Steve Costa
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stevec72.bsky.social
Steve Costa
@stevec72.bsky.social
14 followers 19 following 56 posts
I make digital things, and sometimes actual things.

Explore our stellar neighborhood in 3D: https://starcarta.app
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stevec72.bsky.social
Try it on 83 Leonis, a binary 59 ly away with two planets on the B star: starcarta.app/o/tQlX
October 11, 2025 at 1:39 AM
stevec72.bsky.social
I actually have a brief thread on that here bsky.app/profile/stev.... I love when SciFi meets science.
stevec72.bsky.social Steve Costa @stevec72.bsky.social · Jul 13
So why do stars have multiple names like HD 122303, Gliese 536, HIP 68469, Luyten 979-36, or telephone book entries like Gaia DR1 3657653144944789504? Let's dig into it... starcarta.app?q=HD%20122303

(1/6) #space #starcarta #asronomy
October 10, 2025 at 12:55 AM
stevec72.bsky.social
1 AU Graph
Orbits can be hard to compare. Toggle a dotted circle at Earth’s orbit (1 AU) around stars to make comparisons easier. Helps show scale since stars give few clues about size. (4/4) Try it out at starcarta.app
September 26, 2025 at 12:25 AM
stevec72.bsky.social
Tag Highlighting!
Click a Tag to highlight all Star Systems linked to it, then click a System name to travel there. Get a good perspective of the set in 3D space around us. (3/4)
September 26, 2025 at 12:24 AM
stevec72.bsky.social
First: Tags!
Add a tag to any star system to categorize it by feature (Gas Planets, Rings), multiplicity (Binary, Triple), or movie franchise (Alien, Star Trek, Dune). Anything you like! (2/4)
September 26, 2025 at 12:24 AM
stevec72.bsky.social
Whelp, time to see how the reboot is coming along then. youtube.com/@undergradst...
YouTube
Watch our attempt to resurrect UNDERGRADS, a long gone (but somehow not forgotten) cult, animated series in the form of a feature length film. Join creator Pete Williams as he shares the Good, the Bad, the Ugly - and the Boring Technical Stuff - on his epic journey to make an animated movie from his basement!
youtube.com
September 7, 2025 at 12:37 AM
stevec72.bsky.social
Let me know if I missed any, and enjoy exploring these systems and more in Starcarta.
starcarta.app
(6/6)
Starcarta
Explore the stars and planets of our local 200ly space in 3D. Discover star systems, planets, and their unique features. Search for celestial objects and learn about their properties in Starcarta.
starcarta.app
July 13, 2025 at 1:06 AM
stevec72.bsky.social
The IAU now names stars from many cultures: Xuange (Chinese), Poerava (Māori), Larawag (Wardaman), Titawin (Berber).
iau.org/WG280/WG280/...

starcarta.app?q=Lamda%20Bo...

starcarta.app?q=HD%20221287

starcarta.app?q=Epsilon%20...

starcarta.app?q=Upsilon%20...
(5/6)
Starcarta
Explore the stars and planets of our local 200ly space in 3D. Discover star systems, planets, and their unique features. Search for celestial objects and learn about their properties in Starcarta.
starcarta.app
July 13, 2025 at 1:06 AM
stevec72.bsky.social
Some stars like Vega, Alcor, and Muphrid have classical names from Arabic, Latin, or Greek roots, passed down through history.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...

starcarta.app?q=Eta%20Bo%C...
(4/6)
July 13, 2025 at 1:06 AM
stevec72.bsky.social
Bayer names use Greek/Latin letters or numbers + constellation names, like Sigma Boötis. Originally, letters followed brightness: alpha = brightest, beta = 2nd, etc. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayer_d...

starcarta.app?q=Sigma%20Bo...
(3/6)
July 13, 2025 at 1:06 AM
stevec72.bsky.social
Stars named like HD 20128311 follow a “catalog prefix + number” format. Here, HD = Henry Draper Catalogue, and the number is the star’s entry in it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_ca...

starcarta.app?q=HD%20128311
(2/6)
July 13, 2025 at 1:06 AM