What
StarAtlas is a simple web application for amateur astronomers and others wanting to learn the night sky. Eventually it will serve as
a night sky guide and star atlas for naked eye observers and those with small
telescopes or binoculars.
Architecture
StarAtlas is currently written in Python and runs under Google App Engine. It also makes
heavy use of other Google services such as the Google Maps API and geocoding. The
SVG Web javascript library is used to allow viewing on browsers which don't support SVG but do support Flash. This means StarAtlas will work on more than 95% of the computers out there.
Acknowledgments
The star catalog I used is the
HYG Database.
Constellation lines have been adapted from John Walker's
Home Planet software.
Special thanks to
Brad Neuberg for creating
SVG Web and for providing valuable feedback. Also thanks to the rest of the developers of SVG Web and keeping it a vibrant community. SVG's time is swiftly approaching.
Contact
If you have questions or suggestions, contact
Luther Huffman.