View Full Version : [Implemented] constellation-follow your star
Implemented:
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=40834
http://wiki.maemo.org/Orrery
brainstorm: http://maemo.org/community/brainstorm/view/constellation-follow_your_star/
Idea:
I am looking for a program|widget|theme-background to follow the current nights sky relative to my location with a helping hand to figure out which constellation I am able to see atm.
Solution #1: Ciclope Astro
a program|widget based on the toolset of "Ciclope Astro - Web-based Planetarium" (GPL)
The current implementation uses Java to generate tiles. The web2.0 based AJAX interface should work just fine.
Implementation Overview
While the client-side consists of no more than a simple web browser running an AJAX web-site, the server side consists of two parts.
1. A JAVA application used to calculate the star constellations and create the images necessary for the planetarium application.
2. A web server hosting an application written in JSP to serve the planetarium web site as well as the created images and the server time to the client.
Ciclope Astro itself is a huge project to control an astronomical observatory (telescopes, cameras, domes, etc.)
Solution #2: offline min online max
an offline working program|widget using a basic tile set but able to catch a full featured database when online
Solution #3: Port Stellarium
Stellarium would work perfectly for this. It shows the night sky for a specified location and time, lets you pan around and look at the different parts of the sky, labels stars/planets/moons, gives you the information you need to orient a telescope, and many other useful functions for stargazing.
Stellarium uses Qt, and some work currently exists to port it from general OpenGL to OpenGL ES, which would allow it to run on the N900. The N900 port could also use the current location by default, rather than having the user configure a location.
Solution #4: Port Kstars
Extremely powerful desktop astronomy application developed in KDE/QT (?). Can it be ported easily? Some folks apparently had this running even in custom N8xx environments, but it was slow. On the N900, maybe it would be reasonable (?).
Solution #5: Port MEphemeris
Python GTK+ application designed for the N8xx series. Not sure how trivial it would be to port to Maemo 5/N900. At the very least, it would require re-compiling the PyEphem python library heavily used by this application. Developer does not own a N900 at this point.
Solution #6: Port MChronos Applet
Python GTK+ home applet designed for the N8xx series. Not sure how trivial it would be to port to Maemo 5/N900. At the very least, it would require re-compiling the PyEphem python library heavily used by this application. This is more of an astronomical 'clock' applet that a 'planetarium' one, but does have a view of the night sky. Developer does not own a N900 at this point.
please feel free to share your ideas!
I've posted a new solution which I think would solve this perfectly: port Stellarium (http://stellarium.org) to the N900. Details on Brainstorm.
I've posted a new solution which I think would solve this perfectly: port Stellarium (http://stellarium.org) to the N900. Details on Brainstorm.
that looks exactly what I was after, get it voting!
darethehair
2009-12-15, 13:30
I think that it is a great idea to create/port astronomy apps/widgets for the N900! After all, it was my own interest that spawned 'MEphemeris' and 'MChronos' for the N8xx series, and ideally (somehow/someday) I would like to run them on the N900 as well :)
However, I am unclear on the criteria being used for this 'wish list' -- there all a number of 'astro' apps that already exist beyond those mentioned here -- are they candidates as well? i.e. XEphem, KStars, etc..
My own N8xx apps are not nearly as 'slick' as all of them. Do they lack functionality that is desired?
I think that it is a great idea to create/port astronomy apps/widgets for the N900! After all, it was my own interest that spawned 'MEphemeris' and 'MChronos' for the N8xx series, and ideally (somehow/someday) I would like to run them on the N900 as well :)
However, I am unclear on the criteria being used for this 'wish list' -- there all a number of 'astro' apps that already exist beyond those mentioned here -- are they candidates as well? i.e. XEphem, KStars, etc..
My own N8xx apps are not nearly as 'slick' as all of them. Do they lack functionality that is desired?
why stellarium is atm my favorite is because of the Qt UI, I tested the windows version real quick at work and was impressed, its just enough features so not overdoing it but nothing serious missing as well.
How easy it is to implement later on with GPS data and view setup is another issue, my primaries are map-databases and basic features.
Solution #2 provides just an idea of how it could be kept a small program, with a huge online database to activate if needed. while solution #1 is actually based on a GPL database, which probably needs to run online all the time.
please consider setting up a solution for the programs you know (feature rich or not, each idea one solution please), provide information on what is what, is it GTK or Qt and maybe a feature list! I will edit my solutions to get some more detail into them too.
what are "your" programs like?
darethehair
2009-12-16, 16:29
please consider setting up a solution for the programs you know (feature rich or not, each idea one solution please), provide information on what is what, is it GTK or Qt and maybe a feature list! I will edit my solutions to get some more detail into them too.
Well, I am lousy at trying to describe other people's apps, especially in the 'technical' sense of the underlying development/infrastructure, but I have added 'KStars' and my own humble creations...
what are "your" programs like?
