Windows Download

Step 1: On a Windows PC (not a phone!) download my freeware "Paloma's Orrery" solar system and star visualization application from my Google Drive: 

• • Note 1 (Google Drive): Because the zip file is large (~469 MB), Google Drive will probably say: "Couldn't preview file. This file is too large to preview" Click "Download" to proceed.

    • This will take you to a second page that says, "Google Drive can't scan this file for viruses. palomas_orrery_distributable_12-13-25.zip (469M) is too large for Google to scan for viruses. Would you still like to download the file? If you trust me 😄, click "Download anyway". The download will begin immediately.

    • Windows Defender will automatically scan the file. This usually takes about 10-15 seconds. Important: When the download finishes, it means the scan passed and the file is safe on your computer.

    • Click on either the icon at the top "Open downloads folder" or the one to the right "Show in folder" -- don't click "Open file" because you need to extract it first! 

    • Move the zip file to a folder where you want to create the "Paloma's Orrery" application, such as in a subfolder of your "Documents". You should create this subfolder first. I have not automated this process. 

Step 2: Windows: Unzip (Crucial!) Once the download finishes, do not just double-click the zip  file! You must "extract" it first so the program can find its data files.

1. Open your folder where you saved the zip file.

2. Right-click on the palomas_orrery.zip file.

3. Select "Extract All..." from the menu. The full extracted application requires 1.34 GB (4,187 files, 624 folders). This is Windows bloat! My original Python code only takes 847 MB (263 files, 5 folders), but creating the executable file for Windows adds the rest. 

4. A window will pop up asking where to save it. Browse to the folder where you want to create the application, it could be the same folder where you saved the zip file. Then click the "Extract" button at the bottom.

   • Why do I have to do this? If you just double-click the zip, Windows shows you a "preview." If you try to run the program from the preview, it will crash because it can't reach the data. Extracting it creates a real folder, palomas_orrery, where everything works.

   • Windows will show it is extracting 4,812 items (files plus folders) to your computer (Windows bloat)! 

Step 3: Run the Program

1. You will see the newly unzipped folder, palomas_orrery. Open it:

2. Double-click the START_HERE.bat file. This batch file opens the main menu. 

• You will see a Security Warning: "The publisher could not be verified. Are you sure you want to run this software?" This basically means I do not have an official Windows certificate. (See Step 4, below) You basically have to trust me and Windows Defender to protect you .... 😁 If you do, click "Run". 

• A Windows command screen will open up with the menu. Basically, there are two applications and a user guide. 

  • Type 1 to launch the Solar System Orrery (palomas_orrery.exe), or 

  • 2 to launch the Star Visualization (star_visualization.exe), or 

  • 3 to read the User Guide (README.txt). (Note this "3" option does not work in MacOS, just click on the README file to open it.)

• Alternatively, you can double-click on either the palomas_orrery or star_visualization application icons directly to launch them.

• I recommend that you start by running the Solar System Orrery (type "1" and press "enter"). A Windows command screen will open that runs palomas_orrery.exe. Alternatively, you can run either application by double clicking on its icon from the palomas_orrery folder. 

• Here is where the fun starts! Explore the menu and the visualizations. You can't hurt the program from the graphical user interface. Try stuff! Some ideas: 

  • A basic visualization of the inner planets: 

    1. select Mercury, Venus, and Earth from the menu. 

    2. Click the button, "Plot Entered Date" (now). 

    3. You will get a dialog box that says, "Update Orbital Elements?" Basically, this is asking you if you want to fetch updated orbital data from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at Caltech in Pasadena! Of course you do! 😆 Click "Yes" to all three planets. 

    4. The program will then generate the plot. 

    5. It will then ask you, "Would you like to save this visualization?" 

       1. If you would, click "Yes". 

       2. It will then ask you, "Chose save format". 

       3. "Yes" will save the image as a static PNG image. 

       4. "No" will save the entire interactive Plotly visualization as an html file (very large). 

       5. If you click "Yes" it will then open your current folder for you to chose where to save the image file. 

       6. Chose a folder and click "Save" to save the file, which is conveniently labelled with the date and time of the plot (rendered accurately for this time or "epoch" from JPL!) 

       7. Once you have saved the image or html plot, if you wish, explore the visualization! 

    6. Notice that the plot is created as a temporary html Plotly file in your default browser. 

    7. If you click the "house" icon that reads, "Reset camera to default" it will shift the view from a top - down x-y plot to a 3d x-y-z plot. Try it. This shows you the orbits of the planets in the ecliptic frame of reference. 

    8. Take a look at the legend for explanations of what you are looking at. The legend can be used to deselect traces that you want to remove or reselect them again. 

    9. If you hover over the objects, you will see hovertext explanations. 

    10. There are also buttons at the bottom that will take you to explanatory websites, mostly from NASA.

  • Try the same object selection but this time press "Animate Months". 

    1. This will generate a plot that animates the movement of these planets over 28 months (default, you can change this). 

    2. Click "Play" to see the animation. The positions of the planets will move month to month. The positions are accurate with respect to the ecliptic frame (see "Coordinate System" box) because they are fetched in real time from JPL. 

  • Try other visualizations. 

    1. There are many options. You can't go wrong. You can select planets, moons, asteroids, comets, dwarf planets, exoplanets, earth science (home planet), and space missions! 

    2. You can also select solar system and planetary structures. 

    3. You can change the center of the plot from the Sun to a planet to see it's moons! Try more options! 

  • When you are ready, run "Star Visualization".

    1. This allows you to plot views of our stellar neighborhood in 3d or 2d selected by distance in light-years or by visual magnitude (apparent brightness). Try these out! 

    2. The 3d plots are plots of the stars in a 3d grid relative to the Sun. 

    3. The 2d chart is a scientific visualization of the same stars plotted by temperature (degrees Kelvin) versus luminosity (proportional to the Sun).

Step 4: Important on First run of either palomas_orrery.exe or star_visualization.exe: you will get a "Windows Protected Your PC" Warning Because this is a brand-new independent program (and not from a giant company like Microsoft or Adobe), Windows doesn't recognize it yet. You will see a blue window that says "Windows protected your PC."

1. Don't panic! This is standard for new software.

2. Click the underlined text that says "More info".

3. A new button will appear. Click "Run anyway".

4. Paloma's Orrery (either the solar orrery or star visualization) will now launch! 

💡 Why am I seeing this? Is it safe? Yes, it is safe.

• It's not a virus: If Windows Defender found a virus, it would delete the file immediately on download. This blue screen is just a standard warning for "Unknown Publishers."

• It's just new: Because this is a free, independent program created by a hobbyist (and not a large corporation), it doesn't have a commercial digital certificate. Windows simply doesn't recognize it yet.

• Trust the Source: You are downloading this directly from the creator (Tony Quintanilla/Paloma's Orrery). If you have any questions or comments, please let me know, tonyquintanilla@gmail.com