Cartes du Ciel (Skychart)

Was ist Cartes du Ciel (Skychart)?

Cartes du Ciel, also known as Skychart, is a long‑standing planetarium application that lets you view the night sky, plot objects, and simulate astronomical events. It originated on Windows in the early 2000s and was later ported to Linux, where it runs natively and receives occasional updates. The software is mature enough for hobbyists and educators, though development pace has slowed.

The program displays stars, constellations, deep‑sky objects, and solar system bodies with customizable catalogs. It supports telescope control, image overlay, and scripting, making it useful for both casual stargazing and more technical observing sessions. Users who need a lightweight, scriptable sky atlas often prefer it over larger suites.

Compared with Windows‑only planetarium tools, Skychart feels more traditional: a classic UI with menus rather than flashy graphics, but it offers comparable data depth. Linux users appreciate the native build and the ability to integrate it into existing desktop environments without Wine.

Ideal für: Amateur astronomers who need a reliable, scriptable sky atlas on Linux.

Wichtige Funktionen von Cartes du Ciel (Skychart)

• Extensive star and deep‑sky catalogs (Hipparcos, Tycho, Messier, NGC)
• Real‑time sky rendering with customizable projection types
• Telescope control via ASCOM/INDI drivers
• Image overlay and plate‑solving support
• Scripting language for automation
• Export to PDF, PNG, and FITS
• Multiple languages and configurable UI

Tipps für Windows-Umsteiger

Your existing .skc or .skc files import directly; most Windows shortcuts (Ctrl+F for search, Ctrl+P for print) work the same. The Linux version stores configuration in ~/.config/CartesDuCiel, so copy that folder from Windows (if you used Cygwin) or export your custom catalogs and reload them. Expect a more menu‑driven workflow rather than ribbon‑style interfaces.