Stellarium User Guide Matthew Gates Version 0.12.4 12th March 2014 Copyright © 2006-2013 Matthew Gates. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no In- variant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License". 1 Contents 1 Introduction 6 2 Installation 8 2.1 System Requirements . 8 2.2 Downloading . 8 2.3 Installation . 8 2.3.1 Windows . 8 2.3.2 MacOS X . 8 2.3.3 Linux . 9 2.4 Running Stellarium . 9 3 Interface Guide 10 3.1 Tour . 10 3.1.1 Time Travel . 11 3.1.2 Moving Around the Sky . 11 3.1.3 Zooming in and out . 12 3.1.4 Display of other Features . 13 3.1.5 Main Tool-bar . 13 3.1.6 The Object Search Window . 15 3.1.7 Help Window . 16 3.1.8 Help Keys . 16 4 Configuration 20 4.1 Setting the Date and Time . 20 4.2 Setting the time zone . 20 4.3 Setting Your Location . 20 4.4 The Configuration Window . 21 4.5 The View Settings Window . 24 4.5.1 Sky Tab . 24 4.5.2 Marking Tab . 25 4.5.3 Landscape Tab . 25 4.5.4 Starlore Tab . 26 5 Advanced Use 27 5.1 Files and Directories . 27 5.1.1 Windows . 27 5.1.2 MacOS X . 28 5.1.3 Linux . 28 5.1.4 Directory Structure . 28 5.2 The Main Configuration File . 29 5.3 Command Line Options . 30 5.3.1 Examples . 30 2 CONTENTS CONTENTS 5.4 Getting Extra Star Data . 31 5.5 Scripting . 31 5.5.1 Running Scripts . 31 5.5.2 Installing Scripts . 31 5.5.3 Writing Scripts . 31 5.6 Visual Effects . 31 5.6.1 Light Pollution . 31 5.7 Customising Landscapes . 33 5.7.1 Single Fish-eye Method . 33 5.7.2 Single Panorama Method . 34 5.7.3 Multiple Image Method . 34 5.7.4 landscape.ini [location] section . 36 5.8 Adding Nebulae Images . 37 5.8.1 Modifying ngc2000.dat ..................... 37 5.8.2 Modifying ngc2000names.dat . 37 5.8.3 Modifying textures.json .................... 38 5.8.4 Editing Image Files . 39 5.9 Sky Cultures . 39 5.10 Adding Planetary Bodies . 40 5.11 Other Configuration Files . 42 5.12 Taking Screenshots . 43 5.13 Plug Ins . 44 A Configuration file 50 B Precision 65 C TUI Commands 66 D Star Catalogue 69 D.1 Stellarium’s Sky Model . 69 D.1.1 Zones . 69 D.2 Star Catalogue File Format . 69 D.2.1 General Description . 69 D.2.2 File Sections . 70 D.2.3 Record Types . 71 D.2.3.1 File Header Record . 71 D.2.3.2 Zone Records . 71 D.2.3.3 Star Data Records . 71 E Creating a Personalised Landscape for Stellarium 75 E.0.4 Making a Multi panel Panorama . 75 E.0.5 The Camera . 75 E.0.6 Processing into a Panorama . 76 E.0.7 Removing the background to make it transparent . 76 E.0.8 Making a Spherical Panorama . 77 E.0.9 Converting a Spherical Panorama into a Multi Panel . 78 E.0.10 Making a Fisheye Panorama . 80 F Creating New Sky Cultures In Stellarium 81 F.0.11 The Skycultures Folder . 81 F.0.11.1 Writing Your Own Sky Culture Files . 82 F.0.11.2 Figurename.png . 82 F.0.11.3 Star_names.fab . 82 F.0.11.4 Constellation_names.eng.fab . 82 3 CONTENTS CONTENTS F.0.11.5 Constellationboundaries.dat . 82 F.0.11.6 Constellationart.fab . 82 F.0.11.7 Constellationship.fab . 82 F.0.11.8 Info.ini . 82 G Creating Scripts for Stellarium 83 G.0.12 The Script . 83 G.0.13 Writing Your Own Scripts . 84 G.0.14 Progam Architecture . 87 G.0.15 Scripting Engine . 88 H Adding Extra Deep Sky Photos tor Stellarium 89 H.0.16 Preparing a photo for inclusion to the textures.json file. 89 H.0.17 Plate Solving . 90 H.0.18 Processing into a Textures.json Insert . 90 I Astronomical Concepts 92 I.1 The Celestial Sphere . 92 I.2 Coordinate Systems . 93 I.2.1 Altitude/Azimuth Coordinates . 93 I.2.2 Right Ascension/Declination Coordinates . 94 I.3 Units . 95 I.3.1 Distance . 95 I.3.2 Time . 96 I.3.3 Angles . 96 I.3.3.1 Notation . 96 I.3.4 The Magnitude Scale . 96 I.3.5 Luminosity . 97 I.4 Precession . 97 I.5 Parallax . 98 I.6 Proper Motion . 100 J Astronomical Phenomena 101 J.1 The Sun . 101 J.2 Stars . 101 J.2.1 Multiple Star Systems. 101 J.2.2 Optical Doubles & Optical Multiples . 102 J.2.3 Constellations . 102 J.2.4 Star Names . 103 J.2.4.1 Bayer Designation . 103 J.2.4.2 Flamsteed Designation . 103 J.2.4.3 Catalogues . 103 J.2.5 Spectral Type & Luminosity Class . 103 J.2.6 Variables . 106 J.3 Our Moon . 106 J.3.1 Phases of the Moon . ..