What is a program that will show constellations, satellites, comets, etc.?

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abc123

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Im starting an astronomy club and im planning an observation night. But i want a program or software to download onto a laptop to bring out at night so we can choose some objects to observe. Does anyone know of any?
plus do most telescopes come with their own software for that stuff?
 
Celestia.
Free download. Great program. It will run simulations for satellites and comets, planets, moons, etc., and you can navigate around, track them, etc. Stellarium is a planetarium/star chart program which is earth-based and also great, but does not show comets unless they are close. It doesn't show satellites at all. Stellarium is the better program for observation sessions, though.

If I were you, I would get both.

The best thing for identifying the more popular satellites is a web site called Heavens Above. You have to register, but it is free and worth the trouble. Be ready to input your exact coordinates and the satellite info you get will be very reliable.

http://www.shatters.net/celestia/
http://www.stellarium.org/
http://www.heavens-above.com/

If you're running these three on your computer, I think you'll be very well prepared for your club.

Edit: William mentioned that Heavens Above has a star chart. True, if all you need is a very basic whole-sky chart showing only the constellations and planets. If you can use more than one computer, this might be good to run on one while the others can be run on another computer. Remember, with Heavens Above, you have to be connected to the Internet.
 
NASA: Learn about the Constellation Program—the next generation of space exploration.
Its goal is to return to the moon.
http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/constellation_front/index.htmlNASA

NASA has some amazing images of the sun.
http://ds9.ssl.berkeley.edu/viewer/flash/flash.html

SkyAndTelescope.com lists instructions for safe sun gazing and much more. There are instructions for first time astronomers and tips for enthusiasts. Convenient online guides for constellations are customized for your location. There is also an interactive sky chart (requires Java).
skyandtelescope.com/observing

NASA has an astronomy picture of the day together with a brief commentary by an astronomer. This site contains 10 years worth of pictures of the day.
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html

Use sky charts at Heavens Above to find charts customized for your location. You can also track spacecraft and manmade satellites.
http://heavens-above.com/

NASA has a solar system simulator: Just select the planet or moon you want to view and from where you want to view it. You can get a different view by changing the date and time.
http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/

All things to do with the Hubble Telescope:
hubblesite.org

Space: The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics posts current information to explains what celestial bodies are brightest in a given month and how to locate them.
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/ep/starreport.html

Sky charts show the positions of the various stars in the sky.
www.cfa.harvard.edu

Space: Celestia is a downloadable space exploration program that maps out our solar system and the stars. This educational program helps you learn the names of the stars. You can also zoom in on stars and planets for a close-up look.
celestia.sourceforge.net
 
My favourite is Starry Night. It is very powerful software, yet with a very simple user interface. I'm biased, because I work for the company that makes it, but I went to work for them _because_ I liked their product so much. It will also control most telescopes.

Most goto telescopes come with some sort of proprietary software, but it usually isn't as powerful or user-friendly as a dedicated planetarium program like Starry Night.
 
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