Written for Stellarium by Alexander Wolf on 2016-07-31

In memory of our team member Barry Gerdes.

Version 0.15.0 is based on Qt5.6. Starting with this version, some graphics cards have been blacklisted by Qt and are automatically forced to use ANGLE on Windows.

We introduce a major internal change with the StelProperty system.

This allows simpler access to internal variables and therefore more ways of operation.

Most notably this version introduces an alternative control option via RemoteControl, a new webserver interface plugin.

We also introduce another milestone towards providing better astronomical accuracy for historical applications: experimental support of getting planetary positions from JPL DE430 and DE431 ephemerides. This feature is however not fully tested yet.

The major changes:

- Added StelProperty system

- Added new plugin for exhibitions and planetariums - Remote Control

- Added new skycultures: Macedonian, Ojibwe, Dakota/ Lakota/ Nakota,

Kamilaroi/ Euahlayi

- Updated code of plugins

- Added Bookmarks tool and updated AstroCalc tool

- Added new functions for Scripting Engine and new scripts

- Added Miller Cylindrical Projection

- Added updates and improvements in DSO and star catalogues (include initial

support of The Washington Double Star Catalog)

- azimuth lines (also targetting geographic locations) in ArchaeoLines plugin

- Many fixes and improvements...

In addition, we prepared a new user guide.

A huge thanks to our community whose contributions help to make Stellarium better!

Full list of changes:

- Added getting planetary positions from JPL DE430 and DE431 ephemerides (SoCiS2015 project)

- Added RemoteControl and preliminary RemoteSync plugins (SoCiS2015 project)

- Added StelProperty system (SoCiS2015 project)

- Added immediate saving of settings for plugins (Angle Measure, Archeo Lines, Compass Marks)

- Added Belarusian translation for landscapes and sky cultures (LP: #1520303)

- Added Bengali description for landscapes and sky cultures (LP: #1548627)

- Added new skycultures: Macedonian, Ojibwe, Dakota/ Lakota/ Nakota, Kamilaroi/Euahlayi

- Added support Off-Axis Guider feature in Oculars plugin (LP: #1354427)

- Added support permanent rotation angle for CCD in Oculars plugin

- Added type of mount for telescopes in Oculars plugin

- Added improvements for displaying data in decimal format

- Added possibility to drawing of permanent orbits of the planets (disables of hiding orbits for planets, when they are out of field of view). (LP: #1509674)

- Added tentative support for screens with 4K resolution for Windows packages (LP: #1372781)

- Enabled support for side-by-side assembly technology for Windows packages (LP: #1400045)

- Added CLI options --angle-d3d9, --angle-d3d11, --angle-warp for fine-tuning ANGLE flavour selection on Windows.

- Added improvements in Stellarium's installer on Windows

- Added improvements in Telescope Control plugin

- Added feature for build a dependency graphs of various characteristics of exoplanets (Exoplanets plugin)

- Added support of the proper names for exoplanets and their host stars (Exoplanets plugin)

- Added improvement for Search Tool

- Added improvement for scripting engine

- Added their Bayer designation for some stars in Scorpius (LP: #1518437)

- Added updates and improvements in Stellarium DSO Catalog

- Added initial support of subset of The Washington Double Star Catalog (LP: #1537449)

- Added Prime Vertical and Colures lines

- Added new functions for Scripting Engine

- Added new DSO textures

- Finished migration from Phonon to QtMultimedia (LP: #1260108)

- Added scripting function to block tracking or centering for special installations.

- Added visualization of ephemerides

- Added config option for animation speed of pointers (gui/pointer_ animation_ speed = 1.0)

- Added implementation of semi-transparent mask in the Oculars plugin (LP: #1511393)

- Added hiding the halo when inner planet between Sun and observer (or moon between planet and observer) (LP: #1533647)

- Added a tool for fill custom settings of position of Great Red Spot on Jupiter

- Added Bookmarks tool (LP: #1106779)

- Added new scripts: Best objects in the New General Catalog, The Jack Bennett Catalog, Binosky: Deep Sky Objects for Binoculars, Herschel 400 Tour, Binocular Highlights, 20 Fun Naked-Eye Double Stars, List of largest known stars

- Added Circumpolar Circles (LP: #1590785)

- Added Miller Cylindrical Projection

- Allow viewport offset change in scripts.

- Allow centering zenith or pole via scripting (LP: #1068529)

- Allow freezing/unfreezing average atmospheric brightness (e.g. for balanced-brightness image export scripts.)

- Allow saving of output.txt to another file so that it can be read by other programs on Windows while Stellarium is still open.

- Allow min/max values and wraparound settings for AngleSpinBox

- Allow configurable speed and script speed buttons

- Allow storing and retrieval of screen location for StelDialogs (LP: #1249251)

- Allow polygonal horizons with many negative values (LP: #1554639)

- Allow altitude-dependent twinkling for stars (LP: #1594065)

- Allow display of sun's halo if sun is just outside viewport (LP: #1294498)

- Reconfigure viewDialog GUI to put constellation switches to skylore tab.

