Planetarium software
Planetarium software is application software that allows a user to simulate the celestial sphere at any time of day, especially at night, on a computer. Such applications can be as rudimentary as displaying a star chart or sky map for a specific time and location, or as complex as rendering photorealistic views of the sky.
While some planetarium software is meant to be used exclusively on a personal computer, some applications can be used to interface with and control telescopes or planetarium projectors. Optional features may include inserting the orbital elements of comets and other newly discovered bodies for display.
Comparison of planetarium software[]
| Name | Latest release | License | Operating system | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows | Linux | macOS | Android | iOS | ||||
| May 1, 2021 | Proprietary | Yes | No | No | No | No | ||
| Cartes du Ciel | November 24, 2019 | GPLv2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| Celestia | November 19, 2020 | GPLv2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Digital Universe Atlas | - | Illinois Open Source License | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |
| HNSKY | June 13, 2021 | GNU General Public License v3 | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | |
| KStars | March 1, 2021 | GPLv2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Stellarium (software) | March 28, 2021 | GPLv2 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Nightshade (astronomy software) | August 23, 2017 | GPLv3 (Nightshade Legacy) | Nightshade Public License (Nightshade NG) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| 2021 | Proprietary | Yes | No | No | No | No | ||
| Sky Map | - | Apache License, Version 2.0 | No | No | No | Yes | No | |
| SpaceEngine | November 28, 2020 | Proprietary | Yes | Planned | Planned | No | No | |
| XEphem | February 28, 2021 | MIT License | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| WorldWide Telescope | June 15, 2016 | MIT License | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Redshift | - | Proprietary | - | - | - | - | - | |
| SkySafari | - | Proprietary | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Starry Night | - | Proprietary | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | |
| TheSky | - | Proprietary | - | - | - | - | - | |
| WinStars | - | Proprietary | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Google Sky | - | Proprietary | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Digistar | - | Proprietary | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Shira Player (software) | November 22, 2020 | GPLv2 | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Shira Universe (software) | February 13, 2021 | MIT License | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| PlanetariumVR (virtual reality) | August 9, 2021 | Proprietary | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
See also[]
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- Educational software
- Entertainment software
- Astronomy software
- Planetarium technology
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