New features in version 5.8.2
It is time for another free Starry Night update with the usual mix of new features and fixes. We’ve been listening – hope you enjoy the improvements.
Note: For our Mac users, we’re happy to note the 5.8 update is a universal binary, so that Starry Night runs on both PowerPCs and Intel Macs.
Location Markers
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Location markers can now be assigned to any predefined location on Earth or any other rocky planet or moon where have surface data is available.
Adding a Location Marker
Right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac) on the planets surface and select Mark “Location Name” On Surface from the contextual menu. Repeat to add additional location markers.
To unmark a location, Right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac) on the location marker and select Un-Mark “Location Name”.
Searching Location Markers
Starry Night allows you to quickly find and label single or multiple locations. Right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac) on the object of interest and select Show Info. This will open the Info Pane. Then expand the Location Markers layer.
By default, Show All Locations is selected. To add a location marker, check the selection box to the left of a locations name. You can mark all locations by clicking on the Mark All Shown button. Press the Unmark All button to remove all location markers.
To search for a specific location, click the Show radio button. To search for a specific location name, select Location Name from the dropdown menu and type in the name of the location in the adjacent text box.
To display a complete list by location type or feature, select Type from the drop menu and then narrow down your choice on the adjacent dropdown menu.
Saving Location Markers
Location markers you selected will not appear the next time you start Starry Night. Location markers can only be saved by creating a Starry Night File (SNF). Select File-Save or Favourites-Add Favourite to save your location markers.
Select Marked Locations from the Favourites menu to see a few pre-made SNF files showcasing this new feature.
3D object models can now display textured surfaces
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3D objects in Starry Night support textured surfaces. Right-click (Windows) or Ctrl-click (Mac) on the object of interest and select Edit Surface Image/Model. Then click on the Surface/Model tab. Alternatively, you can create a new object and add a model via the Orbital Editor feature.
Applescripting added (Mac only)
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Starry Night is now Applescript-able! We have added the ability to AppleScript a number of functions in Starry Night, including the ability to simply run a list of Starry Night files in sequence.
Click here to download a zip file with sample Applescripts. Don’t forget to submit any Applescripts you create and share them with other users.
You can run the sample scripts by double-clicking on them. For now, we have supplied you the scripts as text, so it will open the OS X Script Editor. All you should have to do is click Run and it should compile and run the script.
If the script does not work for you, it may be trying to reference the wrong version of Starry Night on your machine. If this is the case, simply open the script in the script editor and replace the tell application \'starry night\' with tell application \'.
Horizon panoramas can now be associated with individual planet locations
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This means that when you select New York from the location list, you will be greeted by a photorealistic landscape of Central Park. Where possible, our panoramas have been associated with their respective locations.
Associating a panorama to a location
Select Viewing Location from the Options menu. Select on the location you wish to associate from the list. Then click on the Select Panorama… button.
In the window that opens, select the thumbnail of the panorama you want to associate and click Select.
To select the default panorama that appears whenever your current location does not have an associated panorama, open the Options Pane, expand the Local View layer and click on Local Horizon to bring up the Horizon options window. From here, you can select your default horizon and cloud panorama.
Stars now show a spectral class
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Bug Fixes 5.7.x to 5.8.2
Asteroids positions tuned and now calculate more precisely.
Graph presets now working correctly.
Options Presets now save to user Prefs folder. Fixes wrong save location on Mac.
Double-Click to open files now works on first run.
Calendars can now be renamed properly after adding events and quitting/restarting the app.
Undo now works for zoom and magnify.
Strange characters no longer show in location names.
ESC key now stops a pan.
Tree shadows now appear in Custom horizon option
