Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the base-data package?

The base-data package is required for Gaia Sky to run and contains basically the Solar System data (textures, models, orbits and attitudes of planets, moons, satellites, etc.). You can’t run Gaia Sky without the base-data package.

Q: Why do you have two different download pages?

We have decided to list the most important downloads in the official webpage of Gaia Sky here for convenience. These downloads point to the location where the download manager gets the files, so they are the same. We have also created some HTML listings of the downloads folder here. This may bring up some confusion, but in the end they are the same files. Only difference is that the HTML listing provides access to all files, including old versions, and the official download page only points to the latest packages.

At the end of the day, if you use the download manager integrated into Gaia Sky, you will never see any of these. If you want to download the data manually, then you can get it from either page.

Q: Why so many DR2 catalogs?

We offer 9 different catalogs based on DR2. Only one should be used at a time, as they are different subsets of the same data, and mostly overlap. We offer so many to give the opportunity to explore the DR2 data to everyone. Even if you have a potato PC, you can still run Gaia Sky with the dr2-verysmall dataset, which contains the stars which have the best parallaxes only. If you have a more capable machine, you can explore larger and larger datasets and get more stars in.

Q: Gaia Sky crashes on start-up, what to do?

We need a log. If you are using version 2.2.0 or newer, or the development version on the master branch, crash reports are saved in ~/.local/share/gaiasky/crashreports (Linux) or ~/.gaiasky/crashreports (Windows and macOS). Files starting with gaiasky_crash_* are crash reports, while files starting with gaiasky_log_* are full logs. Send us the relevant files.

If you are using another version of Gaia Sky (2.1.7 or older), getting a log differs depending on your Operating System.

On Linux, just run Gaia Sky from the command line and copy the log.

$  gaiasky

On Windows, files named output.log and error.log should be created in the installation folder of Gaia Sky. Check if they exist and, if so, attach them to the bug report. Otherwise, just open Power Shell, navigate to the installation folder and run the gaiasky.cmd script. The log will be printed in the Power Shell window.

On macOS, open a Terminal window and write this:

$  cd /Applications/Gaia\ Sky.app/Contenst/java/app
$  chmod u+x ./gaiasky
$  ./gaiasky

This will launch Gaia Sky in the terminal. Copy the log and paste it in the bug report. Here is a video demonstrating how to do this on macOS.

Once you have a log, create a bug report here, attach the log, and we’ll get to it ASAP.

Q: I can’t see the elevation data on Earth or other planets

First, make sure you are using at least version 2.2.0. Then, download the High-resolution texture pack using the download manager and select Ultra in graphics quality.

Q: Can I contribute?

Yes. You can contribute translations (currently EN, DE, CA, FR, SK, ES are available) or code. Please, have a look at the contributing guidelines.

Q: I like Gaia Sky so much, can I donate to contribute to the project?

Thanks, but no.