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Common Problems for the current version
If you are new to Stellarium: we were hosted at Launchpad until December of 2017 (https://launchpad.net/stellarium). There you can find notes about common problems found with earlier versions of Stellarium. These include graphical problems with not-so-new computers or when you did not install current graphics card drivers.
Problems with even older versions are described here: https://github.com/Stellarium/stellarium/wiki/FAQ/#common-problems-with-older-versions
The Scenery3D plugin (and also 3D asteroids) does not load some OBJ files, esp. the built-in Sterngarten scene. The solution will be available in the next beta.
The automatic fps reduction in idle state does not work correctly in this version. If that is of concern to you (high CPU load, fans sounding ready for liftoff, your trusty 2010 2-core PC blocked for other programs, ...), please install a recent beta.
On recent Ubuntu or other systems running wayland you may experience this:
Cannot launch : libEGL warning: did not find extension DRI_IMAGE_DRIVER version 1Solutions:
- either define QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb
- or launch with "stellarium -platform xcb"
To run the new skylight model we need graphics cards with OpenGL 3.3 Core Profile. Some older models are not quite sufficient. Windows users can avoid the new skylight model by running Qt5-based builds, probable even in ANGLE mode. On Linux, you may be lucky by disabling your "desktop compositor". KWin allows this to be done automatically per-application using the "Configure Special Application Settings..." menu. However there are too many system variants to be able to provide detailed instructions. We can only hint that sometimes "disable compositor" is also called "disable desktop effects".
Some users reported short screen blackouts (#3046). Try passing --single-buffer option to Stellarium (either from command line, or by editing its shortcut (see https://www.digitalcitizen.life/shortcut-arguments-parameters-windows/), or via environment variable -- see User Guide for details).
We have received reports that the arrow buttons in the top-right on-screen menu are missing, inhibiting switching between instruments. A while ago we introduced scalable arrow buttons. For whatever reason the setting may get lost and replaced by zero. Edit your modules/Oculars/oculars.ini and in the [General] section, add a line
arrow_scale=150 We have a handful of reports indicating issues with the TelescopeControl plugin on Windows. Version 1.0 had a problem that prevented new connections. This is fixed, but versions 1.1, 1.2, 23.1, 23.2 still show communication problems with ASCOM telescopes, COM port failures etc., or crashes when interacting with or switching between other programs.
We have no hardware to test or fix your issues. To diagnose and fix, we need one affected telescope user who is able to build the program him/herself and spend a few hours with diagnosing and fixing. This can be done also on bad nights. Reward possible! For the time being, ASCOM has been disabled on Qt6-based builds, and we would prefer immediately switching to ASCOM Alpaca instead.
The Qt5-based builds work without issues. For now, please use those if you are affected. There is no need to revert to outdated versions. You find all builds here: https://github.com/Stellarium/stellarium/releases
The program options --angle-mode and --mesa-mode which are available as launch options in the Stellarium program group no longer work. If you need them, you must set environment variables as described in the User Guide, section 6.2.2.
Some Intel GPUs don't play well with Qt6.3 which we have used for this release, and just show a black window at program start. Use Qt5-based Stellarium 0.22.3 instead (https://github.com/Stellarium/stellarium/issues/2711). It will be fixed in V1.1.
The advanced skylight model requires reasonably modern hardware. If you are running e.g. Windows 10 on an Intel Pentium P6100 without dedicated graphics card, graphics mode of version 1.0 (Qt6-based 1.22.3) will only be Mesa, which means all graphics is computed on the main processor. Further, Mesa may deliver Open GL3.0 support only. See the log file view in the Help panel! The ShowMySky (Bruneton) model requires OpenGL 3.3 support.
On such computers you will not see the new skylight model. Performance will be better if you run version 0.22.3 which still provides ANGLE mode.
Our ppa archive for Ubuntu currently does not include ShowMySky. We hope to include it in the next version. If you need it now, you must build Stellarium yourself.
