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Common problems for old versions
This is a collection of issues for obsolete versions of Stellarium. WE keep them here for historical purposes.
Some change in the underlying Qt framework seems to have broken our ANGLE mode in this version. For a fallback of the fallback, you can still run 0.20.0 in MESA mode. UPDATE: Fixed in later versions.
We have received a hint (many thanks!) that we had implemented a sign error from one of our source papers. Until version 0.20.2 this causes a slight error in positions which is usually negligible, except when it comes to the exact times of seasons' beginnings. The fix brought us to within seconds of "official" sources.
Some operating systems, web browsers or malware protection systems claim that downloading or installing Stellarium may be dangerous because the publisher is unknown, or the installer has not been signed with some security certificate.
Apart from addictively stealing your time observing Stellarium's sky rendition, Stellarium is not dangerous and should not harm anything or anybody (but please read the GPL disclaimer about no guarantee or non-fitness for particular purposes etc.). The browser or install warning panel should offer some way to accept this warning and continue the download or installation if you are comfortable.
Since February 15, 2020, the Windows beta installer, and since version 0.20.0, the Windows installers are signed by a certificate from 'SignPath Foundation'. We hope this will soon be accepted by the SmartScreen security check. Currently, you need to allow them to run once to add Stellarium (with publisher: SignPath Foundation) into the system's white list.
Likewise, the Mac version has been signed.
However, make sure to download Stellarium from stellarium.org, github.com, launchpad.net or sourceforge.net, and not some repackaged installation from freeware sites which may pack extra software or adware into their own installers or wrap our ready-made package into "safe downloader apps" (which usually add adware) or may change browser settings (change default browser, modify default search engine, ...) or other things you don't want and we cannot control.
And DO NOT PURCHASE STELLARIUM OR ITS USER GUIDE FROM EBAY OR AMAZON. Whoever sells the desktop version or a printed copy of the User Guide is taking your money without contributing a single line of code to this project.
OpenSSL problems in the Logfile, missing HiPS Surveys, cannot download additional star catalogs (Windows)
Solved after #260; repeated #269, #270, #533
0.18 series: If you want to configure HiPS surveys and the solar system objects list is empty, the logfile may show errors around
qt.network.ssl: QSslSocket: cannot resolve TLSv1_1_client_method
qt.network.ssl: QSslSocket: cannot resolve TLSv1_2_client_method
qt.network.ssl: QSslSocket: cannot resolve TLSv1_1_server_method
qt.network.ssl: QSslSocket: cannot resolve TLSv1_2_server_method
qt.network.ssl: QSslSocket: cannot resolve SSL_CONF_CTX_new
qt.network.ssl: QSslSocket: cannot resolve SSL_CONF_CTX_free
qt.network.ssl: QSslSocket: cannot resolve SSL_CONF_CTX_set_ssl_ctx
qt.network.ssl: QSslSocket: cannot resolve SSL_CONF_CTX_set_flags
qt.network.ssl: QSslSocket: cannot resolve SSL_CONF_CTX_finish
qt.network.ssl: QSslSocket: cannot resolve SSL_CONF_cmd
qt.network.ssl: QSslSocket: cannot resolve SSL_select_next_proto
qt.network.ssl: QSslSocket: cannot resolve SSL_CTX_set_next_proto_select_cb
qt.network.ssl: QSslSocket: cannot resolve SSL_get0_next_proto_negotiated
qt.network.ssl: QSslSocket: cannot resolve SSL_set_alpn_protos
qt.network.ssl: QSslSocket: cannot resolve SSL_CTX_set_alpn_select_cb
qt.network.ssl: QSslSocket: cannot resolve SSL_get0_alpn_selectedAlso, downloading more stars is not possible. After some timeout, nothing happens.
2 solutions:
- You need to install OpenSSL libraries e.g. from https://slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html or elsewhere. (This site is not related to Stellarium.) Install at least the 32bit Lite package of OpenSSL version 1.0.2, NOT 1.1.0. Then compile Stellarium yourself.
- Builds from 2018-08-26 and later have solved this by including the OpenSSL 1.0.2 library in the package.
Reported in #63, #66, #92, #93, #94, #95, #98. Solved after #63.
In fact, any lunar eclipse crashes version 0.17.0 because in the move to Github a texture was lost. Please use any more recent version, or find the latest beta version at http://stellarium.org to see the most recent changes regarding Lunar eclipses.
