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SUNDAY, APRIL 11, 2021software resources - StellariumStellarium is popular planetarium astronomy. It is free for the Windows, Macintosh, and Linux platforms. A nominal fee may apply for mobile versions for phones. It displays very realistic simulated views of the night sky, showing the current positions for stars, deep sky objects, planets, comets, and artificial satellites. The application may also be used to drive a telescope mount. Recent versions have incorporated a number of planning features. manufacturer: Stellarium.org
SUNDAY, APRIL 11, 2021observing listsI don't think the Bookmarks was necessarily invented for this but Chris V and I latched onto the idea that bookmark JSON files can serve as observing lists. I made one for my Apr '21 The Sky This Month talk for the first time, to join the usual SkyTools and SkySafari files. And then I made a JSON file for the new RASC Double Stars certificate program. All while flashing back to making lists for SkyTools. I have made dozens for that program. That's the point. The SkyTools developer wanted the application to be extensible. Anyone can make an observing list. Anyone can share. A user doesn't need to reinvent the wheel but rather download and install a pre-built list. That's what we can do with Stellarium by exporting and importing bookmark lists. It's brain bending. And Chris drank the Kool-Aid. He immediately built list for the RASC Finest NGCs. I made one for the Explore the Unverse. He made the telescope and binocular versions for the Explore the Moon. And instantly people wanted them! So I built a page on the RASC Toronto Centre web site to host our files for sharing. It's awesome.
SUNDAY, MARCH 28, 2021misc. Stellarium updatesLots of learning, still, partly as a result of teaching the level 2 course and recently developing the level 3.
It's still surprising me what I'm encountering and learning. I've been saying this all along, "Stellarium is rich," but I am truly surprised how deep the rabbit hole goes.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2021video series on driving a mountI am rolling out a 6-part video series on driving a telescope mount with Stellarium. It is extremely detailed, covering every step, all the gotchas, cautions, and warnings. All on YouTube.
This will help pretty well every user get going, whether you're on Windows, Mac, Linux, with just about every type of common mount (and a few uncommon ones). Direct solutions emphasised as well as connections requiring ASCOM, Alpaca, INDI, or INDIGO.
FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 2021Stellarium training coursesI offer Stellarium software training courses for free to RASC members. I will be offering Stellarium training courses to the general public. They are currently available upon request.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2021many Stellarium updates!Rather than make a bunch of distinct entries on this page for the little flurry of activity lately, I have glommed together several items. Been doin' lots of learnin' and brain expandin' while developing syllabus and curriculum materials.
Enjoy.
SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2020found GRS position offTested in Stellarium 0.18.x and 0.20.2 on Windows 10. Verified with another user. The positioning of Jupiter's Great Red Spot in the software is not working correctly. As of this time, according to JUPOS.org, the GRS is near longitude 333°. But entering this value manually will not put the GRS at the correct location. The following setting were used: 274° longitude
MONDAY, JUNE 29, 2020updated shortcuts for 0.20.2Tested Stellarium 0.20.2 on Windows 10. This listing references the Windows platform. But it should also work fine for Macintosh and Linux machines. Procedurally oriented.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2020top shortcutsThere are so many keyboard and mouse shortcuts in Stellarium it's overwhelming. So I made a short list, the top 20 or so, in a blog post.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2019updated shortcuts for 0.18.3Performed testing with Stellarium 0.18.3 on an iMac (21.5-inch) running OS X 10.11.6 using a Apple Wireless Keyboard (A1314 third generation). It's been a long time since I tested on a Mac. I sorted some issues; and I encountered some new challenges. This listing references the Windows and Macintosh computers. But it should also work fine for Linux machines. Procedurally oriented.
TUESDAY, JUNE 26, 2018Solar System ObserverUpdated on 30 Jul '19. I just learned about the Solar System Observer (SSO) feature in Stellarium and it is amazing. Very helpful when you went to show planetary motion or a top-down view of the solar system. Where are all the planets right now? What does opposition mean? It's pretty simple to use. Keyboard shortcuts for Windows are noted.
You might now use the orbits or trails for planets. You might speed up time to make the planets spin fast. You're far away at over 465 AU! So zoom in a bit... * toggle orbits on or off - press O key To get planet trails to work, deselect, i.e. right-click on nothing. * toggle trails on or off - press Shift-t key For the orbits and traces to show, the planet magnitude limit should not be applied or it should be set to allow dim objects. So check and adjust the solar system magnitude option in the settings. A magnitude limit of 15 should show the planets; 22 will show Pluto.
SATURDAY, MAY 19, 20180.18.0 shortcutsUpdated shortcuts for new and changed features, such as asterims, ray helpers, custom markers, meteors, etc. This listing references the Windows and Macintosh computers. But it should also work fine for Linux machines. Procedurally oriented.
TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 20170.15.2 shortcutsUpdated shortcuts for new and changed features, such as sky markers, digital sky survey, adjusting time, bookmarks, etc. This listing references the Windows and Macintosh computers. But it should also work fine for Linux machines. Procedurally oriented.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 20160.15.0 shortcuts for Windows and MacUpdated the shortcuts list to accommodate for new and changed features, such as planet markers, meteor radiant labels, the Milky Way, looking in a particular direction, etc. This listing references the Windows and Macintosh computers. But it should also work fine for Linux machines. Procedurally oriented.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25, 20150.14.0 shortcuts for Windows and MacUpdated the shortcuts list to accommodate for a number of new features, such as meteor radiant display, quasars toggle, change in the planets labels shortcut, and so on. This listing references the Windows and Macintosh computers. But it should also work fine for Linux machines. Procedurally oriented.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 20130.12.0 shortcuts for Windows and MacUpdated the shortcuts list to accommodate for a number of new features, such as exoplanets display, red light mode keyboard control, new sidereal time controls, and so on. This listing references the Windows and Macintosh computers. But it should also work fine for Linux machines. Procedurally oriented.
FRIDAY, JULY 27, 2012Stellarium software trainingBlake Nancarrow offers software training courses on using Stellarium. The level 1, introductory course gets people started and comfortable with the application. The level 2, intermediate course gets into more complex features and telescope control. Outlines available upon request.
FRIDAY, JULY 27, 2012Stellarium 0.11.x quick reference guidesBlake Nancarrow developed quick reference guides for Stellarium. They are provided in his software training courses. They are procedurally-oriented and show buttons and keyboard shortcuts.
FRIDAY, JULY 27, 2012Stellarium landscape filesBlake Nancarrow has produced a number of landscape background image files for use with Stellarium.
He also prepared a file for the RASC Toronto Centre's Carr Astronomical Observatory. This is available upon request.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 20110.10.6 shortcuts for Windows and MacThe list made in December was for Windows only. Thanks to Sharmin, the list was expanded to encompass the Macintosh platform. Procedurally oriented. As it should be.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12, 20100.10.6 shortcutsUpdated the keyboard shortcuts list, for the Windows version, of 0.10.6. It's over on the blog. New keys are noted with an asterisk. Procedurally oriented. As it should be.
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