14 DAY TRIAL // Stellarium, an open source planetarium software that displays a realistic and accurate sky in 3D that is built for multiple platforms, including Linux, is now at version 0.13.1 and is available for download.
Premium planetarium software is very hard to find and the fact that Linux has a free one is actually a big plus. It comes with a ton of features and it can be used by beginners and advanced users as well. It has a simple interface, but the wealth of features makes this a great teaching tool.
Users will find that Stellarium features more than 600,000 solar systems by default, multiple downloadable catalogs that can add 210 million different stars, constellations for numerous cultures across the globe, the entire Messier collection of nebulae, all the solar system planets and their satellites, time control, complex simulation, and more. Even after enumerating all of these features, we have only scratched the surface of what this tool can do.
Stellarium 0.13.1 update should be mandatory
All Stellarium releases are usually very important, and the current one makes no exception. The developers have spent a little more than three months just for 0.13.1, and that says a lot about their commitment to the project. A number of important features have been added, but there are also quite a few fixes.
"Stellarium is free GPL desktop software which renders realistic skies in real time with openGL. With Stellarium, you really see what you can see with your eyes, binoculars or a small telescope. Stellarium is also used in planetariums and for planetarium projectors. Just set your coordinates and go," reads the official website.
The developers have explained that the user’s location can now be determined through the network, the constellations are now displayed by using seasonal rules, the Ocular support has been improved, it's now possible to measure the angles at the horizon, the Galactic plane has been renamed to the Galactic equator, the performance of the application is now much better when computing multiple comets and asteroids, and the GUI has been enhanced as well.
A complete changelog of Stellarium 0.13.1 can be found in the official announcement. The developers have also recommended that users reset all Stellarium settings. You can download Stellarium 0.13.1 right now from Softpedia, even if this is just the source package. If you are using an Ubuntu system, the developers do provide a PPA, which makes it much easier to install.