Stellarium Landscapes

Stellarium (www.stellarium.org) is a free open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. I've made several landscape files that you may download and use.

Note: There is also a mobile app version of Stellarium but I'm not as enthusiastic about the app.

Baraboo In Spring

Spring of 2020 has been full of home improvement projects because the entire world is staying safe at home in an effort to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus. One of our projects was the construction of a concrete pier to mount my SkyGuider Pro tracker and camera for better images of deep space objects. (Watch the construction video!) As the cement was hardening I set my tripod up directly over the pier and took a series of images for this Stellarium landscape.

This version is positioned very accurately so that what you see in Stellarium is exactly what you see from the pier. Our dog Gracie has again made it in to the image, and if you look carefully to the south you can see our son unloading some yard furniture that was a Mother's Day gift. Please enjoy this beautiful Spring day in Baraboo, WI. (May 9, 2020)

Download the Baraboo in Spring landscape (144M)

2018 version

This version has better graphics than my original attempt, but they are larger than the recommended size. I've tested them on my own computer and they work great, but let me know if the landscape does not work for you.

Besides better graphics, the background is positioned more accurately so that what you see in Stellarium is exactly what you see outside -- assuming good weather. Our son didn't make it into this version, but our dog did; and there are a few other animals too. Although the new image is clearer, the time of year (early spring) is not the most flattering for taking pictures. Still, what you see is what I saw just after noon on April 21, 2018.

Download the 2018 Baraboo landscape (64M)

Original Baraboo Landscape

This landscape was made with photos taken from my yard in Baraboo, Wisconsin, USA in August of 2013. My son Kip and our dog Gracie are in the photo as well.

Download the original Baraboo landscape (707K)

Instructions

Download and unzip the landscapes/baraboo.zip, landscapes/baraboo2.zip, or landscapes/baraboo_spring.zip files using the link above, then follow installation instructions in the unzipped readme.txt file.

Baraboo Landscape by Cliff Nieuwenhuis, Baraboo2 Landscape by Cliff Nieuwenhuis and Baraboo In Spring Landscape by Cliff Nieuwenhuis are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.