StelSkyCulture Class Reference

Store basic info about a sky culture for Stellarium. More...

#include <StelSkyCultureMgr.hpp>

Public Types
enum	BOUNDARIES { NONE = -1, IAU, OWN }
	Possible values for boundary lines between constellations. More...
enum	CLASSIFICATION {   INCOMPLETE =0, PERSONAL, TRADITIONAL, ETHNOGRAPHIC,   HISTORICAL, SINGLE }
	Since V0.19. More...

Data Fields
QString	englishName
	English name.
QString	author
	Name of the author.
QString	license
	The license.
BOUNDARIES	boundaries
	Type of the boundaries (enum)
CLASSIFICATION	classification
	Classification of sky culture (enum)

Detailed Description

Different human cultures have used different names for stars, and visualised different constellations in the sky (and in different parts of the sky). This information will probably evolve considerably over the 0.19 and 0.20 series.

Member Enumeration Documentation

BOUNDARIES

enum StelSkyCulture::BOUNDARIES

Most traditional skies do not have boundaries. Some atlases in the 18th and 19th centuries had curved boundaries that differed between authors. Only IAU implemented "approved" boundaries, but a similar technique could be used for other skycultures.

CLASSIFICATION

enum StelSkyCulture::CLASSIFICATION

A rough classification scheme that may allow filtering and at least some rough idea of quality control. In future versions, this scheme could be refined or changed, and external reviewers can probably provide more quality control. For now, we can at least highlight and discern "nice tries" from scientific work. The classes are not "quality grades" in ascending order, but also allow estimates about particular content. INCOMPLETE requires improvements, and PERSONAL usually means "nice, but not even Stellarium developers believe in it".

Enumerator
PERSONAL	Looks like there is something interesting to it, but lacks references. Should evolve into one of the other kinds. There are some examples in our repositories from previous times that should be improved, else no new ones should be accepted.
TRADITIONAL	Privately developed after ca. 1950, not based on published ethnographic or historical research, not supported by a noteworthy community.
ETHNOGRAPHIC	Most "living" skycultures. May have evolved over centuries, with mixed influences from other cultures. Also for self-presentations by members of respective cultures, indigenous peoples or tribes. Description should provide a short description of the people and traditions, and the "cosmovision" of the people, some celestial myths, background information about the constellations (e.g. what does a "rabbit ghost" or "yellow man" mean for you?) Star names with meaning should be translated to English. Please provide "further reading" links for more information.
HISTORICAL	Created by foreigners doing ethnographic fieldwork in modern times. This usually is an "outside view", e.g. from ethnographic fieldwork, missionary reports, travelers, "adventurers" of the 19th century etc. Description should provide a short description of the way this skyculture has been recorded, about the people and traditions, and the "cosmovision" of the people, some celestial myths, background information about the constellations (e.g. what does a "rabbit ghost" or "yellow man" mean for them?) Star names with meaning should be translated to English. This is often published in singular rare to find books, or found in university collections or museum archives. These should come with links for published books, or how to find this information elsewhere.
SINGLE	Skyculture from past time, recreated from textual transmission by historians. Typically nobody alive today shares the world view of these past cultures. The description should provide some insight over sources and how data were retrieved and interpreted, and should provide references to (optimally: peer-reviewed) published work. Implementation of a single book or atlas usually providing a "snapshot" of a traditional skyculture. e.g. Bayer, Schiller, Hevelius, Bode, Rey, ... Content (star names, artwork, spelling, ...) should not deviate from what the atlas contains. The description should provide information about the presented work, and if possible a link to a digital online version.