Follow https://github.com/Stellarium/stellarium/issues/2548: The Qt6 configuration in Ubuntu seems to miss an important directory entry. While we cannot solve it, sysadmins may set a symbolic link:
sudo ln -s /usr/share /shareThe orbital elements for asteroids (minor planets) and comets are valid for some limited time only. If you are interested in observing them, you should regularly (2-4x/year) use the Solar System Editor plugin to update to the latest orbital elements. The process is described in the User Guide.
Even MPC's data may be a few months old, though. A test days after the impact of DART at Didymos (09/2022) showed a 14' positional error with MPC's elements which were already 8 months old.
Orbital elements for newly discovered comets need to be added with the Solar System Editor plugin, and elements for existing comets may need frequent updates: Stellarium does not simulate orbital changes caused by gravitational perturbations by the planets or nongravitational effects like outgassing. The process is described in the User Guide.
The orbital elements used should have an epoch close to the date of observation, and not necessarily be the most current elements.
If you have loaded thousands of solar system objects (Minor Bodies: asteroids, comets, ...), the simulation engine will appear to run slowly. Also the AstroCalc dialog may appear unresponsive at times. Try to only load the objects you really need. Use the SolarSystemEditor plugin to review and clean out your ssystem_minor.ini file.
The landscape image is configured to a particular location. The image does not reveal the distance to features in the landscape or along the horizon, and therefore we cannot simulate what happens if you ride a balloon. To configure a high-altitude location, just do a proper panorama as described in the User Guide, chapter 7. If you really need to see changes in the ground, why not build a 3D scenery? See User Guide, chapter 15.
Constellation lines and artwork are not internationally standardized. Stellarium has its own default version of the line art which is close, but not necessarily identical to that found in other popular sources. This is not an error. Some particular versions are available in the sky cultures settings.
Translations in Stellarium are a community effort, so it is possible that a local translator started the project, but never finished it, or didn't find some specific words. You can help us here: https://www.transifex.com/stellarium/stellarium/dashboard/ Translation tips are on this page: Translation of Stellarium
99% of graphics issues involve bad graphics drivers or outdated hardware. The Qt5 toolkit on which Stellarium has been based many years ago requires complete native OpenGL 2.1 or an equivalent workaround.
On Linux this is often observed when using the open-source nouveau driver with an NVidia graphics card. We recommend using NVidia's "binary blob" driver. If you are a FOSS purist, maybe --low-graphics mode works (24.1 dev snapshots), else please tell us your working solution.
On Windows this indicates your system may be running in "Mesa Mode". This may happen when hardware rendering is disabled because of missing drivers, or if you don't have compatible hardware-accelerated graphics at all. Your PC may be too old (from 2008 or older, or some netbook with Atom CPU from 2010?) If you have a 3D video card or at least a modern processor (CPU) with built-in GPU capabilities, make sure that your OpenGL drivers are installed and up to date.
You can download up-to-date drivers for:
- nVidia cards from site: http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en
- ATI/AMD cards from site: http://support.amd.com/us/Pages/AMDSupportHub.aspx
- Intel cards from site: http://downloadcenter.intel.com/default.aspx?iid=gg_support-EN_01+home_downloadctr
This is a known long-time defect for the default OpenGL mode on Windows when you have Mouse Trails enabled or another reason to use a "software cursor", like f.lux screen color temperature modifier. There are 2 workarounds:
1) Use ANGLE mode when you need mouse trails or f.lux. 2) Make sure to switch off mouse trails to avoid this problem.
Update OpenGL drivers or run ANGLE mode with DirectX v9. To run Stellarium in ANGLE mode, press START, go into the Stellarium program folder, and start "Stellarium (ANGLE mode)"
On Windows and with some older models of NVidia GeForce (reported for 580M, 770), the color settings dialog in the gridline panel and ArchaeoLines plugin, and the file dialog for changing screenshot directory may hide behind the full-screen window when Stellarium is running in Fullscreen and OpenGL mode. The color dialog works in ANGLE mode. On a GeForce GTX 960M we see no problem.
A similar issue has been reported for an Intel HD4600 system with driver Build 10.18.10.3412. On another Intel HD4600 system with driver Build 20.19.15.4835, we cannot reproduce this issue.
