Stellarium is a freely available planetarium application that is popular in the astronomy community because it provides a realistic view of the sky and what objects look like through your telescope. The level of realism is such that if you leave Stellarium running while zoomed-in on an object, you can actually see Starlink and other satellites as they pass by!

This article walks you through setting up an observing date and location and the field of view using Stellarium with the Slooh.com Canary 1 telescope.

Directions for setting up Stellarium

Use the following directions to set the location details for the Slooh.com Canary 1 telescope:

  1. Start Stellarium
  2. Setup the location for the Slooh Canary Islands observatory:
  1. On your keyboard, press F6 or move your mouse to Stellarium’s lower left and select the Location window
  2. In the Name/City field, enter Slooh Canary Islands
  3. In the Latitude field, enter N 28 17 58.93
  4. In the Longitude field, enter W 16 30 29.74
  5. In the Elevation field, enter 2372
  6. Put a check next to Use custom time zone
  7. In the Time zone field, select UTC
  8. Click Add to list to save the location; Stellarium makes this the currently selected location (you don’t have to do anything else to activate or save the location
  9. Set the Date and Time to the approximate time you want to observe; press F5 on your keyboard or or move your mouse to Stellarium’s lower left and select the Date/time window

Next, find out the objects that are visible during the selected date and time:

  1. On your keyboard, press F10 or move your mouse to Stellarium’s lower left and select the Astronomical calculations window
  2. Across the top of the window, locate and click the icon marked WUT (this stands for What’s Up Tonight)
  3. On the left side of the window, select a category of objects you’d like to view; select Messier objects for now
  4. In the Above altitude field, enter 30 0 0 (this ensures that all objects are above Slooh’s minimum elevation of 30 degrees)
  5. Scroll through the list, taking note of the Rise, Transit, and Set times
  6. Select an object that Transits sometime around the time you want to observe, or select an object that has a rise and set time that’s around the time you want to observe (meaning that the object should be visible during your observation session)
  7. Double click the object to have Stellarium navigate to it (select  M 51 for this example)
  8. Use your mouse wheel to zoom into your selected object

You can add a rectangle on the screen to get an idea of what your selected object might look like in the Slooh.com telescope. In this example, I’ll walk you through adding the Slooh.com Canary 1 telescope. You can add the other telescopes yourself by consulting the Guide page for the telescope and then using the directions that follow:

  1. Select the wrench icon at the upper right of the Stellarium window
  2. Click the Telescopes tab
  3. Select the Generic 60×100 telescope on the left side
  4. In the Name field, enter Slooh Canary 1 (replace what is in the field)
  5. In the Focal length field, enter 3454 mm
  6. In the Diameter field, enter 508 mm
  7. Click Add at the bottom of the window and, with Slooh Canary 1 selected, click the up arrow button several times, until the telescope you just added is at the top of the list
  8. Next, click the Sensors tab
  9. Select any of the Sensors on the left
  10. In the Name field, enter FLI PL09000
  11. In the Resolution x field, enter 3058
  12. In the Resolution y field, enter 3058
  13. In the Chip width field, enter 36 mm
  14. In the Chip height field, enter 36.67 mm
  15. In the Binning x and Binning y fields, enter 2
  16. Click Add at the bottom of the window and, with the sensor you just added selected, click the up arrow button several times until it appears at the top of the list

You can add the rectangle of the Slooh.com Canary 1 telescope by clicking the second icon from the left at the top right of the Stellarium window.

You can view other objects by clicking the Astronomical calculations window at the lower left of the Stellarium window, or press F10 on your keyboard; select the WUT tab along with a category of objects you want to view.

Scheduling a mission

Once you select what you want to see, you need to schedule a mission on Slooh.com. Depending on what you selected, you might be able to schedule a Slooh 1000 reservation on Canary 1, or select a Catalog mission and enter the catalog and designation in the appropriate fields.

Regardless of the option you choose, scheduling a mission on Slooh.com is a user-friendly and enjoyable experience. The platform is designed to cater to both novice and experienced stargazers, ensuring that everyone can appreciate the beauty of the cosmos.

Conclusion

Stellarium is a powerful yet user-friendly planetarium software that allows you to explore the wonders of the sky. By integrating its features with Slooh.com telescopes, you can plan and optimize your observational sessions, making the most of your Slooh.com reservations. This guide simplifies the setup process, ensuring that even beginners can quickly get started with Slooh.com and Stellarium. Whether you’re a seasoned astronomer or just beginning your celestial journey, Stellarium, in partnership with Slooh.com, provides an unparalleled visual experience of the stars.