ANNOUNCE: Mephemeris - Astronomy Program
 

Hello science folks...

I guess I am as ready as I ever will be to announce my initial public release of a simple astronomical 'ephemeris' program. It is written in Python/PyGTK, and depends on the port of the python astronomical libraries mentioned in this previous post:

http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...ad.php?t=18332

I started out wanting to make this functional only on the Maemo/Nxxx platform, but decided to put some extra effort into it so that it could be run 'anywhere' that the requisite Python environment exists e.g. desktops, etc.. So, this probably makes it 'cross-platform' (?).

I need to point out that I am still very much a Python 'newbie', and at my age it is difficult to pick up some of the concepts that I need to in order to do this well e.g. object oriented programming. Python experts will be pained to see my code, so I advise them to avoid the temptation to look at it :)

Rather than post info, screen shots, etc. here, I will direct you (again) to my 'software' page, where you will find an entry near the bottom:

http://darethehair.googlepages.com/software.html

It was quite a challenge to prove to myself that the data/plots generated were 'accurate', so I will depend on you to tell me if garbage is being generated :)

Of course I thank the author of 'pyephem' for creating the routines to make this possible!

Dare

NEW: Now upgraded from version 0.36 to 0.40. Requires new version of PyEphem as well.

Re: ANNOUNCE: Mephemeris - Astronomy Program
 

Wow this looks really cool, thanks :)

Will take me a while to take this in, but looks like a great little program with lots of info and graphics.

Re: ANNOUNCE: Mephemeris - Astronomy Program
 

Awesome! I was hoping somebody would come up with something that used those libraries you posted about awhile ago. This program is very neat! Takes a little exploring with to see all it offers.

BTW: This program required me to install python2.5-gpsbt in Red Pill Mode on my N800. I don't have any GPS devices, but this program is a good use for one.

Re: ANNOUNCE: Mephemeris - Astronomy Program
 

Pipeline:

Please let me know how your investigation goes :)

OSEmuTech:

I am surprised that my app 'required' that python library, and that it also required 'red pill' mode to get it. I don't require such an effort on my part. But in any case I will be pleased to get more feedback on it once you have more time :)

Re: ANNOUNCE: Mephemeris - Astronomy Program
 

Very nice. Now could you add a function to hack into the city power grid and turn off the power so that us big-city dwellers could actually see the real night sky? :D

Re: ANNOUNCE: Mephemeris - Astronomy Program
 

DJames1:

Do you realize how *annoyed* my neighborhood/city will be while I am *debugging* the feature that you describe? Plus, your solution might be considered 'overkill' -- all we really need is to turn off the city lights -- not the total power grid! :)

Re: ANNOUNCE: Mephemeris - Astronomy Program
 

python2.5-gpsbt can be found in the Maemo Extras repository when "bora" distribution is specified... I don't believe red pill is necessary.

Nice start on this app BTW, I'm looking forward to any redraw improvements you come up with. :)

Re: ANNOUNCE: Mephemeris - Astronomy Program
 

Neat app. Will this work on a 770?

Re: ANNOUNCE: Mephemeris - Astronomy Program
 

Nichod: I am not sure. The 'pyephem' library was compiled under Chinook, but the 'mephemeris' program itself is pure Python/PyGTK. Perhaps just give it a try?

Re: ANNOUNCE: Mephemeris - Astronomy Program
 

darethehair,

First, thanks for the app.

I have a problem when I try to reset my location. A window popups saying it's connecting to GPS and next the program crashes.

I have a N810.