. If you're running a serious or automated imaging setup, TheSkyX is likely part of your stack. Deep integration with Bisque mounts, but supports others.
Software Directory
All-in-One Suites
Platforms that combine capture, guiding, mount control, planning, and processing in a single integrated workflow.
The free, open-source powerhouse. KStars provides the planetarium and planning layer; EKOS handles the imaging — automated capture sequences, focusing, guiding, plate solving, scheduling, and mosaic planning. If you image on a Mac and don't want to pay for software, this is where you start.
Read review →
A native Mac all-in-one imaging suite built on the INDIGO driver platform. Handles capture, guiding, telescope control, and scripting in a single app. M1/Apple Silicon native. Pairs with CloudMakers' server and dashboard tools for remote operations.
CCDciel
Free
Free deep sky imaging platform with automated camera control, focuser integration, filter wheels, rotators, and plate solving. From the same developer as Cartes du Ciel. Less well-known than KStars/EKOS but capable and actively maintained.
Software Directory
Image Capture
Camera tethering, video capture, and frame acquisition for deep sky and planetary imaging.
Mac Observatory
The only native Mac planetary capture app. Real-time frame quality scoring tells you whether your session is sharp before you stack. Tracks planets automatically with Metal GPU acceleration. ZWO & PlayerOne cameras.
AstroDMx Capture
Free
Cross-platform capture app that handles both deep sky and solar imaging. Supports a wide range of cameras. Less polished than native options but versatile.
FireCapture
Free
The planetary capture standard on Windows, also available on Mac via Java. Feature-rich with ROI, histogram, and focusing aids. Cross-platform but not Mac-native — you'll feel the Java layer.
Free, open-source planetary capture. Basic but functional. A good starting point if you're experimenting with planetary imaging on a budget.
Software Directory
Guiding
Autoguiding software for long-exposure deep sky imaging.
The autoguiding standard. Free, community-developed, and rock-solid. If you do long-exposure deep sky imaging, you almost certainly use PHD2. Works with virtually every guide camera and mount.
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ZWO · Celestron · Askar · Sky-Watcher · William Optics
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Software Directory
Stacking & Calibration
Frame alignment, stacking, calibration, and integration for both deep sky and planetary workflows.
Mac Observatory
The first native Mac planetary stacker. GPU-accelerated at 1,500 fps with built-in wavelet sharpening. Replaces the AutoStakkert → Registax → PIPP workflow in a single app — no Wine, no emulators.
Free, open-source, and excellent. Handles both deep sky stacking/calibration and planetary processing with a high degree of automation. Scripts let you build repeatable workflows. The best free option for deep sky integration on Mac.
Free stacking and astrometric plate solver. Pairs naturally with HNSKY (same developer). Strong at both integration and solving — useful even if you use another stacker, just for its plate-solving engine.
Affinity Photo
Paid
A full-featured photo editor (not astro-specific) that added astrophotography stacking and calibration in version 1.9. GPU-accelerated. Worth considering if you already own it for general photo work.
Read review →
Arguably the strongest planetary stacker available on Mac. Python-based, which makes installation non-trivial — but Nick Kohrn's launcher app simplifies it significantly. Worth the setup if you're serious about planetary.
LuckyStackWorker
Free
A newer cross-platform planetary/solar/lunar stacker. Full-featured and actively developed. Java-based. Worth watching as it matures.
Mac-native planetary stacker from Rain City Astro with wavelet sharpening, SER/AVI support, and real-time alignment previews. A solid native option for lucky imaging on Mac.
Read review →
The simplest deep sky stacker on the list. If you want basic stacking without the learning curve of SiriL or PixInsight, this gets you from frames to stacked image with minimal friction.
StarStaX
Free
Specifically for star trail images. Multiple blending modes for different trail effects. Does one thing well.
Startrails Creator
Paid
Simple star trail photo creation. If StarStaX is too much, this is even simpler.
oaLive
Free
Live stacking for electronically-assisted astronomy (EAA). Part of the Open Astro Project. Niche but useful if you're doing visual observation with a camera.
Software Directory
Image Processing
Post-stacking stretching, noise reduction, sharpening, color calibration, and final image refinement.
The industry standard for astrophotography processing. Deep, modular, scriptable, and powerful. Steep learning curve, but there's a reason most serious imagers end up here. Runs well on Apple Silicon.
An excellent alternative to PixInsight with a friendlier interface. Strong at integration, calibration, gradient removal, and mosaic stitching. Does both stacking and processing.
Read review →
StarTools
Paid
Takes a unique signal-tracking approach to processing that prevents noise amplification. Different workflow than PixInsight but capable of exceptional results. Designed specifically for astrophotography.
A standalone application packaging several popular processing tools: Statistical Stretch, Star Stretch, Halo-B-Gon, NBtoRGB Stars, and Continuum Subtract. Also available as PixInsight scripts. Actively developed.
Read review →
GraXpert
Free
AI-powered gradient removal. Drop in your image, it removes light pollution gradients. Available as a standalone app or PixInsight plugin. Increasingly popular in the community.
DeepSNR
Paid
Deep-learning noise reduction trained specifically on astronomical images. A one-trick tool, but if noise is your bottleneck, it's worth trying.
AstroImageJ
Free
Enhanced image processing with a focus on photometry and scientific analysis. Not for pretty pictures — for measuring things. Essential for variable star work, exoplanet transits, and scientific imaging.
Software Directory
Planning & Observation Logging
Session planning, observation logs, target scheduling, and imaging archives.
Mac Observatory
The only FITS/XISF archive and catalog tool on Mac. Point it at your image library — it reads headers to automatically identify objects across 41,730 entries in 20 catalogs. Interactive sky map shows what you've shot and what to image next. Never modifies your files.
