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Celestia – Real-time 3D visualization of space(celestiaproject.space)
134 points by LordNibbler 2 days ago | 33 comments
vodou 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

Great project! Been using it for years together with VTS [1] to visualize real-time and propagated satellite positions and attitudes, and also star tracker and payload "beams".

[1] https://timeloop.fr/vts/

dysoco a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

When I was a kid I used to play a bit with Celestia, but I remember I was pretty scared whilst using it... there was some kind of dread/anxiety I felt just looking at the vast void of space and something giant like Jupiter or Saturn next to it, I always thought an UFO or something was gonna pop out of nowhere.

I don't know if this feeling is common or not but I do remember reading about someone here on on Reddit feeling a similar thing, I believe it to be similar to thalassophobia.

Rooster61 a day ago | parent | next [-]

This. While it wasn't Celestia (I was playing around with Orbiter), I ran into a very similar, very specific scenario. In Orbiter, you can fly to planets using orbital mechanics a la KSP but on a true scale. Frustrated that I was having trouble getting to Saturn using a Hohmann transfer, I eventually said fuck it and just input coordinates that put me just a little ways outside of Saturn's atmosphere.

Upon hitting the button to warp to the coordinates, I was presented with an entirely flat, beige plane. Thinking I had screwed up the coordinates, I began zooming out. Since Orbiter renders to scale rather than the scaled down planets in KSP, I began to realize that there was no mistake, and just how small my ship was relative to Saturn. It literally gave me a shiver. It's so hard for us humans to really perceive how mindbendingly big things are in space in a direct sense.

Verdex a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I have maybe 2 hours total usage time with celestia from years ago.

I still occasionally have pseudo nightmares from the pov of using celestia to orbit 'scary' celestial objects.

I'm not exactly sure what the deal is because I never had any conscious reactions to using the program. But apparently it made some sort of impact.

aeve890 a day ago | parent | prev [-]

Same! I lost days looking for the most distant galaxies and traveling to them. I always felt the same anxiety of the emptiness thinking why the universe doesn't give us a way to explore it, why I was born so early or in a _lame low tech planet_ (in a lame low tech country) or how incredibly diverse could be the life out there. I remember being fascinated by the sheer number of galaxies and then "wait, this app doesn't even zoom _into_ galaxies", which is another level of infinityness, and that was just overwhelming. Man, I feel depressed now.

florbo a day ago | parent [-]

If you want to fly around galaxies and feel insignificant, Space Engine is pretty good for that. It's not a true simulation, as most things are procedurally generated unless an addon is installed, but it certainly captures the scale of things.

aeve890 a day ago | parent [-]

I gotta check. Now I got my fix with Elite Dangerous.

a_c 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

If someone from celestia is reading this, the english documentation link is not working https://celestiaproject.space/cc/cel-guide-en (Accessed from https://celestiaproject.space/guides.html)

hdNLouie a day ago | parent [-]

Celestia161-UsersGuide.pdf at:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dxMnahknnVjrckqWOyJhvuS8IA0...

from: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Celestia

tempodox 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Newer versions for macOS can be downloaded from GitHub (despite the link name):

https://github.com/celestiamobile/MobileCelestia/releases

florieger 2 days ago | parent [-]

That's the iOS repo.

tempodox 2 days ago | parent [-]

Despite the link name, you can find macOS downloads there.

septune a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Decades ago, I patched Celestia to add a Star Trek–style warp speed selector, only to realize that even at maximum warp, I was still crawling along like a snail. At least it was a fun hack.

moritonal a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

One thing I kind of always want to see when I find cool resources like this are "How are you funded?". Because if it's not clear then have to there's a high risk it's a rug-pull, virus or might one day be either. There's just too many secretive "Here's a super free perfect tool for you!" rug-pulls out there.

"We're funded by the goodness of a team of volunteers" is a great answer.

aarond0623 a day ago | parent | next [-]

Celestia had been operating for years. I was using it 20 years ago.

dotancohen a day ago | parent | prev [-]

Are you new to the concept of open source?

moritonal a day ago | parent [-]

That's rude. Yes, I've contributed to a few. However, here is a list of open-source software that've notoriously turned to unethical decisions when pressured into getting funding.

Audacity: Free until 2021 when they were bought and introduced telemetry.

Streamlabs: Open-source but tried to monetise and attack the OBS brand

Bitwarden forks: Various forks of open-source code that included monetisation

OpenOffice: Great desktop apps until bought by Oracle

CCleaner: "free" software that contained trojens.

HoverZoom: Chrome plugin sold by original dev, new update included spyware and ads.

As I said, I don't mind if the answer is "we are volunteers who love this", but I do ask that formal webpage presenting a product, that even has an FAQ page, explains it's funding model. Their github (https://github.com/CelestiaProject/Celestia) is much better at this.

OrderlyTiamat a day ago | parent | next [-]

It is my experience that if there is a github for a project like this, that's usually a much better source of information than the landing page.

dotancohen 15 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

How is asking about your experience rude? Lots of people have no clue what open source is. I'm sitting next to two of them right now.

Being offended so quickly, I'm tempted to ask if you're new to the internet ))

hdNLouie a day ago | parent | prev [-]

moritonal, did you also just `conveniently' forget: Github? And heinous:

openAI: Microsoft has invested US$13 billion in OpenAI, and is entitled to 49% of OpenAI Global, LLC's profits, capped at an estimated 10x their investment.

moritonal a day ago | parent [-]

Sorry, but I don't understand your comment. Github exists sure, but many open source projects have turned sour due to bad funding models. And OpenAi, isn't any of the things it says it is.

anonzzzies a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Hidden well enough on the linked site, but easy to find in search; there are mobile versions which work well on tablets etc I just found out. That's this monday lost!

[0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=space.celestia...

easyKL a day ago | parent [-]

With some differences in features for the privacy conscious: https://f-droid.org/packages/space.celestia.mobilecelestia/

sintezcs a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Is it possible to run it on Meta Quest 3? Or maybe someone could recommend the similar project for a VR headset? Thanks!

i4k 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

This website does not work with Oculus Quest browser, it goes to the "oh noes" page, i guess the meta browser has some issues with the bot detection algorithm.

lifeinthevoid 2 days ago | parent [-]

Brave also exhibits this behavior, turning off shields fixes the issue.

stefanv a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Mobile downloads: https://celestia.mobi/download

aktuel a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Is there an option to increase the font size? The text is unreadably small on my 28" 4k display.

CodeCompost a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I'm surprised there isn't a version that runs on browsers using Emscripten.

dvh a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Why was it removed from debian?

drybjed a day ago | parent [-]

https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=809916

trklausss a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Now somebody gotta do it as a mod for KSP, it would be sick to have this level of detail and launch missions through the solar system.

Yes, I know Real Solar System is a thing, but still :D

a day ago | parent | prev [-]
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