Step by step

Step 1

Find the Stellarium landscapes folder: C:\Program Files\Stellarium\ landscapes\. Copy one of the landscape folders and rename it to match your new landscape. Edit the landscape.ini file using Notepad to match the name and location of your new landscape.

Step 2

Take a set of overlapping images of your location, capturing 360° of horizon, leaving plenty of overlap between them. Use an image mosaic software such as Microsoft Image Composite Editor (ICE) to stitch the images together to create a flat panorama, and save.

Step 3

Use image-processing software to create an image 2,044 x 1,276 pixels with a transparent background. Open and paste your panorama into a new layer. Use an eraser tool to delete above your horizon to make it transparent so Stellarium’s sky can be seen.

Step 4

Use the clone tool to fill all parts of the image below the horizon, but don’t flatten the image: save it as a PNG file into your new folder. This will be your ‘maptex’ file mentioned in the landscape.inf file. Make sure the PNG file name is the same.

Step 5

Open Stellarium. Your new landscape should be accessible by pressing ‘F4 (for Sky and Viewing Options menu) > Landscape’. If the graphic of your new horizon is too high or low, you may need to go back and adjust the landscape’s vertical position in the PNG image.

Step 6

If the cardinal points of the compass are not orientated correctly to what you see in your view, adjust the value of angle_rotatez in the landscape.ini file. This may take a bit of trial and error in order to achieve the correct orientation.