New in Celestia 1.6.0 (Jul 9, 2009)
- Bug fixes:
- Fix to admit absolute directory notation in VT ImageDirectory
- Implemented encoding of special characters when saving cel URLs
- Fixed flickering of models with missing texture coordinates
- Fixed appearance non-ellipsoid star geometry in pre-OGL2 render paths
- Improved appearance of point stars when multisample antialiasing is enabled
- Fix for crash when viewing a star barycenter in an empty system
- Fixed off by one error assertion testing for number of lights used by shaders
- Windows: fixed UTF8 bugs in tour guide, star browser, and context menu
- Fixed crash bug that was triggerred by xyz and xyzv files with duplicate times
- Fixed bug that caused dim stars in orbits distant from the primary to not be drawn.
- Fixed strange appearance of cloud textures at times in the distant past/future.
- Fixed memory leak in multiview handling
- Fixed ambient light in the ARB shader path
- Fixed bugs in comet rendering (corrects overbright coma)
- Fixed code to compile without errors with gcc 4.3; fixed some warnings
- Fixed g++ compier errors in cmodfix tool
- Fixed search path for Lua scripts
- Fixed numerous bugs that occurred when an object's orbit center was different
- Fixed a bug in the celx function celestia:getscreendimension
- Fixed bug with returning Hubble type for galaxies
- Eliminated error-prone min/max macros; use STL functions instead
- Fixed discrepancy between apparent magnitudes shown in the 3D view and the star browser.
- Change "Day Length" string to the correct and more general term "Rotation Period"
- Show 'planetary companions' message for stellar barycenters (instead of just stars.)
- Improved location drawing so that location labels can be occluded by foreground objects.
- Data file updates:
- Implemented data base globulars.dsc with all known 150 globulars around the Milky Way
- Renamed galaxy database deepsky.dsc into galaxies.dsc
- Implemented SIMBAD compatible cross-listing for globular clusters
- Updated Iapetus texture based on a new Ciclops map from Oct 2008
- Significant update of the database on binary orbits, including SIMBAD compatibility of barycenter nomenclature and alternative names
- Updated the near stars catalog
- Updated texture for Mercury; includes imagery from MESSENGER
- Updated textures for some Saturnian moons: Tethys, Dione, Mimas, Enceladus, and Rhea
- Added CHARM2 catalog of measured stellar radii
- Added model of asteroid Itokawa
- Regenerated star catalog using the new reduction of the HIPPARCOS data
- Cassini updates:
- Updated Cassini trajectory to include extended mission
- Switched to using xyz+velocity files for a more accurate trajectory
- Separated Cassini mission into cruise and orbital phases
- Improved appearance of Huygens separation from Cassini
- Added IAU rotational elements for most major solar system bodies
- Made visible the orbit and label for Pluto-Charon barycenter
- Correctly centered Galileo spacecraft
- Rebuilt cross-indices from SIMBAD data
- Added alternative names for many solar system bodies (e.g. preliminary designations for asteroids in addition to proper names.)
- Updated extrasolar planet catalog with discoveries made up to Apr 2009
- Changed class of Pluto, Ceres, Eris, ... to dwarf planet
- Changed class of small outer planet moons to minormoon
- Included new and updated solar system body features from the IAU
- Added provisional rotation period for Eris
- Tools:
- Added Perl script globulars.pl used to extract the globular data from scientific publications and as documentation
- Added spice2xyzv tool for extracting xyzv files from a pool of SPICE kernels
- Added Perl script to build cross-indices
- Added Perl script to generate CHARM2 catalog
- Added Perl script to build star database
- Platform-specific changes:
- BSD: Fixed tm_zone handling
- Linux: Install scripts at during "make install"
- Linux: Added workaround for broken include_x11 define from acinclude.m4
- Linux: Updated admin directory to KDE 3.5.10, regenerated acinclude.m4
- Linux: Added the missing menu entries related to globulars for KDE version
- Linux: Added globular and grid selection options in GTK interface
- Internationalization:
- Added Polish translation
- Added Lithuanian translation
- Added Romanian translation of constellation names
- Mac OS X: Japanese localation of eclipse finder added
- Added Chinese localization
- Localize surface names in alternate surfaces menu
- Prevented English name 'Milky Way' from being displayed when a translated version is present.
- Extended localization to DSO and star names
- Features:
- Added light from secondary sources (i.e. "planetshine")
- Implemented depth sorting for markers so that they are correctly occluded
- by foreground objects.
