Interstellar overdrive - Linux and astronomy (The H)
The H has posted a lengthy look at Linux and astronomy at both the professional and amateur levels. "
Perhaps the most impressive astronomy software on Linux for the impressionable layperson with a passing interest in science fiction and the stars is Celestia. Celestia is an interactive 3D application for astronomical visualisation, and is free software, licensed under the GPL. Unlike most planetarium software Celestia allows the user to travel across the universe, seeing objects as they would be seen from a spacecraft, and is the perfect way to forget your responsibilities in front of your computer as you set your controls for the heart of the sun."
Posted Dec 2, 2009 4:35 UTC (Wed)
by AJWM (guest, #15888)
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Interstellar overdrive - Linux and astronomy (The H)
Celestia has proven invaluable to me in writing a series of stories set around the nearer stars (space opera with a hard-SF tilt), getting the distances and sky views right. It sure beats working it all out by hand, which I remember doing some years back.