KStars

Spec sheet

Purpose

KStars is desktop planetarium software for students, educators, amateur astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts.Read 8 Oct 2026 · kstars.kde.org

Privacy

KDE's software privacy policy says KDE software generally does not transmit information from users' devices except as a result of explicit user action, with some exceptions described in the policy.Read 8 Oct 2026 · kde.org

Maker

KStars is made by KDE; KDE e.V. is the registered non-profit representing the KDE Project in legal and financial matters.Read 8 Oct 2026 · ev.kde.org

Astrophotography

The Ekos suite provides an astrophotography workflow with polar alignment, focusing, auto-guiding and image capture.Read 8 Oct 2026 · kstars.kde.org

Automation

KStars supports scriptable actions using D-Bus.Read 8 Oct 2026 · kstars.kde.org

Catalogs

Users can add custom object catalogs; the site lists extra star catalogs reaching magnitude 16 and a default NGC/IC catalog of about 10,000 objects.Read 8 Oct 2026 · kstars.kde.org

Downloads

The KStars download page offers Windows, macOS and Linux downloads and a source tarball.Read 8 Oct 2026 · kstars.kde.org

Equipment integration

KStars uses INDI to support astronomical equipment including telescope mounts, focusers, filter wheels, and CCD and CMOS cameras.Read 8 Oct 2026 · kstars.kde.org

FITS files

KStars includes a FITS Viewer for viewing FITS data files.Read 8 Oct 2026 · kstars.kde.org

Latest listed version

The download page lists version 3.8.5, released on 3 October 2026.Read 8 Oct 2026 · kstars.kde.org

Notable limitations

The site describes star-hopper routing as experimental and incomplete, and says observation logging needs more polish to be fully usable.Read 8 Oct 2026 · kstars.kde.org

Observation logs

KStars supports the OAL XML schema for observation logs, which the site says makes logs compatible with many software and log-sharing websites.Read 8 Oct 2026 · kstars.kde.org

Observation planning

Its observation planner orders objects for an observing session and can download DSS images for offline comparison.Read 8 Oct 2026 · kstars.kde.org

Sky simulation

It graphically simulates the sky, including planets, up to 100 million stars, 10,000 deep-sky objects, comets and asteroids.Read 8 Oct 2026 · kstars.kde.org

Plans and prices

Every KStars plan and price →

Where Specifiction places it

• Astronomy Apps#13 of 357.9