- Limit location coordinate spinboxes to useful coordinates

- Apply Fluctuations in the Moon's Mean Longitude in DeltaT calculations (Source: Spencer Jones, H., 'The Rotation of the Earth, and the Secular Accelerations of the Sun, Moon and Planets', MNRAS, 99 (1939), 541-558 [http:// adsabs. harvard. edu/abs/ 1939MNRAS. .99..541S])

- Applying device pixel ratio to the pixmap, so that it displays correctly on Mac's.

- Added improvements for Paste and Search feature (Search Tool)

- Added ecliptical coordinates info for objects in scripting engine

- Added exit pupil calculation in the Oculars plugin (LP: #1500225)

- Added support MSVC2015

- Added automatic reloading catalogs after updating for some plugins

- Added a tour of Messier Objects

- Added fix to circumvent text rendering bug (CLI option: -t)

- Introduce env variable STEL_OPTS to allow preconfiguring default CLI options.

- Added option for hide background under buttons on bottom toolbar (LP: #1204639)

- Added check position on the screen for orbits of satellites (LP: #1510530)

- Added new option to changing behaviour of displaying of the labels of DSO on the screen (LP: #1600283)

- Star catalogues has been updated from 'XHIP: An Extended Hipparcos Compilation' data.

- Fixed validation of day in Date and Time dialog (LP: #1206284)

- Fixed display of sidereal time (mod24), show apparent sidereal time only if nutation is used.

- Fixed issue of saving some setting from the View window (LP: #1509639)

- Fixed issue for reset of number of satellite orbit segments (LP: #1510592)

- Fixed bug in download of stars catalogs in debug mode (LP: #1514542)

- Fixed issue with smooth blending/fading in ArchaeoLines plugin

- Fixed loading scenes for Scenery 3D plugin (LP: #1533069)

- Fixed connection troubles in Telescope Control Plugin on Windows (LP: #1530372)

- Fixed wrong altitude of culmination in Observability plugin (LP: #1531561)

- Fixed the meteor radiants movements when time is switched manually (LP: #1535950)

- Fixed misbehaving zoom out to initial view position (LP: #1537446)

- Fixed format for declination in AstroCalc

- Fixed value of ecliptic obliquity and ecliptic coordinates of date (LP: #1520792)

- Fixed zoom/art brightness handling (LP: #1520783)

- Fixed perspective mode with offset viewport in scenery3d (LP: #1509728)

- Fixed drawing reticle for telescope (LP: #1526348)

- Fixed wrong altitudes for some locations (LP: #1530759)

- Fixed window location having offscreen frame when leaving fullscreen (LP: #1471954)

- Fixed core.moveToAltA zi(90,XX) issue (LP: #1068529)

- Fixed some skyculture links

- Fixed issue of sidereal time: sidereal time is no longer displayed negative in the Western timezones.

- Fixed online search tool for MPC website

- Fixed translation of Egyptian planet names (LP: #1548008)

- Fixed bug about wrong rise/set times in Observability for years far in the past

- Fixed issue for resets flip buttons in Oculars plugin (LP: #1511389)

- Fixed proper detection of GLSL ES version on Raspberry Pi with VC4 driver (and maybe other devices).

- Fixed odd DateTimeDialog behavior during daylight saving change

- Fixed key handling issue on Mac OS X in Scenery3D (LP: #1566805)

- Fixed omission in documentation (LP: #1574583, #1575059)

- Fixed a loss of focus in the sky when you click on the button (LP: #1578773)

- Fixed issue of getting location from network.

- Fixed bug in visualization of opposition/ conjunction longitude

- Fixed crash of Navigational Stars plugin (LP: #1598375)

- Fixed satellites mutual occultation (LP: #1389765)

- Fixed NaN in landscape brightness computation (LP: #1597129)

- Fixed oversized corona (LP: #1599513)

- Fixed displaying common names of DSO after changes filters of catalogs (LP: #1600283)

- Ensure Large File Support for DE431 also for ARM boards.

- Changed behaviour for drawing of the planet orbits (LP: #1509673)

- Make moon halo visible again even when below -45 degrees (LP: #1586796)

- Reduce planet brightness in daylight (LP: #1503248)

- Updated AstroCalc tool

- Updated icons for View dialog

- Updated ssystem.ini (LP: #1509693, #1509692)

- Updated names of stars (LP: #1550642)

- Updated the search rules in the search dialog (LP: #1593965)

- Avoid false display of tiny eclipse factor (rounding error).

- Avoid issues around GLdouble in GLES2/ARM boards.

- Reduce brightness of stars for ocular and CCD views

- Hide displaying markers for meteor radiants during daylight

- Cosmetic updates in Equation Of Time plugin

- Enabled permanent visualization of position angles for galaxies

- Updated bookmarks in Solar System Editor plugin

- Updated default config options

- Updated scripts

- Updated shortcuts for scripts

- Updated norwegian skyculture descriptions

- Updated connection behaviour for autodiscovery location through network (FreeGeoIP)

- Updated and optimized GUI

- Updated Navigational Stars plugin

- Implementation of quick turning to different directions (examples: CdC, HNSKY)

- Important optimizations of planet position computation

- Refactoring coloring markers of the DSO

- Refactoring of the generating parts of the infrastructure (LP: #1571391)

- Refactoring Telescope Control plugin

- Removed info about Moon phases (avoid inconsistency for strings).

- Removed rotation of movement by convergence angle correction in Scenery 3D plugin.