StarPlot is a viewer for 3D perspective star maps.
StarPlot is a powerful program for Unix that allows users to explore and analyze charts of the relative 3-dimensional positions of stars in space. It is completely free and the source code for StarPlot is available for users under the GNU General Public License. With a user-friendly display and many features, this program is ideal for anyone with an interest in astronomy.
One of the key features of StarPlot is the ability to right-click on a star to display a data popup window. Stars can also be displayed or hidden by spectral class and absolute magnitude. Furthermore, users can set stellar absolute magnitude limits automatically based on the radius of the chart. Non-stellar objects such as nebulae are also supported, making this program even more versatile.
StarPlot also has the ability to plot stars on a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and users can view charts in either celestial or galactic coordinate systems. The charts can be recentered, rotated, or zoomed in or out with a simple mouse click. The program also allows users to save current chart parameters to a file and can reload them later. The data file format is easy to read, well-documented, and text-based.
In addition, StarPlot comes packaged with a program called starconvert that converts line-oriented stellar data records to StarPlot format. Several well-known star catalogues are available from the website, complete with all the data needed for conversions.
To use StarPlot, users will need the latest version of the program, version 0.95.2. It is based on the GTK+ graphics library, version 2.x. Users will also need a recent C++ compiler, preferably g++ 2.95.x or higher, to compile the program. In theory, StarPlot should compile on any Unix platform with GTK+ 2 and g++ installed.
While StarPlot is an excellent tool for those interested in astronomy, there are a few limitations to the program. For example, the program doesn't redraw its display while scanning data files. Additionally, when more than one data file is opened, StarPlot does not check for duplicated stars. There have also been reports of a bus error on Mac OS X, although this can be fixed by installing freetype2 version 2.0.9.
In this latest release, StarPlot has added several exciting new features. Users can now use parsecs instead of light-years as the primary distance unit, and the program can also display distances in astronomical units and miles or kilometers at close range. Additionally, the latest release includes a new button that allows users to set the chart to the orientation of a volume of space as seen from Earth. A new dialog box also makes it easy to calculate the distance between two arbitrary points in space. More documentation has been written and several bugs that prevented compilation with modern g++ versions have also been fixed.
Overall, StarPlot is an impressive program that offers many features to those with an interest in astronomy. Its versatility and user-friendly display make it a great choice for anyone looking to explore the relative positions of stars in space.
One of the key features of StarPlot is the ability to right-click on a star to display a data popup window. Stars can also be displayed or hidden by spectral class and absolute magnitude. Furthermore, users can set stellar absolute magnitude limits automatically based on the radius of the chart. Non-stellar objects such as nebulae are also supported, making this program even more versatile.
StarPlot also has the ability to plot stars on a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and users can view charts in either celestial or galactic coordinate systems. The charts can be recentered, rotated, or zoomed in or out with a simple mouse click. The program also allows users to save current chart parameters to a file and can reload them later. The data file format is easy to read, well-documented, and text-based.
In addition, StarPlot comes packaged with a program called starconvert that converts line-oriented stellar data records to StarPlot format. Several well-known star catalogues are available from the website, complete with all the data needed for conversions.
To use StarPlot, users will need the latest version of the program, version 0.95.2. It is based on the GTK+ graphics library, version 2.x. Users will also need a recent C++ compiler, preferably g++ 2.95.x or higher, to compile the program. In theory, StarPlot should compile on any Unix platform with GTK+ 2 and g++ installed.
While StarPlot is an excellent tool for those interested in astronomy, there are a few limitations to the program. For example, the program doesn't redraw its display while scanning data files. Additionally, when more than one data file is opened, StarPlot does not check for duplicated stars. There have also been reports of a bus error on Mac OS X, although this can be fixed by installing freetype2 version 2.0.9.
In this latest release, StarPlot has added several exciting new features. Users can now use parsecs instead of light-years as the primary distance unit, and the program can also display distances in astronomical units and miles or kilometers at close range. Additionally, the latest release includes a new button that allows users to set the chart to the orientation of a volume of space as seen from Earth. A new dialog box also makes it easy to calculate the distance between two arbitrary points in space. More documentation has been written and several bugs that prevented compilation with modern g++ versions have also been fixed.
Overall, StarPlot is an impressive program that offers many features to those with an interest in astronomy. Its versatility and user-friendly display make it a great choice for anyone looking to explore the relative positions of stars in space.
What's New
Version 0.95.5: N/A