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Stellarium and Cartes du Ciel

cygnusx1

By cygnusx1
in The Astro Lounge

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cygnusx1

cygnusx1

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I was told about these today, so downloaded both ( they're free ) and installed Stellarium.

Stellarium:

Must say im pretty impressed, like the visual aspect of the package, can set loads of params, and gives you a view as you see it looking out at the sky. Good intro package to learn skies and orientate yourself.

Cartes du Ciel:

More serious package. Can downloads loads of catalogs. Also can control scope.

Any of you use these? Comments?

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SteveL

SteveL

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I use Stellarium (low CPU and resource hog) which is great for just a quick look around to see what I should be able to see if the frickin clouds went away. I tend to use Starry Night Pro 6 for more serious stuff (Stellarium doesnt show NGC objects) and also sometimes for controlling my scope. I have installed CdC but never actually used it.

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daz

daz

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Same as Steve - but I use SkyMap Pro as well as SN.

Stellarium's great for a quick whizz round, and now with the scripting support, you can create mini-shows. I like the fact you can hack the INI file to change umpteen options as well.

I really ought to re-install CdC and learn how to use it - its becoming more and more popular I think.

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Whippy

Whippy

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I believe you can run your scope using Stellarium ASCOM drivers.

I've got both and use them slightly differently. I use Stellarium for general 'what's in the sky tonight' usage but CdC has a rather excellent calandar function which tells you what's going on with the solar objects. Plus you can print out copies of what is on the screen which can be a bonus. Obviously it's not as pretty as Stellarium but it has loads more info.

Tony..

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Kenny_10_Bellys

Kenny_10_Bellys

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Whiplash is right, the latest version of Stellarium is compatible with ASCOM drivers and should be able to run a suitable scope now. It's my favourite tool for having a quick check to see what should be visible, and for learning the sky from the comfort of my sofa. So much faster and nicer looking than the other packages. You can even set famous meteor showers and the rates they arrive at, should you wish to see what you're lookiing for.

As for more serious stuff, I use either Meades Autostar or Starry Night 5.

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Astroman

Astroman

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Haven't used Stellarium, but I use CdC to generate finder charts for GRB's because of the USNO A2.0 photometry import function. Extremely accurate charts, with real photometry. Sweet. User interface is a bit clunky, but works well enough. For "just a quick look 'round", I use Earth Centered Universe.

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cygnusx1

cygnusx1

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I've just tried to use the HST star guide catalog with C du C.

I downloaded everything from ftp://adc.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/adc/superseded/1/1220/ , unzipped all the files\directory structure to C:\Program Files\Ciel\cat\.

Set the HST guide star catalog pref in C du C to the above directory, but everytime i zoom in i get the error:

"Mount disc for GSC c:\program files\ciel\cat\gsc" :D

What am i doing wrong? Do you need to read the data from a CD???

Help!

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lunator

lunator

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Cx1

On the left of the Cdu C screen is a icon that looks like index cards

Click on it and it should show all the possible catalogues available. Tick the ones you want and press OK. This should load the catalogue into the programme.

I hope this helps.

Cheers

Ian

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cygnusx1

cygnusx1

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Cx1

On the left of the Cdu C screen is a icon that looks like index cards

Click on it and it should show all the possible catalogues available. Tick the ones you want and press OK. This should load the catalogue into the programme.

I hope this helps.

Cheers

Ian

Nope that just opens up the pref screen i already filled in.

:D

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lunator

lunator

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Are you using v2.76?

The index card icon should read

'Catalog & object parameters'

when you hold the mouse over it.

Yes 2.76

Can you explain the exact procedure you used to load the HST catalog?

I have never loaded the HST catalogue

I use Tycho & WDS.

The first step is to download it from the Cdu C webpage and into the catalog folder.

If you click on the idex icon it will show several tabs,

Stars1, Stars2,Nebulae etc.

GSC is on the second page.

Tick the box and if the file path goes red then the catalog has down loaded to the wrong directory or not been downloaded.

I hope this helps

Cheers

Ian

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cygnusx1

cygnusx1

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I've just tried to use the HST star guide catalog with C du C.

I downloaded everything from ftp://adc.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/adc/superseded/1/1220/ , unzipped all the files\directory structure to C:\Program Files\Ciel\cat\.

Set the HST guide star catalog pref in C du C to the above directory, but everytime i zoom in i get the error:

"Mount disc for GSC c:\program files\ciel\cat\gsc" :D

What am i doing wrong? Do you need to read the data from a CD???

Help!

Just managed to load HST catalogs. :lol:

This catalog contains 19,000,000 stars to magnitude 15. :wink:

If any of you are interested heres the link : ftp://adc.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/adc/superseded/1/1220/

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