.. _faq: 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 list the most important downloads in the official webpage of Gaia Sky (`here `__) for convenience. The server listing (`here `__) provides access to current and old releases. At the end of the day, if you use the download manager of Gaia Sky, you will never see any of these. If you want to download the data manually, you can do so using either page. Q: Why so many Gaia-DR catalogs? ================================ We offer several different catalogs based on the latest Gaia data release. **Only one** should be used at a time, as they are different subsets of the same data, meaning that smaller catalogs are contained in larger catalogs. For exmaple, the stars in ``edr3-default`` are contained in ``edr3-large``. We offer so many to give the opportunity to explore the Gaia data to everyone. Even if you have a low-end PC, or don't have lots of disk space to spare, you can still run Gaia Sky with the smaller subsets, which only contain the best stars in terms of parallax relative error. If you have a more capable machine, you can explore larger and larger slices and get more stars in. Q: Gaia Sky crashes at start-up, what to do? ============================================ First, make sure that your drivers are up to date and your graphics card supports OpenGL ``3.2`` and GLSL ``3.3``. Some startup crashes are due to inconsistencies in the data. Usually, removing the data folder (``~/.local/share/gaiasky/data`` on Linux, ``%userprofile%\.gaiasky\data`` on Windows, ``~/.gaiasky/data`` on macOS) solves the problem. When Gaia Sky starts again, the download manager pops up for you to redownload the data. Another, more sophisticated way of doing it is to launch Gaia Sky forcing the download manager, .. code:: console $ gaiasky -d and then deleting and re-downloading each dataset from there, starting by the ``default-data`` pack. If that fails, try removing the configuration file (``~/.config/gaiasky/config.yaml`` on Linux, ``%userprofile%\.gaiasky\config.yaml`` on Windows, ``~/.gaiasky/config.yaml`` on macOS) and starting Gaia Sky again. **Getting a crash log** If the crash remains, 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 ``$GS_DATA/crashreports`` (check where ``$GS_DATA`` is in your system :ref:`here `). 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. 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: .. code:: console $ cd /Applications/Gaia\ Sky.app/Contents/Resources/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'm running out of memory, what to do? ========================================= Don't fret. Check out the :ref:`maximum heap space section ` to learn how to increase the maximum heap memory allocated to Gaia Sky. If you computer does not have enough physical RAM, try using a smaller dataset. 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, make sure that your graphics card supports tessellation (OpenGL 4.x). Then, download the High-resolution texture pack using the download manager and select ``High`` or ``Ultra`` in graphics quality. This is not strictly necessary, but it is much better to use higher resolution data if possible. Finally, select `Tessellation` in the "Elevation representation" drop-down of the graphics pane in the settings window. See :ref:`elevation-graphics-conf`. Q: What is the internal reference system used in Gaia Sky? ========================================================== The reference system is described in :ref:`reference-system`. The internal workings of Gaia Sky are described in `this paper `__. Q: Can I contribute? ==================== Yes. You can contribute translations (currently EN, DE, CA, FR, SK, ES and BG 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 a lot, but no. You may donate to any other awesome open source project of your choosing instead.