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Adding comets, asteroids and small bodies to Stellarium.

JB80

By JB80
in Primers and Tutorials

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JB80

JB80

Posted
Posted

I thought I would add this method as I haven't seen it posted here before, apologies if it has been.

Up until recently to add comets and other extra's to Stellarium you have had to use an ini. file and copy it into Stellariums code however this new method makes it fairly simple to do in the main Stellarium application itself adding it directly from the Minor Planet Center.

I'm going to use Comet Garradd as an example as it came up in another thread and is the hot must see comet of the times but it is just as easy to select any other object you like.

It is however important that you upgrade Sellarium to the latest release for it to work.

1. Press F2 to open the "configuration" window. Under the "Plugins" tab in the "Configuration" window, select "Solar System Editor". Under "options" at the bottom of the tab, click the "Configure" button. A window for "Solar System; objects" will open. Under the "Solar System tab" of the "Solar System objects" window, click the "Import orbital elements in MPC format" button at the bottom of the tab. An "import data" window will open.

2.Under the "lists" tab of the "Import data" window, Select the "type" as "comets"; select the "source" as "download a list of objects from the internet"; under "or select from the list" click on "Select bookmark" and select "MPC's list of observable comets," and then click the button "get orbital elements."

A list of objects found will load. Scroll down and check the box next to C/2009 Garradd, then click the "Add; objects". C/2009 Garradd will then be added to your solar system. Close the Solar System editor and Configuration window.

3. If you want to see where Garradd will be in the sky, you'll need to update your location and time.

4. Find Garradd. Press F3 to open the "Find object" window. Type in "C/2009 Garradd" and you should only see one choice "C/2009 Garradd" below the search box. Click the magnifying glass at the right of the search box to lock in on Garradd. It will automatically give you a view of the sky where Garradd is located.

I hope that is easy enough to follow.:rolleyes:

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daz

daz

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Good stuff Pibbles!

One little extra (well, two) - you may need to upgrade Stellarium to get the plugin, and you may need to tick the "Load at startup" box, then Save on the Main tab, and then restart Stellarium so you the Configure button becomes active

If you do upgrade, there are a few more plugins as well now :rolleyes:

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JB80

JB80

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Thanks guys, I just hope it's useful to some people as I know it was for me. I still don't know about most of the plugins though, I'm sure there are many clever tricks to discover. :rolleyes:

I did mention about the upgrade bit but probably should of highlighted it as it is a fairly important point and so is the "Load at startup" too. Feel free to edit it in as I can't edit the original post anymore.

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astrodavid

astrodavid

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I downloaded from MPC the asteroid 2012 DA14 using the above procedure. It all went smoothly but I noticed that on the 15th February Stellarium shows it rising at 17:53 ~ about 2 hours before expectation ~ and some 40 degrees further north of east than expected. I cannot see what I have done wrong. Can anyone help?

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Aenima

Aenima

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Something tells me the answer is plainly obvious but gonna go ahead anyway ...

ahem. -- if stellarium can locate it then it can also point your telescope at it too? (if u have goto of course)

Same with the other additions?

This is a incredibly helpful post to have stumbled upon, many thanks!

PS pls correct me if im wrong about goto-ing to the comets location....

Regards

Aenima

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Aenima

Aenima

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Thank you very much! This guide helped me a lot! Just wondering, the object names are fuzzy and unreadable on stellarium on my computer. Is there any way to fix this?

On mine it needs to be taken into the settings, re-select 'English' as language then save changes, restart program. Its annoying but works for me. :)

Regards

Aenima

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Aenima

Aenima

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Hello,

I'm hoping someone can advise me as to which format - from stellarium - of co-ordinates to enter into 'user defined' objects so that I can input them into my synscan handset, i'm really trying to locate the panstarrs comet this morning but unsure which numbers will give me an accurate position.

With a dslr attached I'm also hoping to get a picture, gotta find it first!

Thanks for any suggestions

Regards

Aenima

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Aenima

Aenima

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Hasn't worked. Any other ideas?

Ah, er maybe the issue isnt the one that happens with my laptop? if you can get a screen shot showing how the writing looks and i'll compare it and see if its the same or run through what i do as a remedy to see if it will help at all.

Regards

Aenima

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