[Kstars-devel] www/sites/edu/kstars

[Akarsh Simha]

SVN commit 1314112 by asimha:

Updating website with two new things:

1. A list of features unique to KStars

2. A listing of (two) other FOSS astronomy software, with their unique
   features.

I'm copying the list because I want to know if the changes are
acceptable to all. Most users on Linux, that I talk to, usually use a
combination of all three popular astronomy software, because a single
one does not suit their needs. The same is the case with me. I think
it only makes sense that we collaborate and encourage the use of other
FOSS software so we complement each other.

I want to check particularly with my co-webmaster Jasem and the
maintainers, that this is acceptable.

CCMAIL: mutlaqja at ikarustech.com, kstars-devel at kde.org, rl.kulaga at gmail.com



 M  +43 -0     index.php  


--- trunk/www/sites/edu/kstars/index.php #1314111:1314112
@@ -59,6 +59,34 @@
 
 <h3><a name="features">Features</a></h3>
 <ul>
+    <li><strong>Salient features</strong> not found in other free
+    astronomy software (to the best of our knowledge):
+      <ul>
+	<li>Fetch sky images from Digitized Sky Surveys, and the internet
+	in general.</li>
+	<li>Access information on sky objects</li>
+	<li>Print high-quality, highly customizable, star charts with
+	multiple charts at different zoom levels for each object</li>
+	<li>Plan and execute your observation sessions and save DSS
+	images for offline use with the Observation Planner and
+	"Execute" feature</li>
+	<li>Set up field of view symbols computed from your eyepiece
+	and telescope focal length</li>
+	<li>Generate the locations of Jupiter's moons for the near
+	future and near past and plot them as shown in professional
+	astronomical ephemerides</li>
+	<li>Import your own custom catalogs from within KStars</li>
+	<li>Access some of KStars' internal calculations with the
+	Astro-Calculator</li>
+	<li>Supernova alerts: KStars can automatically alert you about new supernovae at startup!</list>
+	<li>Click on technical terms / astronomy jargon to open up an
+	explanation from the included AstroInfo project</li>
+	<li>Use your favorite map projection method to render the
+	celestial sphere on a flat screen</li>
+	<li>Compute star-hopping routes (experimental; incomplete but
+	functional)</li>
+	<li>Auto-suggest sky objects for beginners (coming soon)</li>
+	<li>More translations and localization than most other software</li>
     <li>Catalogs:
     <ul>
 	<li>Default catalog consisting of stars to magnitude 8</li>
@@ -113,6 +141,21 @@
   include "joinus.inc";
 ?>
 
+<h3>Check out these other free and open source astronomy software</a></h3>
+<p>
+<ul>
+  <li><strong><a href="http://www.stellarium.org">Stellarium</a></strong>:
+  Stellarium has the most aesthetic rendering of the sky map. Ideal
+  for giving public shows. Has a larger star catalog than KStars. It
+  can distort images for projection on fish-eye planetarium projectors.</li>
+  <li><strong><a href="http://www.ap-i.net/skychart/">SkyChart (Cartes
+  du Ciel)</a></strong>: Cartes du Ciel has the largest database of
+  astronomical objects for any free software. It has support for the
+  very very extensive star catalog, PPMXL. Also has tons of other
+  downloadable catalogs.
+</ul>
+</p>
+
 <br />
 <hr width="50%" align="center" />
 <p>Webmasters: Jasem Mutlaq, Akarsh Simha<br />