My impression is that you didn't own the N8xx series, so didn't get a chance to try them out yourself, and instead were fortunate to leap directly to the amazing N900? :)
Well, it makes me a bit nervous to be chirping too much about my apps/applets in the N900 context, since I have had no opportunity to do anything about them on that platform. Nevertheless, rather than starting totally 'from scratch', I wonder how easy it would be to make them run on the N900 (?).
I wrote one astro app (MEphemeris), and two applets (MChronos and MOrrery). All of them depend on the amazing PyEphem python libraries written by Brandon Rhodes. My own stuff is Python/GTK stuff. There are old threads for this stuff, mentioned on the brainstorm page that I just added to. I did not include MOrrery, since I don't think that is included in the brainstorm :)
My impression is that you didn't own the N8xx series, so didn't get a chance to try them out yourself, and instead were fortunate to leap directly to the amazing N900? :)
yes
I wrote one astro app (MEphemeris), and two applets (MChronos and MOrrery). All of them depend on the amazing PyEphem python libraries written by Brandon Rhodes. My own stuff is Python/GTK stuff. There are old threads for this stuff, mentioned on the brainstorm page that I just added to. I did not include MOrrery, since I don't think that is included in the brainstorm :)
python/gtk sounds not to bad! have you tried to run them within the SDK? (sounds like you got no n900 yet)
It looks to me like it would be a good idea to have Kstars and Stellarium ported.
Kstars looks big and feature rich (more professional) and Stellarium looks easy to use and enough features for quickly identifying a constellation. Stellarium looks more like what I would use on the n900+ devices and Kstars looks like something I would use on a desktop machine. Having both available would meet someones new born interest with Stellarium and would extend to a more professional use with Kstars.
What do you guys think?
darethehair
2009-12-17, 13:27
python/gtk sounds not to bad! have you tried to run them within the SDK? (sounds like you got no n900 yet)
Nope, I have not yet attempted to install the newer SDK or to compile/run my apps on it...
is anyone working on it? if yes "how far have you got?" if no "is someone up for it?"
shuairan
2010-01-15, 22:28
I am working on it :-)
costet me several hours, but 5mins ago I got the first version working!
I am new to this C++ stuff and never worked with OpenGL/ES2 so I had much to learn the past two days.
In my first tests I had a working version which didn't render the sky (not stars etc displayed), this was nearly out of the box, not much work to do.
Then I started to experiment with that OpenGLES stuff, like glesport. But all I got was a bunch of errors :(
Will keep you guys up to date, watch out for the planetarium for your N900, it will come soon :cool:
cool!
which solution are you after?
are you porting stellarium?
is it at the garage (garage.maemo.org)?
put it to extras-devel with source as soon as you got something to test please.
shuairan
2010-01-15, 23:47
my solution sounds easy: use the latest version from repository (0.10.3), which brings an OpenGLES support and several bugfixes for the ES version.
but I had to make some minor changes to avoid compilation errors.
It also depends on Qt4.6, so I had to figure out how to get the whole stuff working ;-)
There are still some problems with text output in the application, I guess I know where the error is, I'll try to fix it later,
but now I am reading howto package a whole deb with menu icon etc, and then I'll upload it.
What's the advantage of putting stellarium into garage?
awesome... Version: 0.9.1-4 has Qt 4.4 depending (at lenny)
shuairan
2010-01-16, 06:37
Qt4.6 dependecy came with 0.10.3, the last stable version 0.10.2 runs with Qt4.5, but didn't get that working, maybe to much bug in the ES2 part.
---
so here it is: http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?p=475715#post475715
(started a new thread because the topic of this one is "follow your star")
garage and repositorys will follow, but waiting for activation...
This is not quite related, but since people interested in astronomy are likely to read this thread: on the iphone of a friend, I saw a planetarium application. You hold the phone above your head and it shows the name of the stars behind the phone. It uses the built-in gps and time to compute the local sky and the built-in accelerometers and compass to compute "what the phone is looking at". It works a bit like the Celestron skyscout.
That would be great to have on the N900.
shuairan
2010-01-16, 07:20
it is related, that is exactly what this topic is about ;-)
I also want to have such an app, that's why I did the initial work with stellarium (Writing an extra application is second choice)
next thing to do will be the consideration of controlling stellarium through the motion sensors, and a solution or workaroung for the missing compass.
Stellarium itself provides a powerful scripting API.
Can we consider in the Brainstorm that at least Stellarium porting (Solution #3) is In Development?
Cernunnos
2010-01-16, 12:31
Awesome project! Keep up the good work.
There is even a deb package!? http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?p=475715#post475715
Moving Brainstorm proposal to In Development.
Friend asked me just yesterday when i showed off the N900 "Can it tell you what stars you are looking at? That's the only reason i'd buy a phone like that."
