Anyone running a planetarium from a Mac?

[ChuckGood]

Hello all,

I'm just getting started with Stellarium (25.3) on a Mac. I got it running on a second display, but how do I configure it to run on two displays: one for my dome projector and one for controls?

[gzotti]

You may consider using the RemoteControl plugin's web browser interface.

Alternatively, use two instances of Stellarium linked via RemoteSync plugin, and exclude things like projection and mirror warp properties.

[ChuckGood]

Hi Georg,

you would know! Thanks. The RemoteControl plugin looks like a good place to start. I'll give that a try.

[ChuckGood]

Web interface is up and running. Seems ok. I'll set this up in the planetarium and see how it looks next week. Thanks!

[gzotti]

Note that some controls have deliberately not been implemented (e.g. color choosers), and others may lag behind by 1-2 releases until we find it ourselves. If something crucially is missing, you can report an issue here. Simple checkboxes are easy, more complex dialogs need more work. Many plugins like TelescopeControl, Oculars and things like AstroCalc are not available here. Some plugins offer user-configurable hotkey actions to at least enable/disable drawing, you may configure those to your liking. And finally, for planetarium use, the old Text User Interface plugin is still available and may be useful.

[trevorkjorlien]

Hi! I've been running a mobile planetarium with my Mac for the last 2 years. I use Stellarium and another great app called Gaia Sky. I also use a spherical mirror in my dome.

I started with the RemoteControl plugin in a browser window, but eventually found it smoother to just mirror my MacBook screen onto the projector and use the built-in controls of Stellarium.

I got comfortable with key commands to hide and show constellation lines, artwork, labels, boundaries, etc... Then got comfortable changing time and direction with the keyboard too.

Also, with a spherical mirror, the side of the app can be kinda hidden (or only a small portion is shown). For example, if I need to search for something, I could put that in the top corner of the screen, and the audience wouldn't be able to see it:

This is a small control, so you can get away with it. But for bigger controls, like changing Sky Cultures, that's where having a second display would help. I don't do this often enough to change my technique, though.

Another way you could do it: if you have network access for the laptop and a phone/tablet, you could use the Remote Plugin on your device to change some settings like Sky Cultures.

Happy to share my experience!

[gzotti]

Yes, that's the thing. Keyboard configs work great, and/or occasionally separate screens/phone/tablet as secondary screens when you walk around in the dome. No problem to mix GUI on main and secondaries, settings are mirrored on both GUIs.

[ChuckGood]

The remote control plugin is a bit clumsy for me. I might try to run two instances on my Mac and use the RemoteSync plug-in. e-Planetarium bundles Stellarium with their systems. How are planetariums using this software?

[gzotti]

Ask e-Planetarium. I have never heard of them.

[ChuckGood]

Is there a way to lock Stellarium's view/projection so that the landscape/horizon always stays put? When I select targets or zoom in, sometimes the horizon moves up the dome. It's fine if the landscape dips below out of sight when I zoom in on a target, but zooming back out should always put that landscape horizon back in place.

[gzotti]

Seems to be the problem which #4018 is dealing with. Not sure if I find another weekend in December for this.

[trevorkjorlien]

@ChuckGood, I run a one-line script before starting every show. It doesn't completely solve the issue you have, but I've found this very valuable:

StelMovementMgr.setInhibitAllAutomoves(true);

This is especially useful if you search for an object. By default, the view will center that object in the screen – which, in the dome – puts it to the very top. It's also disorienting for the audience.

It does cause an issue if you move time forwards or back, which I'm trying to address in #4658

[ChuckGood]

I started experimenting with Remote Sync Plugin. that looks promising as you can fully use the GUI on one instance while the "dome" instance matches what I'm doing. However, I don't know how to launch the client and get it to connect to server automatically. And because I've set config.ini "flag_show_gui = false" I don't have the configuration window on the client to bring up the plug-in to click the "connect to server" button.

how do I "connect to server" on the client instance without using the GUI's plugin--> remoteSync button?

[10110111]

While you don't have the panels when show GUI flag is off, you still can press F2 and open the dialog from there.