Yes it is true, this WAS a bug. Please do not report again.
https://github.com/Stellarium/stellarium/issues/273
Series 0.17 and 0.18 have a problem with the latest version of ANGLE on Windows, so that planets are not rendered correctly. Use the following workaround:
- Install an older version, e.g. Stellarium 0.15.2, into a different folder like C:\Program Files\Stellarium_0.15.2.
- From the Stellarium 0.15.2 directory (C:\Program Files\Stellarium_0.15.2 in the example above), copy libEGL.dll and libGLES2.dll and place them into the Stellarium program directory (default C:\Program Files\Stellarium; overwrite the DLLs which had been installed). Now planets show up. :-) You can also uninstall the older version now.
Version 0.18.3 and later do not have this problem (except for 0.20.0).
We have changed the GUI to become more interactive. Unfortunately this introduced the default activation of "Lens#0".
The easiest solution for now: ADD A 1-SCALING BARLOW LENS in the Oculars GUI:
- Open the Lenses tab - Add a new lens: Name e.g. "None", scale factor 1.000 - Use the [+]/[-] buttons at the bottom of the GUI panel to put this lens on top of the list. (This makes the 1-lens the default.)
Hardware requirements have not changed since V0.13 (see Common problems with 0.13). Stellarium should work on most computers from 2010 and later, and on older computers equipped with dedicated graphics cards from around 2008 or later, when drivers are up-to-date.
For old computers, we keep a branch of the last series based on Qt4 still alive. Please use version 0.12.9. It included a few backports for important new features, but please note that this old version does not receive much focus.
We received reports about slowdown of Mac systems compared to 0.15.0. We do however not have enough qualified reports to identify the problem or identify a group of affected systems (e.g. GPU hardware families).
One more detailed report has indicated that only trackpad interaction is slow while mouse works as fast as it has worked previously. This helped to narrow the problem. It seems the problem has been largely improved in version 0.18.0.
Since spring of 2018 the location service has changed in a way that unfortunately leads to a crash in the 0.15 series. Later versions are at least robust enough to record the problem in the logfile. Update to version 0.18 or later, or remember not to use this function.
2021: It appears that in some regions of this planet the functionality is inhibited by governmental network authorities.
Hardware requirements have not changed since V0.13 (see Common problems with 0.13).
Particular note for Windows 10 upgraders: If you upgrade some older computer, you may have to also upgrade graphics drivers manually. Not all graphics card manufacturers provide drivers for Win10 explicitly for their old hardware, but some drivers for Win7/Win8 may work. If Stellarium V0.11 worked for you some years ago, it should work also here. If the hardware allows it, V0.14 will also work. Don't expect latest programs to run on outdated hardware without latest drivers though.
Instead of special packages for older hardware, thanks to developments in Qt5.5 the Windows version now comes with links to force ANGLE (OpenGL to DirectX translation) or MESA (software rendering) modes. Modern hardware should be able to run the untagged "Stellarium" link, and you can happily delete the ANGLE and MESA startup links. Older hardware may require the special links and maybe even special handling which we learned ourselves from https://wiki.qt.io/Qt_5_on_Windows_ANGLE_and_OpenGL
We have first reports about missing menu buttons which seem to be related to errors in the ANGLE driver in Direct3D11 mode. If the logfile indicates something about GL renderer is "ANGLE (XXXXXXXXXXXXXX Direct3D11 vs_x_0 ps_y_0)" , you may be lucky if you set an environment variable QT_ANGLE_PLATFORM=d3d9 or even QT_ANGLE_PLATFORM=warp. Of course, the requirements vs_2_0/ps_3_0 or better remain the same for hardware acceleration.
It appears that on some hardware even the MESA version which should emulate a proper GPU fails. It is very unclear at the moment what we could do here. Software rendering is also available via ANGLE, so maybe try the ANGLE version with environment variable QT_ANGLE_PLATFORM=warp and please report with your logfile if this helps. Alternatively, please copy the file opengl32.dll from an earlier version into the Stellarium 0.14 program folder and rename it to opengl32sw.dll. This worked in one case, but not in another.
We have reports that upgrading to El Capitan solved graphic issues.
V0.13 is the first release based on Qt5, which brought several technical changes. The most critical is that rendering graphics with Qt5 requires at least OpenGL2.1 support. This normally utilizes a dedicated piece of hardware, the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). Any recent (say, post-2011) hardware should provide sufficient functionality, but you may need to update the driver not just with the built-in Update driver search of your operating system, but with drivers downloadable from the graphic card manufacturer's website. (Sometime drivers for notebooks can only be found at the respective notebook manufacturer's support websites, and using the reference drivers from GPU manufacturers may not be completely compatible.)
