Google Earth API stars are all off target.

Has anyone ever written a Google Earth API viewing application and noticed that every star, except Polaris is off target ?

Even going by the star constellations shown in the application 'Stellarium', Google's stars are like on a different axis.
Here is an example of the star Caph in the constellation Cassiopeia.

Firstly, Stellarium shows Cassiopeia as near horizontal to the horizon above New York, USA.


However, when viewed in Google Earth API running alongside a C# app the star system has a different orientation and azimuth.


When Caph is viewed straight on at its correct azimuth of 28 degrees, its not even on Google Earth. Apparently Google Earth thinks Caph is on a azimuth of 342 degrees.


Has anyone else had this problem with Google Earth API's ?

I do not understand these programs nor about star constellations that much, i have an question about it, does stars move with different seasons of year in the night sky? Most often when i did some star gazing i seen these stars in a symbol in certain spot in the sky but once saw them way of where they usually rest, i had to turn about 35degrees to follow their different spot, is this indeed natural?

originally posted by: romilo
Do stars move with different seasons of year in the night sky? Most often when i did some star gazing i seen these stars in a symbol in certain spot in the sky but once saw them way of where they usually rest, i had to turn about 35degrees to follow their different spot, is this indeed natural?

Yes they do move. i assume that is why astrology has its own dates like Leo rises somewhere during August and Gemini is visible during June from a certain geographical location.

i will run some checks each day to see if any stars are at different azimuths and elevations at exactly the same minute every day apart from the usual 24 hour rotating around Polaris.

sounds like sidereal day drift, corrections have to be made for sidereal days, and the number of days from the equinox if my memory of experimental astronomy and telescope pointing is correct.

Has to be calculated to a high degree of accuracy or, these things will drift.

They also have drifts in comparison to catalogues depending on distance.

originally posted by: ErosA433
sounds like sidereal day drift, corrections have to be made for sidereal days, and the number of days from the equinox if my memory of experimental astronomy and telescope pointing is correct.

Then it looks like the Google Earth API doesn't have these corrections because Google Sky viewer lines up in accordance with Stellarium perfectly.

Thanks for the information.

Here is an example concerning the star Polaris which is ok with the API. Yet every other star is off target. Look at Ursa Major where Google puts the constellation at a higher elevation to Polaris, yet Stellarium puts Ursa Major closer to the horizon.

Case closed.

a reply to: romilo

does stars move with different seasons of year in the night sky?

The stars don't move, we do.

education.seattlepi.com...

a reply to: DAVID64

We are moving, they are moving, everything is moving its all good

Thnks for the link will check it out.

You would have to show your input parameters for all the applications for this to make sense. Exact date and time, exact GPS coordinates, and exact altitude that you are viewing from. I see a few parameters, but nothing to compare with each other.

Also, Stellarium's virtual camera has a really wide angle lens that distorts things a bit and that doesn't help any.

originally posted by: WeAre0ne
You would have to show your input parameters for all the applications for this to make sense.

Technically the calculations were all based on the (J2000) Right Ascension (RA) and Declination (DEC) of the stars.
Source: www.stargazing.net...

The raw star data, in spreadsheet form (hygdata_v3.csv) originated from www.astronexus.com...