(meteorobs) IAU MDC Showers' list updated Guide 8/9 display file

[metpaper at Safe-mail.net]

A software sky charting package for astronomy in this day and age that can't import new datasets at a time when datasets are instantly out of date when they appear is not worth the money paid for it (and that includes those that are free).  Especially if the user is following some less mainstream aspect of astronomy, and not just stargazing nor rabid about deepsky objects (and those guys are always after adding new data too).

I notice a lot of these planeteria take a long time to add data and it needs the user base to do the melding.  Data, when presented in a regular format, should be importable or directly readable.  Software that converts the data into esoteric internal formats is unfriendly.  Remember the vast majority of this self same data has been provided to the public, the layperson, totally free and open source by the scientific community, and predominantly in flat ascii (except for some very, very large star catalogues, which still often come with a little program to extract bits as human readable data), then the vendor (public domain open source is still effectively vended) wraps it up into something only readable by their package, which is a bit iffy in terms of the data usage licences / fair use policies etc a lot of the time.  Do they even reference the source data papers?  Often not.

You can use more than one software package too, computers are much better than they used to be even with stuff needing fast graphics and much numerical processing and big hard disks such as modern planetaria programs.

Having said that, I've just googled on stellarium and found no readily available info on data import, and similarly for Carte du Ciel aka Sky Chart, both freeware it seems, multiplatform, but essentially locked in and proprietary if you can't use open data in them readily.  Although I have been informed by others in the past that you can do as such for the latter of the two.

So, there's nothing wrong with the data as presented, its the stuff using it (or not willing to use it) at fault.

Personally with respect to data I've always been far more willing to accept a cruddy interface that at least presents the user with results than a flashy interface that delivers little to nothing, which is essentially useless.  However, I'm unfamiliar with the latest versions of many packages as it is a long time since I last looked into such things.

Maybe someone on the list can suggest readily available packages to you that are capable of simple data import.  It is not a matter of paygrade, simply if so many columns, starting at column number such and such, have data, and there is a heading for that column describing what it is, then those columns are values for that heading.  xephem used to be a linux / xwindows package that could data import too I now remember, from flat ascii.  Guide has apparently gone GPL on the software, but it's likely non-trivial for most people to collect all the catalogues together, especially the large ones, if they don't buy the data disk.

The annual IMO shower calendars have nice charts included showing radiants and radiant drift etc in them well suited for meteor work, possibly you could find out what package they use.

But most packages don't even know meteor radiants exist, so you're going to have to grow your own to get any at all, and especially so if you want something up to date.

Cheers

John

-------- Original Message --------
From: "Stuart McDaniel" <actionshooting at carolina.rr.com>
Apparently from: meteorobs-bounces at meteorobs.org
To: "Meteor science and meteor observing" <meteorobs at meteorobs.org>
Subject: Re: (meteorobs) IAU MDC Showers' list updated Guide 8/9 display file
Date: Sun, 4 Mar 2012 15:31:42 -0500

> OK, never mind. That is above my pay grade. LOL!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *****************************
> Stuart McDaniel
> Lawndale, NC
> Secr.,
> Cleve. Co. Astronomical Society
> 
> IMCA #9052
> Sirius Meteorites
> 
> http://spacerocks.weebly.com
> *********************************
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: metpaper at Safe-mail.net
> Sent: Sunday, March 04, 2012 3:27 PM
> To: meteorobs at meteorobs.org
> Subject: Re: (meteorobs) IAU MDC Showers' list updated Guide 8/9 display 
> file
> 
> -------- Original Message --------
> From: "Stuart McDaniel" <actionshooting at carolina.rr.com>
> Apparently from: meteorobs-bounces at meteorobs.org
> To: "Meteor science and meteor observing" <meteorobs at meteorobs.org>
> Subject: Re: (meteorobs) IAU MDC Showers' list updated Guide 8/9 display 
> file
> Date: Sun, 4 Mar 2012 15:07:10 -0500
> 
> > Will this file work on Stellarium?
> 
> If you delete the first 44 rows/lines, which is the application specific 
> coding, you just have a fix length ascii text file with data fields column 
> fixed in position.  The column headings are the line just prior to the main 
> data starting.
> 
> I have heard that Carte du Ciel users can use such basic files, and that 
> other planeteria can import such files.
> 
> So basically, the data are there in the rows and columns of that file from 
> line 45 onwards, folk just have to figure out how to apply them to their 
> particular package of preference.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> John
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