In fact, the shader programs (which drive the computation on the GPU) used by Stellarium V0.13 and later require even GLSL1.30, which came only with OpenGL3.0, although some OpenGL2.1 cards also support it.
This requirement is valid for all platforms (Win/Mac/Linux, in any flavor). As always, update drivers if you see graphic problems (missing characters, flickering, ...) where there should not be any. Read the log file for warnings hinting at graphics problems. (You find the log file either in the application's help menu, or via start menu->Stellarium->Last run log.)
Graphics cards which are no longer supported by Stellarium 0.13 and later include early ATI/AMD Radeon cards up to and including the Xxxx series (built 2004/05), NVidia up to GeForce FXxxx (2003/04), and Intel GMA before X3000, unfortunately also including the popular Atom-based netbooks of 2010. For such systems, you need the MESA software rendering (circumventing the outdated graphics card on Windows, at cost of very slow performance), or you may use an older version of Stellarium. MESA is also used in many Linux installations, but allows hardware acceleration.
The following is particularly directed towards Windows users.
In doubt, you can verify your GPU's capabilities with tools like "GPU Caps Viewer" (free download). If this shows support for OpenGL 1.4, 1.5 or 2.0 only, and your PC is otherwise still OK, you may consider upgrading your PC at least with a dedicated entry-level graphics card. If this is not possible, read below for MESA support.
We are providing two flavours of Windows versions. One uses OpenGL drivers directly. This should work with graphics cards from AMD/ATI series Radeon HD-2xxx and later, NVidia 8xxx and later, or Intel HD Graphics (built into Core-i processors of the "Sandy Bridge" generation) and later. Make sure you use the latest drivers from your graphics card manufacturer.
The other uses ANGLE, which translates OpenGL to DirectX on Windows 7 and later. Also here we need hardware providing DirectX VertexShader 2_0 and PixelShader 3.0 (vs_2_0 ps_3_0), i.e. DirectX10. This should include even earlier graphics cards: ATI/AMD X1xxx, NVidia 6xxx, Intel GMA X3000. Again, keep your drivers updated! Current trial versions seem to run even on WinXP, but are not 100% stable. ANGLE is officially only supported on Win7 and later, we cannot therefore do anything if it does not work on your particular XP PC.
For systems without hardware capable of supporting OpenGL2.1 with GLSL1.30 or DirectX/ps_3_0, we provide a Windows 32 build that includes the MESA software OpenGL library (providing the required minimum of OpenGL2.1 and GLSL1.30) as optional item to be selected during installation. MESA totally circumvents the GPU, all graphics is rendered with the CPU (Central Processing Unit; this is the device referred to as "Pentium", "Celeron", "Athlon", "Xeon", "Core i5", "Atom", etc.) only. Of course, this lack of dedicated hardware means a severe slowdown, but a slow system with good graphics may still be preferrable to a dysfunctional one. MESA can make use of multicore CPUs, so if you have e.g. an older multicore CPU system with only Intel GMA graphics, performance may still be OK.
So, if the OpenGL version shows problems (message about "Insufficient OpenGL support" at startup, crash just seconds after launch, or graphical errors like broken screen fonts, planets not rendered, ...) please install the OpenGL version with MESA addon. You may check for graphic-related problems in the logfile (linked from the start menu).
Version 0.13.0 was the first to display comet tails. When you add comets with the solar system editor plugin, you may be tempted to include all observable comets from the MPC database. Please don't do that in version 0.13.0! Stellarium gets very slow, because computation and rendering of hundreds of tails takes lots of computation. You should select the < 50 comets you really want to observe and only add or update elements for those. The situation has been corrected in V0.13.1.
Version 0.13.3 brought some more nebulae catalogs. Unfortunately visibility function was not well-balanced however, and some users are unhappy about too many (!) objects. You can simply replace the respective files in the program directory (win64: C:\Program Files\Stellarium\nebulae\default) by empty files. V0.14 will provide better visibility balance and catalog selection options.
To remove 90% of the common problems like strange graphics effects after an update to 0.12, or stars rendered as triangles, upside-down sky, strange text characters, off-center or distorted appearance of the sky sphere and other effects:
- Make sure you have the LATEST DRIVERS for your graphics card installed.
- Delete config.ini. Some LEFT-OVER ENTRIES may interfere with recent changes.