We interpret this as NVidia (or Intel, resp.) driver issue. If you are affected, run Stellarium in ANGLE mode or leave fullscreen mode before changing colors or directory. Pressing ESC should close the hidden system dialog, or press Alt-Tab to switch windows.
Usually, Qt will decide what the best graphics mode is for you. If that fails, you may see one of the problems listed below. You can force particular modes by calling the respective links from the Start menu, or permanently by setting environment variables (choose one of the options between the | marks).
- QT_OPENGL=desktop|angle|software
- QT_ANGLE_PLATFORM=d3d9|d3d11
More:
- https://doc.qt.io/qt-5/windows-requirements.html#graphics-drivers
- https://wiki.qt.io/Qt_5_on_Windows_ANGLE_and_OpenGL
If you are lucky enough to have a High DPI screen (4k or similar), you may find the GUI fonts are too small. We received an anonymous hint with a solution (untested by us) that may work at least on Windows:
>here is the solution to the problem.... > >http://www.danantonielli.com/adobe-app-scaling-on-high-dpi-displays-fix/ > >I tried this on my Hi DPI machine and it works great with Stellarium 14!
https://github.com/Stellarium/stellarium/issues/991
Details on tricky HiDPI setups can be found at https://doc.qt.io/qt-5/highdpi.html
Depending on your login shell or system, set environment variables. On Mac:
echo 'export QT_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTORS="1.0;2.0"' >> ~/.zshenv
On Linux, you more likely are using bash:
echo 'export QT_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTORS="1.5;1.0"' >> ~/.bashrc
The numbers depend on actual screen resolutions and the OS's screen order.
https://github.com/Stellarium/stellarium/issues/127
You can reduce text label size requirements a bit by reducing [gui]/base_font_size in config.ini. But a 600 pixel screen is really very narrow, we need some space for the many options. More people complained about the tiny GUI on their 4k screens...
Some other software titles reject to start with less than 768 lines of screen space. There may be a screen driver setting that allows setting 768 lines which are then squeezed back to the 600 physical display lines. This enables you to use those programs, but of course this distorts the view vertically. To compensate the distortion in Stellarium, you can use a startup.ssc script in your scripts folder:
// Startup.ssc for netbook screen setup. // Author: Georg Zotti // This is usable on a netbook with physical 1024x600 screen with a display driver set to // 1024x768 resolution. GUI panels may be better accessible with such setting. // The distortion caused by this setting will be compensated by this script. core.setViewportStretch(600/768);
Note that this only (un-)distorts the projected sky, not any GUI panels. These will still require their pixel sizes, which is often a bit more than 600 lines, but the program thinks it is running in 768 lines and the panels should now fit. Legibility of some labels may suffer a bit, though.
On Linux, sometimes you can even still use an 800×600 screen by scaling the desktop e.g. to 1200×900:
xrandr --output HDMI-1 --scale 1.5x1.5
To reset after running Stellarium, run
xrandr --output HDMI-1 --scale 1x1
https://github.com/Stellarium/stellarium/issues/1301
Users' preferences vary widely in the zoo of screen sizes and operating systems out there.
Since version 0.20.3 Stellarium's start menu group contains a link to start the program 200% scaled. This is OK for 4k screens if your screen scaling settings are otherwise at 100%. If you use screen scaling from the Windows system settings, Stellarium should adhere to these settings, and may appear too large if used on a 1920x1080 screen.
If you really need global scaling and get into trouble, you may try the following:
In your start menu, you find a program group "Stellarium". Inside, there is a link "Stellarium (scale 200%)". Right-click this link, say "More-->Open location" (or similar).
Make a copy of this link, name it e.g. "Stellarium (75%)". Then right-click: "Properties". See the command line:
"C:\Program Files\Stellarium\stellarium.exe" --scale-gui 2.0 -platform windows:altgr
Edit this to read:
"C:\Program Files\Stellarium\stellarium.exe" --scale-gui 0.75 -platform windows:altgr
Then launch this new link and see if scaling appears OK now.