Stellarium/stellarium
Stellarium is a free GPL software which renders realistic skies in real time with OpenGL. It is available for Linux/Unix, Windows, macOS and Haiku. With Stellarium, you really see what you can see with your eyes, binoculars or a small telescope.
Star History
Momentum
+250
STARS · LAST 30 DAYS
8
PER DAY
#40
MOST-STARRED C++
| Window | 7 days | 30 days | 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stars gained | +56 | +250 | +720 |
| Per day | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Forks gained | +5 | +21 | +53 |
stellarium gained 250 stars in the last 30 days, about 8 a day, and now has 10K. It is about 12 years old and has averaged roughly 835 stars a year. It ranks #40 among C++ repositories and #679 across all languages on GitHubRepo.
Trending Record
1
DAYS ON TRENDING
#1483
BEST RANK
Sep 28, 2026
FIRST APPEARANCE
Active
STATUS TODAY
stellarium has maintained a continuous presence across global trending indexes, peaking at #1483. Below is the 30-day activity profile:
💡 Overview
stellarium is an open-source project written in C++: Stellarium is a free GPL software which renders realistic skies in real time with OpenGL. It is available for Linux/Unix, Windows, macOS and Haiku. With Stellarium, you really see what you can see with your eyes, binoculars or a small telescope.
Engineered for speed, consistency, and developer ease, it solves common hurdles in astronomy, c, c-plus-plus. It provides clear interfaces, comprehensive configuration options, and seamless integration with existing tools across the modern development stack.
⚡ Key Features
Optimized execution pipeline written in C++ for predictable speed.
Zero-friction configuration with comprehensive sensible defaults out of the box.
Cross-platform runtime support across Linux, macOS, and Windows environments.
Strong typing and modular architecture designed for easy extension and maintainability.
Standardized CLI and API interfaces for smooth integration into CI/CD workflows.
Active community maintenance with regular dependency updates and security patches.
📥 Installation
$ git clone https://github.com/Stellarium/stellarium.git
cd stellarium⚙ System Requirements
Platforms
- • macOS
- • Linux
- • Windows
Runtime & Dependencies
C++20 compliant compiler (GCC 11+, Clang 13+, MSVC)
Architecture
x86_64, ARM64 (Apple Silicon & Graviton)
🧠 How It Works
stellarium coordinates its core functionality through a modular C++ pipeline. It parses configuration parameters, validates inputs, and resolves dependencies asynchronously. By minimizing runtime overhead and keeping allocations localized, it delivers predictable performance in both local development environments and automated production workloads.
🎯 Production Use Cases
Production System Integration
Embed stellarium into C++ backend services to handle core application logic.
CI/CD Automated Pipelines
Run automated validation, builds, and integration suites during deployments.
Developer Tooling & Workflows
Accelerate developer onboarding with pre-configured project utilities.
Open Source Extension
Fork and customize internal modules under the repository's open GPL-2.0 license.
🚀 Getting Started
Install stellarium using your package manager: `git clone https://github.com/Stellarium/stellarium.git`
Initialize your project workspace or configuration file for stellarium.
Import stellarium into your codebase or invoke it directly from your terminal.
Execute your test suite or run `stellarium --help` to verify successful setup.
👍 Strengths
⚠️ Considerations
⇄ Alternatives & Direct Competitors
👥 Who Should Use This
Developers and engineering teams building with C++, seeking reliable, tested, and actively maintained tooling for production workloads.
🏆 Nearby in the Rankings
Stellarium/stellarium is currently ranked #679 by stars across every repository tracked on GitHubRepo. These are adjacent projects:
| Rank | Repository | Language | Stars | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #674 | omnigent-ai/omnigent | Python | ★ 10.3K | Compare ↗ |
| #675 | swiftlang/swift-package-manager | Swift | ★ 10.2K | Compare ↗ |
| #676 | doctrine/orm | PHP | ★ 10.2K | Compare ↗ |
| #677 | cloudflare/cloudflare-os | TypeScript | ★ 10.1K | Compare ↗ |
| #678 | unoplatform/uno | C# | ★ 10.1K | Compare ↗ |
| #679 | Stellarium/stellarium This Project | C++ | ★ 10K | |
| #680 | BYVoid/OpenCC | C++ | ★ 10K | Compare ↗ |
| #681 | pmndrs/drei | JavaScript | ★ 9.9K | Compare ↗ |
| #682 | kubernetes/client-go | Go | ★ 9.9K | Compare ↗ |
| #683 | paramiko/paramiko | Python | ★ 9.9K | Compare ↗ |
| #684 | thesysdev/openui | TypeScript | ★ 9.9K | Compare ↗ |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does stellarium do? +
Stellarium is a free GPL software which renders realistic skies in real time with OpenGL. It is available for Linux/Unix, Windows, macOS and Haiku. With Stellarium, you really see what you can see with your eyes, binoculars or a small telescope.
What language is stellarium written in? +
The primary language is C++. Topics include: astronomy, c, c-plus-plus, planetarium, qt5.
Is stellarium actively maintained? +
Yes, the last recorded push was on Sep 28, 2026 with 412 open issues being tracked.
How many stars does stellarium have? +
stellarium has 10,015 stars and 1,059 forks on GitHub.
How does stellarium rank among GitHub repositories? +
With 10,015 stars, Stellarium/stellarium is ranked #679 globally across all repositories tracked on GitHubRepo and #40 among C++ projects.
What license is stellarium distributed under? +
The repository reports a GPL-2.0 license. Always verify the repository LICENSE file for legal terms.
