|
SkyscraperJim
sage
Reged: 07/29/07
Posts: 367
Loc: Providence, RI
|
|
Hi all,
I've been receiving submissions for our club newsletter where people write about objects to observe, usually focused on a particular area or constellation, and I would like to accompany the articles with a star chart that shows where the objects are. Sometimes the author will provide a hand-drawn map, but I find that this is usually not adequate.
I did a bit of searching for sky software that allows you to export custom star charts as a vector graphic (EPS), and the only one I found was Bisque TheSky, which allows exporting of star charts but I really don't like the formatting of the samples shown (they don't look much like "traditional" star charts).
Does anyone know of a good software package that excels at this feature?
--------------------
Jim
TMB/APM 130/780 (#185) on G11
Televue Pronto (#3533) on Half Hitch
|
bicparker
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/07/05
Posts: 1354
Loc: Plano, TX
|
|
I use Mac's, which between its print output design, the built-in Preview, and iPhoto, you can pretty much create a star chart in any graphic format and put it into a repository for common use by other programs.
I use Starry Night, personally, and have found it works very well in this respect. The nice thing about Starry Night, too, is that it has a wide variety of chart format profiles you can use and modify (including more modern designs as well as older "classic" styles).
--------------------
Bic Parker
17.5" f/5 dob
10" f/10 SCT
5" f/8 refractor
80mm f/6 refractor
66mm f/6 refractor
Plus a few others out of the rotation
|
astrokido
super member
Reged: 06/09/08
Posts: 158
Loc: Phoenix, AZ
|
|
The user-defined charts in PNG and PDF from my website might be useful, follow the link in my sig and see if they look like the "traditional" charts you seek. No EPS or SVG formats though, sorry.
--------------------
- Gill C. - All opinions subject to a speed limit of 299,792,458 m/s.
Nikon D40 - Bushnell 10x25 - Zhumell 20x80 - Celestron Cometron CO-100
skyatlas.rgbstore.com - cool sky charts, photo overlays, and data tables
|
thewolf
member
Reged: 02/24/05
Posts: 78
Loc: Holland Mich
|
|
Hay Jim
I have played around with PP3 It has a steep learning curve but it will do what you want it to do....
And its FREE
--------------------
Welcome To Our World
Astro Links - Submit Your Site
http://www.astro-nut.net
http://www.russ-sue.com
http://www.ourtank.com
|
basel10
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 07/15/05
Posts: 804
Loc: TN
|
|
All you need to do is bring up any charting program. Hit alt print scrn on your keyboard. Bring up MS Word or whatever program your using and hit ctrl V on the keyboard.
--------------------
www.knoxvilleobservers.org
|
Charlie B
super member
Reged: 03/22/08
Posts: 129
Loc: Virginia
|
|
Quote:
All you need to do is bring up any charting program. Hit alt print scrn on your keyboard. Bring up MS Word or whatever program your using and hit ctrl V on the keyboard.
This is a nice trick and I thank you. I used it and IRfanView to create this image.
Regards,
Charlie B.
--------------------
Meade SN-8, DS-90, AT-66
DSI Pro II (Schuler Filters), DSI-C, LPI, Canon XTi
AIP4WIN, Nebulosity, DSS, Registrax, GIMP
running on Dell 1420 with Vista
|
Kobayashi
super member
Reged: 07/10/08
Posts: 156
|
|
Quote:
All you need to do is bring up any charting program. Hit alt print scrn on your keyboard...
If you do that, the output image is a bitmap, limited to the monitor's resolution. It won't look good when printed.
However, in my experience, most Windows programs use vector graphics when you hit "Copy" (i.e. copy the current display to clipboard). Then you can "paste" the clipboard contents into WMF2EPS, which will then convert it into EPS. I haven't tried this with any sky chart programs, but I've used it successfully with various math and design software (MathCAD, TurboCAD, ZEMAX, etc) for theses and journal manuscripts.
--------------------
-- Ken Kobayashi
Edited by Kobayashi (07/19/08 11:40 AM)
|
Charlie B
super member
Reged: 03/22/08
Posts: 129
Loc: Virginia
|
|
Quote:
However, in my experience, most Windows programs use vector graphics when you hit "Copy" (i.e. copy the current display to clipboard). Then you can "paste" the clipboard contents into WMF2EPS, which can then convert it into WMF. I
I did the copy, pasted into GIMP and saved as an encapsulated postscript file. I found that the resolution was not as good. I'm not sure why, perhaps because of the export out of GIMP.
