Stellarium any good?

[mark993]

Hi there does any body else use Stellarium. If so is it any good?

[oldfruit]

I think many people here will recommend stelarium as a great programe to help you find your way around the sky. It not only shows the stars visible from your location at any given time, but the planets too plus moon phase. I have found it really helpfull and hope you will too.

[brantuk]

Everybody uses it (either that or Cartes du Ciel) - both are brilliant

[pvaz]

Stellarium is great (and free).

So is Cartes du ciel for printing your own finder charts and google earth (on sky mode) to easily access DSO images.

[russ]

Double thumbs up for Stellarium....the only planetarium software i've used for the last 4 years.

[lukebl]

Stellarium is great. I have one tiny niggle, and that's the fact that despite its brilliance in most aspects, it doesn't show the shadows of the planetary satellites (at least my version doesn't) when they are in transit across the planet (i.e. Jupiter or Saturn). This seems a relatively simple, but really useful, application and I wonder why it isn't included. Maybe the next version will?

[red dwalf]

brill bit a kit, also controls my HEQ5 synscan mount

[matt c]

A very accessible and easy to use piece of software, shows you pretty much everything you can see with an amateur scope. The only thing I can think of that it lacks are asteroid and comet positions, but I think these are more specialist targets anyway

[weso]

download it! its free!

[bus_ter]

Or you can buy a copy off eBay! Lol

You can also add comets and asteroids fairly easily.

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

[James]

Stellarium's pretty good and works well for me... except that on my laptop (a Mac) it very quickly starts to tie up all my processor cycles - this trips the fans into action and the battery starts to run down hyperfast.... so I never use Stellarium out in the field unless I have AC power.

James

[Paulb3098]

Stellarium is a must, I also use cartes du ciel for printing my own charts. Both can show the Telrad finder circles, which as a Newbie I find really useful.

[glowjet]

Stellarium is excellent but, I also use TUBA which is also free, you will find details in the bino section, you can customise star maps ( stars to mag +11 if you need it ) then print them off for outside use, with binos or scope.

[Daggerstab]

The only thing I can think of that it lacks are asteroid and comet positions, but I think these are more specialist targets anyway

Something in that direction is in the pipeline. See this thread:

http://stargazerslounge.com/astro-lounge/117002-exprimental-build-stellarium-two-new-plug-ins.html

[aussi skywatcher]

Stellarium is a must, I also use cartes du ciel for printing my own charts. Both can show the Telrad finder circles, which as a Newbie I find really useful.

Hi Paul 3098, You indicate that Stellarium can show the Telrad finder circles , how do you do that - I have been looking for this feature but have never found it.

Cheers Paul

[coffee_prince]

stellarium is nice, I think there could be improvements. If I adjust the light polution to what I see above me, it means certain objects can't be viewed (like nebulae), but I'd like to know where they are even if they aren't on the screen. I have to reduce the light poluution for it to come up on the screen, but then that provides a sky that isn't the same as my own.