Stellarium is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. It is being used in planetarium projectors. Just set your coordinates and go.
Stellarium key features:
- Realistic simulation of the sky, sunrise and sunset
- Default catalogue of over 600,000 stars
- Downloadable additional catalogues for up to 210 million stars
- Catalog data for all New General Catalogue (NGC) objects
- Images of almost all Messier objects and the Milky Way
- Artistic illustrations for all 88 modern constellations
- More than a dozen different cultures with their constellations
- Solar and lunar eclipse simulation
- Photorealistic landscapes (more are available on the website)
- Scripting support with ECMAScript (a few demo scripts are included)
- Extendable with plug-ins: 8 plug-ins installed by default, including:
- artificial satellites plug-in (updated from an on-line TLE database)
- ocular simulation plug-in (shows how objects look like in a given ocular)
- Solar System editor plug-in (imports comet and asteroid data from the MPC)
- telescope control plug-in (Meade LX200 and Celestron NexStar compatible)
Stellarium 23.2 changelog:
- Added ecliptic obliquity to infoMap (GH: #3233)
- Added support “short-period comets” type
- Added support combined designations for numbered periodic comets
- Added optional “Solar A/a” and “Lunar A/a” info for objects (GH: #3273)
- Added support for webp format in HiPS
- Added discovery circumstances for Caldwell objects
- Added discovery circumstances for Solar System Objects (GH: #3230)
- Added support antialiasing for Oculars lines
- Added changeable font to LeftStelBar (GH: #3125)
- Added UTM/WGS84 coordinate conversions
- Added push to directional light strength in Scenery 3D plugin
- Added new category into AstroCalc/Phenomena tool
- Added missing timezone (GH: #3200)
- Added push to directional light strength into Scenery 3D plugin
- Added new rotation buttons for CCD in the Oculars plugin
- Added KY day number in Calendars plugin
- Added option “Stop clock when starting” (GH: #3140)
- Added ability to specify seconds in time selectors of AstroCalc/Ephemeris tool (GH: #3146)
- Fixed building Satellites plugin when Iridium flares are enabled
- Fixed 64-bit install mode for Windows (GH: #3130)
- Fixed angular size for AstroCalc/Graphs tool: Let’s use angular radii of planets without rings
- Fixed computation of perpendicular in wide line rendering
- Fixed tooltips for Penumbra and Umbra circles (GH: #3175)
- Fixed updating location even if name is the same (GH: #3171)
- Fixed fading of the new nebula markers
- Fixed Observing Lists feature: avoid duplicate stored list when creating a new list (GH: #3163)
- Fixed missing doSRGB uniform in AtmosphereShowMySky
- Fixed filters in Satellites plugin (GH: #3158)
- Fixed checking updates
- Fixed working the actions in Oculars plugin (GH: #3280)
- Fixed prism rotation (GH: #3283)
- Fixed links to Mike McCants’ website
- Fixed designations of periodic comets
- Fixed WUI of Remote Control plugin
- Fixed orbital elements of Phoebe (GH: #230)
- Fixed special handling of Earth map (GH: #3180)
- Fixed a bad connection definition (GH: #3180)
- Fixed missing include (GH: #3180)
- Fixed orbital elements of Pluto’s moons (GH: #3242)
- Fixed missing data for periodic comets
- Fixed label for button in Equation of Time plugin
- Fixed Greek (Farnese) sky culture [full changelog]
Download: Stellarium 23.2 (64-bit) | 377.0 MB (Open Source)
View: Stellarium Home Page | Other Operating Systems