Charlie B
--------------------
Meade SN-8, DS-90, AT-66
DSI Pro II (Schuler Filters), DSI-C, LPI, Canon XTi
AIP4WIN, Nebulosity, DSS, Registrax, GIMP
running on Dell 1420 with Vista
|
Kobayashi
super member
Reged: 07/10/08
Posts: 156
|
|
Quote:
I did the copy, pasted into GIMP and saved as an encapsulated postscript file. I found that the resolution was not as good. I'm not sure why, perhaps because of the export out of GIMP.
Right, GIMP will not work. It's a photo editing (or image editing) software, so when you import a drawing into it, it gets converted into bitmap. You need a software that can work with vector graphics; WMF2EPS does that. Or you can use Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw, but I find WMF2EPS to be much easier for a simple format conversion. It handles bounding boxes correctly too. The only downside is that it's a little tricky to install, so read the instructions carefully.
--------------------
-- Ken Kobayashi
|
Lamb0
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/25/07
Posts: 603
Loc: Fairbury, Nebraska
|
|
 You might try Inkscape for vector graphics to keep your GIMP company. 
--------------------
"Have eyepiece - will travel!"
8" f/5 Dob w/2.14" sec in a 12" alum tube 'The Mortar' - w/PCorr 2° TFoV @ 36.5X ~70% illum *NICE*
Typical eyepieces: 32 Burg, 24 Pan, 20T5, 5-8 SW, Others ALL 2": Pcorr, 2X PwrMt, Ast H-b, Lum UHC + OIII
60mm $50 Walmart Special in training - aka "Backpack Observatory"
Minolta Activa 12x50 , Steiner 15X80
|
Charlie B
super member
Reged: 03/22/08
Posts: 129
Loc: Virginia
|
|
I downloaded InkScape (looks like a good program). I used the Alt-PrntScrn and Fn-Prnt Scrn to make copies. Both were pasted in InkScape and the page was saved as a .eps file. The Alt version copies the screen bitmap. The Fn version appears to do a vector graphic. The file size is a bit large to attach but you can repeat the experiment.
The first attachment is with the Fn key, which I hit by mistake.
Thanks for the Inkscape link. I followed the link to the WMF2EPS site, but was bombarded by pop-ups and retreated.
Regards,
Charlie B
--------------------
Meade SN-8, DS-90, AT-66
DSI Pro II (Schuler Filters), DSI-C, LPI, Canon XTi
AIP4WIN, Nebulosity, DSS, Registrax, GIMP
running on Dell 1420 with Vista
|
Kobayashi
super member
Reged: 07/10/08
Posts: 156
|
|
Quote:
I followed the link to the WMF2EPS site, but was bombarded by pop-ups and retreated.
Sorry, I didn't get any popups in Opera but YMMV. You can also download it from CTAN.
--------------------
-- Ken Kobayashi
|
SkyscraperJim
sage
Reged: 07/29/07
Posts: 367
Loc: Providence, RI
|
|
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I'm going to give PP3 a try as it seems to be exactly what I'm looking for.
--------------------
Jim
TMB/APM 130/780 (#185) on G11
Televue Pronto (#3533) on Half Hitch
|
thewolf
member
Reged: 02/24/05
Posts: 78
Loc: Holland Mich
|
|
Hay Jim
I had a lot of fun with PP3.
And yes is will do exactly what you are looking for!
It really is pretty slick program!
--------------------
Welcome To Our World
Astro Links - Submit Your Site
http://www.astro-nut.net
http://www.russ-sue.com
http://www.ourtank.com
|
Senpai
member
Reged: 10/20/06
Posts: 98
Loc: Russia, Chuvashian republic
|
|
It is better to export custom map from curve-export enabled planetariums (such as TheSky, MegaStar, Cartes du Ciel...) in WMF and than edit/save it to EPS in vector editor (CorelXara X, Inkscape...) It is possible to copy/paste vector maps to vector editor from Cartes du Ciel.
It is a most efficient way! You can not get high resolytion pasting screencopy of the planetarium map to the raster editor. Only vectorisation metod!
|
|
2 registered and 5 anonymous users are browsing this forum.
Moderator: desertstars, Tom L
Print Thread
|
Forum Permissions
You cannot start new topics
You cannot reply to topics
HTML is disabled
UBBCode is enabled
|
Thread views: 261
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Previous
Index
Next
Threaded
Edit
Reply
Quote