AstroPlanner
Paid
Planning, visualization, and observation logging with telescope control. A comprehensive tool for planning sessions, tracking what you've observed, and building target lists.
Image management with smart albums, manual and automatic tagging via plate solving, and Finder-level FITS/XISF previews. Think of it as "Photos for astronomers" — organizing your image library rather than processing it.
An astronomical event analyzer for experienced observers studying past, present, and future celestial events. Not for casual planning — this is for people who care about specific event timing and geometry.
Software Directory
FITS Viewers & Utilities
File viewers, plate solvers, log viewers, collimation tools, and other observatory utilities.
CloudMakers FITS Preview
Mac Native
Native Mac FITS file viewer. Simple, fast, does what it says.
QuickFits
Mac Native
Adds Finder QuickLook support for FITS files. See exposure time, temperature, and gain right in the Finder without opening another app. Small quality-of-life improvement that saves real time.
Read review →
QFitsView
Free
A bare-bones, free FITS viewer from the Max Planck Institute. No frills, just viewing.
CloudMakers Astrometry
Mac Native
Native Mac plate solving. Drop an image in, get coordinates out. Useful when you need solving outside of a full imaging suite.
SER Player
Free
Plays back SER video files — the format used by most planetary capture software. Essential for previewing or inspecting planetary sessions.
PHD2 Log Viewer
Free
Opens and visualizes PHD2 guiding logs. Useful for diagnosing guiding issues after a session — see where your guide star wandered and why.
Collimation Aid
Mac Native
An on-screen overlay to help with telescope collimation. Simple tool, but collimation is important enough that a dedicated aid is worth having. Updated to 64-bit.
Night Vision
Mac Native
Turns your laptop screen red to preserve your dark-adapted vision at the telescope. Essential field tool.
Software Directory
Driver Platforms — INDI & INDIGO
On Windows, ASCOM is the standard driver layer connecting your hardware to your imaging software. On Mac and Linux, that role is filled by INDI and its modern successor, INDIGO. INDIGO is backwards-compatible with INDI, so apps built on either framework can communicate with each other. Most Mac apps — including KStars/EKOS and INDIGO A1 — ship with the full driver stack built in, so there's nothing extra to install. The standalone server and dashboard tools below are only needed if you're running a distributed or remote imaging setup.
The server component of the INDIGO driver platform, enabling remote astrophotography operations over a network. Only needed for distributed setups — apps like INDIGO A1 include the server built in.
INDIGO Control Panel
Mac Native
Connects to a remote INDI or INDIGO server to read and control device properties. For monitoring and managing remote imaging setups from another machine.
INDIGO Dashboard
Mac Native
Build custom control panels to view and manage remote imaging sessions. More flexible than the Control Panel for tailored observatory setups.
INDI Library
Free
The open-source driver protocol that started it all. On Mac, INDI and its drivers come bundled with KStars/EKOS — no separate installation needed. Also available via Homebrew and MacPorts for custom setups.
INDI Web Manager App
Free
A Mac GUI for managing the INDI server and selecting which drivers to load. Useful if you're running INDI as a standalone server rather than through KStars.
INDIStarter
Free
Another lightweight utility for starting and managing the INDI server and drivers on Mac. An alternative to INDI Web Manager with a simpler interface.
Software Directory
Hardware-Specific Software
Manufacturer-provided apps for specific cameras, mounts, and accessories.
ZWO's own imaging suite for their ASI cameras. Includes planetary capture, deep sky capture, live stacking, and autoguiding. If you use ZWO cameras exclusively, this covers most needs without third-party software.
Read review →
Software for QHY's PoleMaster polar alignment camera. Makes precise polar alignment a quick, repeatable process rather than a frustrating guessing game.
iOptron iPolar
Mac Native
iOptron's polar alignment camera software. Similar concept to PoleMaster, built for iOptron's iPolar hardware.
Camera control software for Quantum Scientific Imaging cameras.
Open PECTool
Free
Periodic Error Correction recording tool for Celestron mounts. Record your mount's tracking errors, then correct them in firmware. Niche but valuable for Celestron users who want smoother tracking.
MountWizard4
Free
Mount model creation software for 10Micron mounts. Builds pointing models to improve GOTO accuracy and tracking across the sky.
Software Directory
Legacy / No Longer Maintained
Apps preserved for historical reference that may not run on current macOS. Check project pages for any recent activity.
⚠ Retired
CloudMakers AstroTelescope
Telescope GOTO control. Retired by CloudMakers — replaced by INDIGO A1.
⚠ Retired
CloudMakers AstroDSLR
DSLR tethering for astrophotography. Retired by CloudMakers — replaced by INDIGO A1.
⚠ Discontinued
INDIGO to Go
macOS/iOS monitor for INDIGO setups. Removed from App Store, certificate expired.
⚠ Removed
Nightlight
FITS viewer. No longer available on the Mac App Store.
⚠ Dead
Planetary Imager
Planetary capture. Website down. Source on GitHub for those who can compile.
⚠ Open-sourced
Open Nebulosity
Formerly Stark Labs Nebulosity. Community-maintained on GitHub — check for recent commits.
Affiliate Partner
All of your favorite astro gear in one place.
Telescopes, cameras, mounts, eyepieces, and accessories from the brands you trust. Shopping through this link supports Mac Observatory at no extra cost to you.
ZWO · Celestron · Askar · Sky-Watcher · William Optics
Shop Agena Astro
Affiliate link
This page is regularly updated as new Mac astronomy software is released. Missing something, or know of an update? I'd love to hear from you.