Hi Paul,
Make sure you're following the instructions as found in the Help. I have highlighted the part I think my be relevant for your query here.
You can create your own horizon panorama - for instance, an image of your own back yard, or your favorite observing site. You can then import it into SkySafari, to show the sky as it realistically appears from your location.
To do this, first create a panorama using your digital camera, and a panorama-stitching program like Adobe Photoshop, Canon PhotoStitch, or DoubleTake for Mac OS X. Resize your panorama image to dimensions of exactly 2048 pixels wide x 1024 pixels tall.
The vertical sweep of the image represents 180 degrees of altitude, from the zenith at +90° (top of the image), to the horizon at 0° (middle of the image) to the nadir at -90° (bottom).
The horizontal direction on your image represents 360° of azimuth, starting with north (0°) at the left edge, east (90°) one quarter of the way across, south (180°) halfway across, west (270°) three fourths of the way across, and finally wrapping around again to north (360° or 0°) at the right edge.
When you're done photoshopping, save your panorama as a 32-bit (8 bits per channel) RGBA color image file in PNG format. Make sure your image contains an alpha or transparency layer that accurately indicates the parts of your panorama that are opaque (the ground, trees, buildings, etc.) versus the parts that are transparent (the sky).
If you are using SkySafari on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you can import your horizon panorama using iTunes file sharing. To do this, connect your iPhone or iPad with a USB cable to a computer running iTunes. Select your iOS device when it appears in iTunes, then find the "Apps" section that lists all the apps on your device. Choose SkySafari from the list of apps. Add your horizon PNG image file to the list of SkySafari Documents displayed by iTunes, or drag and drop it into the list. iTunes will then copy your file over the USB cable onto your iPhone/iPad.
If everything works correctly, your image will then appear in the list of horizon panoramas in SkySafari. You can select and display it just like SkySafari's other built-in horizon panoramas.
If your horizon panorama doesn't appear in SkySafari's list, make sure it's in PNG format, and that its name ends with ".png". Make sure its dimensions are 2048 x 1024, and that's a 32-bit (8 bits per channel) RGBA color image with an alpha (transparency) layer. If all else fails, you can email your image to Simulation Curriculum's technical support, and we can try to debug it for you.
If you are using SkySafari for Android, you can import your horizon panorama using your SD card. To do this, connect your Android device with a USB cable to a computer. Then mount your Android's SD card on your computer, so it appears as a disk. Look for a SkySafari, SkySafari Plus, or SkySafari Pro folder on the root (top level) of your SD card, depending on which version of SkySafari you own. Then copy your horizon PNG image file into the Horizon Panoramas folder within this folder.
For example, if you own SkySafari Pro, copy your panorama to the following directory on your SD card:
<top level of SD card>/SkySafari Pro/Panoramas/
If everything works correctly, your image will then appear in the list of horizon panoramas in SkySafari. You can select and display it just like SkySafari's other built-in horizon panoramas.
If your horizon panorama doesn't appear in SkySafari's list, make sure it's in PNG format, and that its name ends with ".png". Make sure its dimensions are 2048 x 1024, and that's a 32-bit RGBA color image with an alpha (transparency) layer. If all else fails, you can email your image to Simulation Curriculum technical support, and we can try to debug it for you.
Thanks!
Hi Keiron, thanks for the reply but how to alter it so North is true without making a brand new landscape?
Paul, I don't think you need to make a brand dew landscape. But you will have to edit your current panorama and ensure that you are starting with north (0°) at the left edge.
Thanks!
FYI, on MacOS there is no longer any such thing as iTunes, and the 2020 method using iTunes above is no longer valid.
Instead, plug your iPhone or iPad into the computer using a USB to lightning cable, then open both the iPhone and the folder containing the new horizon image in the Finder.
On the iPhone, under "Files" open the SkySafari folder. Drag and drop the new horizon image from your Mac into the SkySafari folder on the iPhone. Then click "Sync."
It works great!
Hi,
How do I orient a custom landscape to the north? My photo has north right in the middle of the image, I use photoshop, how can I set north to the left side?
Gustavo,
Edit your current panorama and ensure that you are starting with north (0°) at the left edge.
Thanks!
Hi,
I just did it, and I have to tell you, it is a pain, since you both have to move the picture and the transparency mask.
Both Stellarium and KStars on the desktop has an option to set the azimuth offset of the landscape image (and the default for them is north in the middle of the image). A similar setting would be very nice in SkySafari.