Go back to
ICT student textbook
ICT teacher handbook

Introduction

Stellarium is a free and open source software that converts your computer into a planetarium. It shows a realistic sky in 3 Dimension, just like what you would see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope.
It can be projected onto domes to simulate a planetarium.

Educational application and relevance

Version

Stellarium Version - 0.12.4

Configuration

There is no need to configure Stellarium, it is bundled with Ubuntu Kalpavriksha. To launch it - Application - Education - Stellarium

Overview of Features

Stellarium has default catalogue of over 600,000 stars, extra catalogues with more than 210 million stars and illustrations of the constellations, constellations for 20+ different cultures, images of nebulae (full Messier catalogue), realistic Milky Way, very realistic atmosphere and sunrise and sunset.

Other similar applications

Kstar

Development and community help

Official Website

Working with the application

Functionalities

Please label images as Step 1
Please add 500px


On opening a new installation of Stellarium, you will be presented with a 60° view of the sky as currently seen from Paris.	At the bottom of the screen you can see additional information describing the location, date and time.

Cardinal indicators located on the horizon show the direction you are facing.	A left mouse click on any object on the screen will display additional information in the top left hand corner of the screen. Right mouse click to clear the selection

Positioning your mouse at the lower left hand corner of the screen will reveal the main tool bars. They automatically disappear when the mouse is moved away. Basic Moves Moving around Stellarium can be accomplished using mouse and keyboard commands. Hold the left mouse button down while moving the mouse to change your orientation. You can also use the cursor keys on your keyboard to change your orientation. Press and hold the keyboard Page Up and Page Down keys to zoom in and out. Press the space bar to centre a selected object. Press the forward slash key “ / ” to quickly zoom in on a selected object. Press the back slash key ” \ “ to return quickly to a 60° field of view.	Setting the Location and Time : Setting the correct location and time must be done before Stellarium can be used to plan an evening’s observations. Press F6 to open the Location Window. Alternatively, click on the Location Window icon in the tool bar. Type the name of the city in the search box, then select it t. Click on “use as default” if you wish to retain the setting the next time Stellarium starts. Close when finished.

The main display should reflect the new location details:	Press F5 to bring up the Date and Time window. Set the time to 8:30 PM.

Time Stellarium also allows us to manipulate time. Press the “L” key 3 times to see the stars move across the sky. Press the “K” key to return time to normal speed. Press the “J” key repeatedly to make time move backwards. Press the “8” key to reset the date and time to current. Press the “7” key to freeze time. If you get lost, remember: The “8” key sets the date and time to current. The “K” key set the simulation to normal speed. Refer to the status bar at the bottom of the screen at any time to check on the date, time, and simulation speed.	Controls for time can also be found on the lower tool bar:

Markings : Various grids, lines and markings can be displayed on the celestial sphere. Pressing “e” toggles an equatorial grid:	Pressing “z” toggles the Altitude / Azimuth grid:

Constellation lines and boundaries are toggled on and off using the “b” and “c” keys.	Constellation art can be displayed by using the “r” key.

Solar eclipse : I you know date , place and time you can check directly through stellarium . For example : Go-to Location window → type in search box Manado then select and close location window. Go-to date and time window : 1995-10-24 – 09.05.00	Go-tp search Window : type in SUN then zoom in - cntrl+Up or Zoom In(scroll mouse key) Just click on play button on below panel . If you need a increase the time speed click on forward button or L

observe to solar eclipse half sun covered .	Full solar eclipse : upto 12.15pm Total duration of solar eclipse : 3 hours 10 min.
Image Image Image Image (Step 19)	Image Image Image Image (Step 20)

Image Image Image Image (Step 21)	Image Image Image Image (Step 22)

Image Image Image Image (Step 23)	Image Image Image Image (Step 24)