- Implemented code package rendering globular clusters
- Implemented new cel URL version with observer position and orientation stored
- in frame coordinates (for forward compatibility)
- Added a long term (+-5000 centuries) precession model for Earth based on
- work by Jan Vondrak
- Improved celestial coordinate grids:
- Added new grid types: ecliptic, horizontal, and galactic
- Made grid resolution adapt to the field of view
- Positioned coordinate labels at edges of field of view
- Added animated selection indicator
- Switches to direction pointer when the selection is off screen
- Changes color when the selected object is occluded
- Implemented more flexible system for reference marks and added new
- reference marks:
- Planetographic grid
- Terminator
- VisibleRegion
- Enabled display of the phase angle for the currently selected object
- Improved eclipse rendering: correctly calculate depth and umbra radius
- for eclipses.
- Improved star handling code so that stars can be placed more than 16k light
- years from Earth.
- Switched to using sd prefix for hot subdwarfs per arXiv:0805.2567v1
- Added symbols for locations
- Add-on features:
- Added SemiAxes property for ssc objects, which allows triaxial ellipsoid geometry for solar system objects like Haumea and Mimas.
- Added new boolean properties for ssc/stc/dsc objects: Visible and Clickable
- Added new classes for solar system objects: dwarfplanet, minormoon, surfacefeature, component, and diffuse
- Implemented Modify and Replace dispositions for star catalogs
- Added SPICE rotation model, allowing the orientation of an ssc object to be controlled by a SPICE frame.
- SPICE orbit improvements:
- Allow multiple kernels to be specified for a SPICE orbit
- Automatically calculate start and end times when possible
- Added Timeline, which allows multiple frame, trajectory, and rotation models for a single ssc object.
- Implemented CustomRotation, the rotation model analogue of CustomOrbit
- Added support for InfoURL for stars (already exists for deep sky objects and solar system objects)
- Improved SampledTrajectory to handle files with positions and velocities
- Added LabelColor property for locations
- Implemented new Topocentric frame (a simplified two vector frame for placing objects on the surface of a planet.)
- Added support for premultiplied alpha blend mode in cmod files
- Extended FixedPosition to support spherical coordinates as well as cartesian coordinates.
- Added FixedAttitude rotation model, with more intuitive paramters for orientation
- Added new SurfaceObject type for ssc files--like an ordinary body except with different default frames that make it easy to position an object on the surface of a planet.
- Added CloudShadowDepth property for atmospheres
- Improved control over mesh scaling with NormalizeMesh and MeshScale properties for ssc objects.
- Added new locations types: eruptive center, insula (islands), and tholus (domical hills and mountains)
- Added support for comment headers in xyz and xyzv files
- Code optimization and reorganization:
- Reimplemented observer frames in terms of Celestia 1.5.0 frames
- Improved performance of complex frames by caching last calculated orientation
- Added velocity method for all classes derived from Orbit
- Added angularVelocity method for rotation models
- Optimized solar system rendering by maintaining a bounding sphere hierarchy
- Switched to using 2 64-bit integers for storing high precision coordinates; simplifies code and improves performance of operations using high precision coordinates (dramatically on 64-bit systems)
- Optimized creation of render lists
- Scripting:
- Celx scripting functions:
- object:addreferencemark, object:removereferencemark
- object:visible, object:setvisible, object:catalognumber
- object:setorbitcolor, object:orbitcoloroverridden, object:setorbitcoloroverridden
- object:orbitvisibility, object:setorbitvisibility
- object:locations (returns an iterator over all the locations associated with an object)
- new phase object type (for timeline phases)
- permit any X11 color name
- observer:makeactiveview
- showconstellations, hideconstellations, setconstellationcolor
- getlabelcolor, getlinecolor
- getsystemtime, ispaused
- gettextureresolution, settextureresolution
- windowbordersvisible, setwindowbordersvisible
- Split celx scripting support into several modules
- Cel scripting
- splitview, deleteview, singleview, setactiveview
- setgalaxylightgain
- setradius
- setlinecolor
- setlabelcolor
- settextureresolution
- Made the package library (except loadlib) available for celx scripting regardless of the ScriptSystemAccessPolicy setting
- Added an "AddonPath" value that is available to a ScriptedOrbit or ScriptedRotation when it is created.
- Pass control modifier to Lua keyboard handlingfunctions
- Miscellaneous:
- Bound P and M keys to toggle dwarf planet and minor moon labels
- Bound U and E keys to toggle globular clusters and globular cluster labels
- Group reference mark menu items in a separate submenu
- Changed star name lookup priority in stc parser: check proper names before cross indices.
- Eliminated R and Shift+R key bindings for changing texture resolution
- Added new leap second 31-Dec-2008 23:59:60
- Cleanup:
- Removed obsolete 'LabelledStars' section from standard celestia.cfg
- Updated README: removed obsolete sections, reorganized credits, added information application to 1.6.0
- Purged out of date controls documentation
- Reorganized spacecraft add-ons in standard package