:cool:
a solution or workaroung for the missing compass.
Easy.
Have an initialization process: the soft shows you first a bright star or object (the moon...), you point it to the object and press a button to initialize. Just as it is done on computer-controlled scopes (except than only one star is needed).
And be blessed that there is no compass, that is the biggest source of errors in the skyscout.
shuairan
2010-01-31, 17:42
Easy.
Have an initialization process: the soft shows you first a bright star or object (the moon...), you point it to the object and press a button to initialize. Just as it is done on computer-controlled scopes (except than only one star is needed).
And be blessed that there is no compass, that is the biggest source of errors in the skyscout.
To quote from the other thread:
Google "Celestron SkyScout" if you don't understand the last sentence. :)
I've startet a Brainstorm to discuss the electronic compass stuff and all related topics. Would like to hear more details :-)
The initialization process would be an easy thing, but afaik there will be problems with using the accelerometer, because at slow movements you have nearly no acceleration....
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=42870
Alan_Peery
2010-01-31, 20:08
How do your options compare with Orrey? It's location sensitive, and worked nicely for me last night verifying that I was indeed seeing Mars near the Moon...
Alan, thanks to your last post I just discovered http://wiki.maemo.org/Orrery and I'm impressed!
Playing with this little toy right now. I should go to sleep.......
Added Orrery link to starting-post. I will suggest to host a ciclope astro server to our unix-workgroup at university some time soon so we have a tile server for further usage, interested? Maybe I should talk to some of the cyclope team aswell, we'll see.
shuairan
2010-02-01, 15:48
How do your options compare with Orrey? It's location sensitive, and worked nicely for me last night verifying that I was indeed seeing Mars near the Moon...
Orrery is also very nice, didn't know that program until you mentioned it.
To compare the two programs have a look at this video from zehjotkah: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1mpCAWCKC4
It's german, but you'll see what stellarium does and how it looks.
Ken-Young
2010-02-02, 03:02
Added Orrery link to starting-post.
Thanks for adding a link to my orrery program. It is nowhere near as beautiful as stellarium, but I'm having fun working on it. I'd very much appreciate it if people would give it a try and send me suggestions for improvements, either through its Bugzilla database, or just by mailing me at orrery.moko@gmail.com.
One minor thing orrery has going for it is that it was originally written for Openmoko Freerunner phones, which have about 1/20 (really!) of the processing power of an N900. So I had to work hard to make the calculations run efficiently, or else it would have been unusable on a Freerunner. On an N900, it is quite responsive.
It still needs a lot of "hildonizing" to fit in well with other Maemo 5 apps.
Documentation for the program can be found here:
http://wiki.maemo.org/Orrery
Thanks again!
Stellarium is in extras-devel now.
http://maemo.org/packages/view/stellarium/
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=40834
All in all this can be moved to Implemented.
Martinus
2010-03-07, 15:07
Thanks for adding a link to my orrery program. It is nowhere near as beautiful as stellarium, but I'm having fun working on it. I'd very much appreciate it if people would give it a try and send me suggestions for improvements, either through its Bugzilla database, or just by mailing me at orrery.moko@gmail.com.
One minor thing orrery has going for it is that it was originally written for Openmoko Freerunner phones, which have about 1/20 (really!) of the processing power of an N900. So I had to work hard to make the calculations run efficiently, or else it would have been unusable on a Freerunner. On an N900, it is quite responsive.
It still needs a lot of "hildonizing" to fit in well with other Maemo 5 apps.
Documentation for the program can be found here:
http://wiki.maemo.org/Orrery
Thanks again!
Ken, just wanted to say a massive thank you for this program. I and my better half bought a 114mm reflector a week ago. Thanks to having Orrery on my N900 we were able to find both Mars and Saturn last night.
We got a fantastic view of both before the fog rolled in (Ireland; clear nights are a novelty here.).
I'll not claim to have exhaustively used the application but I was wondering if there's a way to configure the date display so it follows the more logical UK dd/mm/yy format?
Is there a way I can donate to the project?
Ken-Young
2010-03-22, 04:31
Ken, just wanted to say a massive thank you for this program. I and my better half bought a 114mm reflector a week ago. Thanks to having Orrery on my N900 we were able to find both Mars and Saturn last night.
We got a fantastic view of both before the fog rolled in (Ireland; clear nights are a novelty here.).
I'll not claim to have exhaustively used the application but I was wondering if there's a way to configure the date display so it follows the more logical UK dd/mm/yy format?
Is there a way I can donate to the project?
Thanks for trying out my app! The best donation would be for you to send me suggestions for new features you'd like to see added to this program.
As both orrery and stellarium are now official, I close this thread as the brainstorm is done so far. Please consider to create a new brainstorm for new suggestions. I am proud this worked out that well!
Thanks to the projects and contributors!
Thread Closed.
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