Steve’s Virtual Planet

Stellarium planetarium software

Over the last decade or so, the internet has brought forth many great resources for the hobby of astronomy. Amongst the many pieces of free software I have found, one of the most useful is Stellarium, a downloadable “planetarium” program. Stellarium runs on Windows, Mac and even Linux and gives you a view of the sky that easy to configure and use. Sometimes, just the basic features are all you need and version 10 of Stellarium is perfect for use in the field for astronomy outreach or just showing a simple view of the sky to your friends.

Well, as with many things, the best gets even better. Stellarium version 11 is out and a new stable version has just been announced this month. You start at the Stellarium website and download the program, then install it. The new version still has the same look and feel to version 10, however, its worth working through the list of features on their web site.

I am not going to be able to do a full review of the program in this article, but I still highly recommend the program. The interface is not what you may typically find in Windows programs, but this tool is more universal than what our GUI friends might call “standard”. Nevertheless, take the time to explore the screen once you’ve installed it. And dig into the help feature to see what the mouse and keyboard shortcuts are. Admittedly, this program is a bit of a challenge to get used to but it’s not a very complex interface.

The help screen now has hyperlinks that take you to the documentation wiki, where you can get the full user’s guide. The documentation was there before, but now it’s much easier to get to it from the program. You just have to have a live internet connection when you use it.

Stellarium is a great example of how people get together in hyperspace and create and support a great product. Consider downloading and using this resource for your astronomy outreach and even your personal enjoyment.