In order to take advantage of the time I have to shoot each night, I use various apps and resources to find out how to frame the image in the camera, what the weather will do, and when I should start shooting.
Planetarium apps
If I want a quick look at what is in the sky, IPhone apps like Night Sky and Sky Guide will do the trick. For framing an image and checking what targets to shoot, I use Stellarium. It is a free planetarium app available on most computers that has many features advantageous to astrophotographers. It has a time control feature, which allows you to change the time of day so you can see what will be in the sky at night. Another useful feature is the framing mode. It allows you to find the specs of your camera sensor and telescope, and Stellarium projects a box around the object you are looking at that accurately displays what your camera will see. Below is an example using the Cygnus Loop and my equipment.
Weather
If I want to check out what the weather is going to be like before I shoot, I will check multiple apps on my phone. These apps are Weather (default on IOS), Xasteria, and Sky Live. The Weather app is very good for a brief overview on any incoming storms and temperature. Sky Live has sunset and sunrise times, along with a percent that correlates to the stargazing conditions expected that night. Xasteria is the definitive app for weather, moon phase, sunrise and sunset, cloud cover, astro seeing, and many more. It is best to check multiple apps before shooting just in case one is inaccurate.
Others
There are many apps and websites that I use for more specific needs. Some of them are:
www.lightpollutionmap.info - Useful for checking light pollution of locations you plan to shoot at
www.timeanddate.com - Find interesting astronomical events occurring and sunrise/set times
PS Align - Shows where Polaris should appear when polar aligning an equatorial mount
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