Free Astronomy Tools & Mini-Projects — explore the night sky with smart, beginner-friendly utilities.
Hi, my name is Mike. MessierExplore is a personal astronomy journey turned open toolkit — offering logbooks, sky guidance, and astrophotography utilities. Free, beginner-friendly, and built with python + sqlite for local; then live-linked below are also containerized Flask backend deployed to Cloud Run and Cloud Sql on GCS (private VPC and least-privilege IAM).
There are many astro tech choices and methodologies to choose from, which makes for a very deep journey! I hope to cover several avenues over time, but for now, the exploration here leans towards the classic dobsonian telescope and the 110 Messier Objects.
The suggested first quest in this journey is the Messier Observing Program for logging and sketching the 110 Messier objects of the night sky, with log book and assisted guidance computer below.
One page, easy access. No install required.
- What it is: Printable logbook with the 110 Messier objects.
- Get your personalized PDF Free: https://logbook.messierexplore.com
- Code: Located in this repository as a python command-line script, and then as a cloud deployed web service.
- Features: personalized cover page, tracking checklist, per-object log pages, sketch area, clean typography.
- 📝 Inputs: location, passphrase
- 📊 Outputs: live-conditions-adjusted ranked list of suggested Messier targets at your location + explanations
- 🌐 Try it: https://tgc.messierexplore.com
🚀 Why Target Guidance Computer is Exciting
The Target Guidance Computer is more than a Messier checklist – it’s a smart companion that combines astronomy math with real-world conditions.
✨ Shows you what you haven’t logged yet
🌙 Highlights which objects sit high and clear of the Moon
☁️ Explains how tonight’s clouds, darkness, and sky quality affect your session; dew risk and heat/shield assessment too.Minimalist design so you're up and running in seconds, with your approximate location, the tool personalizes your observing journey, tracks your “seen” list, and serves up the conditions and best targets for tonight at 9 PM local time. 💡 Lightweight, free, and built to grow – practical backend engineering powering human-friendly exploration of the night sky.
- What it is: Lightweight, beginner-friendly image stacking pipeline for Dobsonian + MFT DSLR. For myself I'm planning micro four thirds DSLR size to keep size and weight down. While dobsonian is not expected to be top choice for astrophotography, it is nice for live photon-to-eyeball observing and I'm exploring the capture of this.
- Download: (link to release binary or quickstart)
Want something added? Open an issue with feature ideas ✨
├── assets/ # template pdfs employed by the logbook
├── data/ # messier object list, temporary sqlite db for playing (a production env would employ a cloud sql backend)
├── docs/ # license and manuals (work-in-progress)
├── output/ # the output folder of personalized logbooks if running logbook locally by commandline
├── services/ # web services of all tools (logbook, target guidance computer)
├── static/ # static images in a folder accessible by the web services
├── tests/ # pytest test suite
├── tools/ # cli version of tools as command line apps (logbook)
└── utils/ # shared logic for tools that come in web service and also commandline flavors
- YouTube Channel (journey to Astronomical League certification)
- Messier Logbook Generator (Docker / GCS / Cloud Run)
- Messier Target Guidance Computer (location-based, Cloud Run + SQL)
- Image Stacking Pipeline Utilities (Dobsonian + MFT DSLR)
- Code: MIT (see LICENSE)
- Documentation/screenshots: CC BY 4.0 (see docs/LICENSE)
- Logo: All Rights Reserved (contact for permission)
⭐ If you like this project, give it a star and follow along — more tools are on the way!