I read a post on Cloudy Nights, comparing various programs including KStars and how deep they go. I'm not interested in such deep objects, I can't even image, but apparently (according to the respons below) KStars does miss out on a few things I could image. Would it be possible to add more ourselves in the future?

Who assumed that KStars does not allow you to add custom catalogs? You can add custom catalogs at any time. What are those open clusters and dark nebulas? Part of what catalog?

Ah interesting, maybe the poster didn't know that. I'll reply him with the way to do that. It's all based on this CloudyNights post: www.cloudynights.com/topic/542867-how-de...es-your-software-go/

Yes I saw that. We don't have that many galaxies yet because we lack PGC catalog and someone needs to work on importing that into KStars, so any volunteers welcome! For any other missing catalogs, please feel free to submit them and I'll review them for inclusion.

That CloudyNights post now has an entry with a list of stuff that works with KStars..

It would also be great to directly access online catalogs (vizier, simbad, etc.), either for download or for a simple search, as skychart does. I do not have the skills to do it, but if anyone can handle it (not just Jasem which is already very busy and who did so much for INDI / EKOS / kstars)

This was in fact one of the GSoC 2016 proposed projects for KStars but it didn't go through as we only got 2 slots while we requested 3. So hopefully someone can work on this feature in KStars soon.

Worked on extracting and formatting the PGC 2003 table to add in a custom catalog thanks to some help over in the CN forums. It seems that the catalog is too large for KStars to handle. KStars freezes up during the import and requires a force quit. After restarting KStars, the catalog shows up in the import catalog dialog and I can click the check mark but the data never shows up in an object search. Is the large file size a known limitation?

--Jon

You can't import huge catalogs such as PGC like that, they have to be in binary format and preallocated trixels, just like the USNO NOMAD catalog. This would take a bit of effort but if you're willing to go through it we can help you with some documentation.

I don't know if I have the skills to do it but I'd sure be willing to learn. I'd love to be able to contribute.....

--Jon