Astronomy Software question

[Nanfeishen]

I have been playing around with Stellarium and Celestia, both rather nice programs, but also looking around for a decent freeware package that will allow me to place location and print up a decent couple of charts.
If there is a print star chart function on Stellarium, then it has escaped me
If i am camping or out in the bush, i dont want to page through books or lug a laptop around, whereas a few A4 pages i can fold up and carry quite easily.
Anybody know of anything worthwhile?

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

Just get the annual SA star guide ~ cannot remember its exact name. Costs about R70 bucks and is divided into months.

 

[mercurial]

Starry Night Plus. RedShift. Those are the popular ones. Go to www.cloudynights.com forum and do a search there or ask around.

EDIT: Not freeware

 

[Crusader]

It depends what you want to do. If you just want the constellations with bright objects go to Starmaps.com and download their SH guide. Prints onto 2 A4 pages.

For more in depth charts you could try Cartes de Solei (my spelling is wrong, but I'm posting from my phone).

 

[mercurial]

You could try http://www.skymaps.com/

 

[Crusader]

Correct spelling is Cartes du Ciel.

 

[Nanfeishen]

Correct spelling is Cartes du Ciel.

Thanx Crusader and to the rest of you will follow up on some of the links.
Found Cartes du Ciel on this page along with a few other programs
http://wareseeker.com/free-planetarium/

I used to play around with Skyglobe, a dos based package that i could put in my co-ordinates, time of day etc, highlighted what i wanted and it gave me nice but detailed print outs of that portion of the sky.
Tried it on XP, but the 2 programs dont seem to be co-operative

 

[Crusader]

What specifically do you want to view? Might be able to make better suggestions based on the answer.

 

[Nanfeishen]

What specifically do you want to view? Might be able to make better suggestions based on the answer.

I am wanting to get a better feel for Celestial Navigation, without any instrumentation, or only basic tools such as a Jacobs staff (Essentially just a straight piece of wood with a cross staff)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob's_staff
Trying to get a clearer understanding of the stars, and their relative positions in the sky at various points and time of year.
With basic printed starcharts, i can print up a location and some of the navigational stars, go out and see if i can calculate a close proximity and slowly be able to learn how to plot my location with only the stars and no equipment.
I.E. finding South
http://www.wilderness-survival-skills.com/southern-cross.html
Navigational stars
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navigational_stars

The following quote from this article sums it up really:

there is something deeply magical about looking up into the night sky, knowing the stars by ancient names from foreign tongues, and, simply by looking, to find yourself.

http://bluejotter.blogspot.com/2009/07/astronavigation-celestial-navigation.html

 

[Palimino]

With basic printed starcharts, i can print up a location and some of the navigational stars, go out and see if i can calculate a close proximity and slowly be able to learn how to plot my location with only the stars and no equipment.

I have a passing interest in this as well. Latitude is OK, longitude is tricky.

I.E. finding South

This is fairly easy (true bearings). Southern Cross or Orion’s Belt in the Southern hemisphere (I prefer Orion’s Belt). A good book to look at is Col. Grainger’s “Don’t die in the bushveld”. An ex-Selous Scout. It has sections on celestial navigation.

 

[Palimino]

I have a passing interest in this as well. Latitude is OK, longitude is tricky.

The technical writing of Chaucer (the father of English literature) gives the operating instructions for an astrolabe (latitude detecting instrument). To whet your appetite:

From Wiki...

A Treatise on the Astrolabe is a medieval essay on the astrolabe by Geoffrey Chaucer. It begins:

Lyte Lowys my sone, I aperceyve wel by certeyne evydences thyn abilite to lerne sciences touching nombres and proporciouns; and as wel considre I thy besy praier in special to lerne the tretys of the Astrelabie. Than for as moche as a philosofre saith, "he wrappith him in his frend, that condescendith to the rightfulle praiers of his frend," therfore have I yeven the a suffisant Astrolabie as for oure orizonte, compowned after the latitude of Oxenforde; upon which, by mediacioun of this litel tretys, I purpose to teche the a certein nombre of conclusions aperteynyng to the same instrument.

I hope this makes it clear.

 

[Nanfeishen]

This is fairly easy (true bearings). Southern Cross or Orion’s Belt in the Southern hemisphere (I prefer Orion’s Belt). A good book to look at is Col. Grainger’s “Don’t die in the bushveld”. An ex-Selous Scout. It has sections on celestial navigation.

How does one work off Orions belt, it is only visible in the Summer months, it and Scorpio normally mark the passage of Summer and Winter across the Summer Skies.

Lyte Lowys my sone, I aperceyve wel by certeyne evydences thyn abilite to lerne sciences touching nombres and proporciouns; and as wel considre I thy besy praier in special to lerne the tretys of the Astrelabie. Than for as moche as a philosofre saith, "he wrappith him in his frend, that condescendith to the rightfulle praiers of his frend," therfore have I yeven the a suffisant Astrolabie as for oure orizonte, compowned after the latitude of Oxenforde; upon which, by mediacioun of this litel tretys, I purpose to teche the a certein nombre of conclusions aperteynyng to the same instrument.

I hope this makes it clear.

Yes perfectly although i may have to brush up on Olde English :erm:

 

[Palimino]

How does one work off Orions belt, it is only visible in the Summer months, it and Scorpio normally mark the passage of Summer and Winter across the Summer Skies.

It doesn’t disappear completely – just gets really low on the horizon. However, I can see how this may cause difficulties. The problem with the Southern Cross is that you have to extrapolate it across the sky and then drop an [imaginary] perpendicular to the horizon. Errors creep-in IMO.

I prefer the analogue watch and matchstick trick to find true North. Only works during the day however. You have to throw a shadow (and you need a watch). This is not celestial though.