Celestia Forums

A great idea is to implementate Celestia with Orbiter because if they were implemented, both programs would show more real planets and moons. Planets in Orbiter look like much bigger than Celestia. In Orbiter, if you look to a planet, you'll notice that it'll be bigger than showed in Celestia. As if you were in real space and looking for a planet. I saw Neptune for example and seeing at a big distance it appears bigger than in Celestia. Another thing is that Orbiter have animated models, like cars running in streets, real buildings and they don't use too much memory from your computer. Ah, and Celestia could have an option of free navigation and orbital navigation. In free navigation option, you could run in space without being in orbit of a planet or moon, like voyager, for example, not not a model, but yourself running free in space and travelling at high speeds.
Imagine a program with all the abilities of Orbiter and Celestia!!!!!! It'll be great! Don't you think?

Unfortunately, Orbiter is "closed source". Its author keeps the code very private. Also, it uses DirectX for its graphics and runs only on Windows systems.

Celestia is open source, uses OpenGL for its graphics and runs on many different types of systems.

However, Chris has mentioned that he hopes to be able to include some of those features, like animated textures, in a future version of Celestia.

Some of them could be bigger images of planets and moons seen from whatever you are, like Orbiter.

selden wrote:Unfortunately, Orbiter is "closed source". Its author keeps the code very private.

Hmm, I agree with your technical comment, Selden, but it seems to me that O is another 'open source ' project, like Celestia, or I am mistaken? Everyone can add a addon and adapt its installation...
But as I often have say it, they don't have the same vocation : 'Orbiter' is a *Flight* simulator with vessels, missions and operations very detailed, which function stage-by-stage (you can at the same time open only one mission). Celestia is a 'universe' sim, with the most brought up to date space objects, all the addons are listed at the same time (you can directly see all that you installed while launching Celestia). Also, naturally, there is bridge between the two program: some (little, alas) vessels from Orbiter were translated in Celestia, and some models or textures from Celestia (recently some Jestr's great solarsys objects) into Orbiter. And so on...
There are many of other simulators, http://jeam.tag.free.fr/CELESTIAhtml/Ce ... -Liens.htm
but Celestia for astronomy, Orbiter for astronautics and WorldWind for the planetary observation is most interesting ones, IMHO. It seems to me that in the French Orbiter forum [more interesting than English one, sometimes] there is a discussion about the transcription of WW tiles (close-ups) into the Orbiter format...
There is not a similar project for Celestia?

However, Chris to have to mention that hope able being to include some these device, like animating texture, in future a Celestia.

Nice. Celestia is THE simulator for the living Universe. Jeam (as usual, sorry for my English)

Jeam,

While anyone can make addons for Orbiter, only its author can change Orbiter's sourcecode. Anyone can change Celestia's sourcecode, although Chris may or may not decide to include those changes in the official version.

In principle, there's no reason why WorldWind tiles couldn't be translated into VT texture images. It just takes someone who is willing to do the work.

Kikinho,

The standard version of Celestia will never include bigger planets in the solar system. It uses their real sizes.

However, you can easily change the planet sizes yourself. There's even an Orerry Addon to do that. See http://www.ara-frasso-sabino.org/andrea_celestia.htm

Unfortunately their Web server is down right now. Hopefully it'll be up soon.

No. I'm not talking about change the radius of the planet. but see planets and moons bigger with the real size of them. You can see it in Orbiter. For example, Neptune seeing from Triton in Orbiter is much bigger than seeing from Triton in Celestia.

You should set the FOV value to something lower - this will make object to appear beeing nearer and bigger.

That's probably the same method used by orbiter.

maxim

selden wrote:Jeam,
While anyone can make addons for Orbiter, only its author can change Orbiter's sourcecode. Anyone can change Celestia's sourcecode, although Chris may or may not decide to include those changes in the official version.

Ah, didn't know that, I'm not a programmer: I was thinking Martin Schweiger was working like this, too... Jeam

One further comment on the free software approach taken by celestia:

In my project (numerical simulation of bodies in gravitational fields) i can easily use celestia for visualization by simply creating another orbit-type (in the code); I couldn't do something like this with a closed-source (i.e. like Orbiter) program.

I am very grateful for the very capable celestia developers for this possibility!

Greetings, Sirius