An advanced celestial map rendering platform with 3D graphics support

For amateur astronomers, it is not easy to find a specific celestial object in the night sky. The celestial calculations are also complex and hard to be correctly achieved. However, there are very few numbers of supporting tools for them. We represent a 3D celestial map rendering platform which reproduces the virtual night sky at the specific time and location. With the OpenGL-based full 3D-graphics features, our platform brings a sense of spatial realism, with user-friendly interfaces. For the more accurate celestial map rendering, we referred to a set of more than 10,000 stars from the famous celestial lists such as the Messier list, the Yale BSC list, and others. For each celestial object, our system provides three-dimensional views and additional two-dimensional simulations for more details. Since it is developed on typical PCs, our system can provide accurate celestial maps in an interactive manner, without any special equipment. Our system is helpful for amateur astronomers and ordinary persons to find the specific celestial object in the real night sky.