For Windows 10, download the EXE file and follow the instructions that appear. You can search it there and when it appears, click the Install button.įor Windows and Mac, Stellarium is available on its official website. Installationįor Ubuntu, Stellarium is available through Ubuntu Software Center. I'll write entries on other functions of Stellarium if I find anything that is interesting or useful in teaching astronomy. These basic functions are easy to use so you can explore them by yourself. I will discuss a few of the functions that you might use often. Since then, various functions and data have been added to its subsequent versions. Stellarium was developed by Fabien Chereau in 2001 and was released under GNU General Public License and available in GNU/Linux, Mac, and Windows. Stellarium shows planets, stars, constellations, and nebulae as seen from the specified location at a specific time. There are others, but I haven't taken a look at them yet. Stellarium is one of the several free and open-source software (FOSS) digital star maps. Then, it will show you how the celestial bodies will be positioned in the sky as seen from that particular location. A basic digital star map will have the options for you to input the time (date and exact hour and minute) and location (in terms of latitude and longitude). Before digital star maps where made, people relied on thick tomes containing lists of the celestial bodies' positions at different times to plan their stargazing session accordingly. Digital star maps are applications that can help you before and during your stargazing sessions.

Stellarium software made easy