- Esp. on OLDER HARDWARE: Try "No OpenGL2 mode" (may also be called "fallback mode"). --- if this helps, please file a bug report and ATTACH THE LOG FILE log.txt to let us improve startup diagnostics to immediately launch without attempting OpenGL2 mode which later caused problems. Really ancient systems (built around 2002) may have to use older versions (0.12.0 or 0.11.*) of Stellarium.
- MISSING MOUSE? There are recent reports about missing mouse cursor on Windows 8. Switching off mouse trails may help!
- In any case, when all this does not work and you still need to report a problem, PLEASE ATTACH THE LOG FILE log.txt TO YOUR BUG REPORT!
These questions were moved from the older wiki, and many are kept here for historical reasons only. Most issues should be superseded.
Read the installation instructions contained in the "INSTALL" file, which comes with Stellarium.
If you have upgraded from an older version of Stellarium, and your old config.ini file was set so that Stellarium started in full screen mode, 0.9.0 will fail to start. Just edit your config.ini file and edit the line with the fullscreen setting so the value is false.
For other problems, we can offer some accounts of what people experienced in the past. Maybe a file necessary for Stellarium was corrupted or badly formatted in some way. Try reinstalling, don't forget to backup any Stellarium files you might have customized.
Stellarium reports basic actions on standard output and standard error. This output can be read in the cmd window on Windows, or can be seen by starting Stellarium from a terminal in Linux and OS X. Have a read of this output and see if there is any helpful information. If you can't fix your problem, post a support request, and include this output.
Mac OS X 10.4 is no longer supported.
The Stellarium 0.10.6 package available from the website is built for Mac OS X 10.5 and later. The last official Stellarium version that has a package for Mac OS X 10.4 is Stellarium 0.10.5.
You can compile Stellarium for Mac OS X 10.4.x from source code yourself.
If stellarium does not start, and you see this message on the console:
terminate called after throwing an instance of 'std::runtime_error' what(): locale::facet::_S_create_c_locale name not valid Abort trap
Try setting the LC_ALL environment variable to "C" and re-run.
Stellarium is pretty processor intensive. This means things can get quite warm inside your computer. If you experience freezes or computer crashes, you might have a heat problem. If this is the case, other processor intensive tasks such as mp3 encoding should lead to the same problem. In the newest versions, a frame rate limiter is present. That should solve your problem.
Currently we have no accurate ephemeris for Charon and no ephemeris for Neptunian satellites at all. The other satellite ephemeris should be correct. When you compare with what you see in your telescope you should enable light travel time compensation in config.ini.
Chances are your language is included, but the program doesn't include a font for your language, as we're concerned about download size. Find a font for your language, and tell the program which font to use in the config.ini file. See Display complex characters in Stellarium for more details.
Problems range from missing parts in the Stellarium interface, text display problems (on S3 and ATI Rage graphics cards), to missing stars. They mostly occur on older hardware, or on specific on-board graphics chips (an onboard Geforce 4MX user solved the problem by reverting to the older 5.2.1.6 driver for his model). We advise experimenting with the graphics driver (updating, changing settings, reverting to older versions) if you're comfortable doing this. For users experiencing problems with S3 graphics controllers, update the driver to the S3 Graphics ProSavageDDR driver for Windows XP.
Many GUI enhancement, theme engine and skinning programs for Windows can cause problems with OpenGL applications including Stellarium. Please try disabling these if you have them running: WindowBlinds, WindowFX, ObjectDock, IconPackager and Entbloess (and similar programs).
- Note: Since version 0.10.1, Stellarium has a new scripting engine. The text below applies to versions prior to that.
If you run WindowBlinds or another skinning/theme program, try de-activating it, or adding Stellarium to the list of applications which should be excluded.
Vista doesn't allow most user programs to write to the Desktop directory. You can choose another directory to save screenshots to by editing the shortcut in the start menu which is used to start Stellarium, like this:
stellarium.exe --screenshot-dir "C:\Path\To\Dir"
In version 0.10.1, the screenshot save directory can be set via the GUI, in the Tools tab of the Configuration window.
In Stellarium 0.10-0.12, and still in rare occasions later, on some systems the information field that appears in the upper left corner when an object is selected is unreadable - the characters are garbled or missing.
On Windows: Try starting Stellarium from the "Stellarium (no OpenGL2)" shortcut in Stellarium's Start menu folder. If it works, you can copy it to the desktop and replace the original shortcut.
On Linux: Try starting Stellarium from a console with one of the following commands:
stellarium --safe-mode stellarium --fix-text (V0.15 and later only)
On macOS: Try the same solution as with Linux, though it may turn out to be necessary to specify the full path to Stellarium's executable file (the application bundle, "stellarium.app").