Hello Everybody
My system details -
OS: Win 7 Professional
CPU: i3, 4 GB RAM

First and foremost, thanks for an excellent planetarium software. However I
see some heavenly bodies misplaced - for example
Sun - As of today 9th October 2011 Sun should appear in Libra - while I see it
is in Virgo!
Venus, Mercury, Saturn - all of these appear again in Virgo
Jupiter - placed in Aries
Moon appears at border of Pisces and Aquarius

What could be wrong with my installation? How do I remedy this situation?
Please mention what additional details you wish to know?
Viren

Why did you decide that the Sun must be in Libra at that date?

@ Alexwolf
The planetarium software is set to show the sky for an observation point that
is on planet Earth - that is geocentric! By all means Sun SHOULD appear in the
correct Zodiac position! For instance September 23 − October 22 - Sun should
be in the Libra Zodiac and not Virgo!

I must also add that the Ascendant zodiac at any given time is shown
different in Stellarium!

Or is Stellarium designed to show the Sidereal Zodiac instead of Tropical
Zodiac?

Feedback please

Viren

I gather you are talking about astrology. Stellarium shows the positions of
the solar system relative to the current date time in relation to the
astronomical constellations. Precession has moved the solar system bodies in
relation to the zodiac calendar and added an extra constelation to the path of
the Sun through the sky.

If you want to see the zodiac in its astrological consept you can set the date
to 2000 odd years ago when the Sun was in Libra on Oct ober 9

Barry

@ barrykgerdes
Precession has added an 'extra' constellation to the path of the Sun?
Interesting - I hear this for the first time - if it's not much trouble for
you - can you share some information - name this 'extra' constellation and
where does it show up in Stellarium?

Viren

Look at Ophiuchus - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiuchus

@ alexwolf
Thanks buddy. This Ophiuchus overlaps Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius and part of
Virgo. Why not add Lupus and other nearby constellations? This is meaningless!
Ophiuchus does NOT occupy any space between existing constellations! period!

For all purposes Stellarium in my opinion shows the sidereal zodiac!!

I wish someone from the developers post an answer!

Viren

I'm developer. Astrologers do not overlook the obvious already 2,000 years old
and I have no desire to try to convince them otherwise. Besides, you do not
understand where did the zodiac belt.

Hello Alex
Allright Mr. Developer. Allow me to rephrase my query - if I buy a telescope
and point it in the heavens - in which constellation I may find Sun? As of
today Sun will be in Virgo or Libra?

Viren

Right now Sun in Virgo.

We are sorry vsbut2 we cannot display the astrology hokus pokus because it
only exists for the astrologers to make their forcasts. It is not real.

Stellarium is an accurate astronomy program that displays the heavens as they
are on the date governed by the computer clock and the laws of planetary
movement. The constellations boundaries we use are those nominated for
astronomical purposes.

As said previously precession has altered the direcion the earth's axis points
quite considerably over the last 3000 years so the constelations as seen by
the ancients are not where we see them now in the plane of the ecliptic. In
22000 years the earth's axis will return to the position it held 3000 years
ago and the zodiac will be the same as they saw it.

However you might like to see some of the sky symbols as seen by the ancients
of different cultures depicted on the current sky. Look under the section
Skylore in the main menu.

Barry (also part of the devolpment team)

@ Alex
Thanks Alex! That would do!

@ Barry
I am not interested in what astrologers have to say regarding the Zodiac, my
original query too was related to positional Astronomy. Anyway thanks for
clarifying.

As for the precession of equinoxes - it is close to 21,636 years or there
about's! If you wish to know more - precession of Equinoxes is known as
Ayanamsa in Hindu Vedic Astronomy and a somewhat incomplete article is here -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayanamsa

Thanks gentlemen. Keep up the good work :)

Viren

Hello everybody again. I´ve discontinued my visits to the Stellarium forum
several months. I can´t stand astrologers put in doubt the accuracy of a
program like this when they are absolutelly ignorant about what happens above
their heads. Please, search in internet, there are plenty of information about
what the "Precession of the Equinoxes" means. These days Sun is in Virgo, no
doubt about this (simply, look at the sky at night, over the meridian, exactly
12 hours after the midday, and tell me what constellation you see, and
calculate the constellation that must be in the opposite side of the sky,
where the Sun is; it´s Virgo). Please, learn something more about Astronomy,
not Astrology.

hello everybody,

Hi, I am new to this and I have some questions regarding the positions of planets.
I use www.theplanetstoday.com as a reference. The site is really cool - as is stellarium now that I have found it :) - and it says it gives a live view of the solar system positions using data from NASA's JPL website.

Why are there discrepancies with regard to the planets positions if one compares the positions in stellarium to those in www.theplanetstoday.com?

Examples: (today is the 20th of may 2013)

Saturn looks to be in beetween virgo and libra when you observe it in the night sky, it is not far from Spica. I get the same position in Stellarium.

However, Uranus and Neptune are in Aries and Pisces, respectively when checking www.theplanetstoday.com and when searching for them in Stellarium they are in Pisces and Aquarius, respectively. I.e they seeem to bee positioned about one constellation ahead.

This makes me confused as to where to point a telescope to find them.

Guess I should be asking this to the staff of that site, but anyhow, are there different ways of mapping the, given that you use astronomy?

Regards
Daniel

www.theplanetstoday.com is astrological website and this site give astrological info about positions of planets. These provisions do not talk about the real state of the planet in a particular constellation.