Windows binaries included as it is tradition now.
This release brings three new features, listed in my subjective order of importance:
- Point-mass-clouds. This is some sort of alternative I considered before implementing a full spherical-harmonics model, as an easier and ever so slightly more intuitive method for simulating the gravitational fields around objects that are lumpy in their density distributions, or are extremely oddly shaped, like contact-binary asteroids.
- Observation ephemeris calculation. One can now calculate the angular orientation and angular rates of a body as if it being observed from a selected point in space (or on Earth!). I have tested it by comparisons against JPL Horizons' ephemeris generation. Thank you, JPL Solar System Dynamics, very cool.
- Polar grid visualizer. This is just a convenient graphics update. I figured cartezian grids were not always the best idea for visualization around objects that are nearly spherical in shape.
In addition to the updates on the code, I wrote a short technical report that describes the mathematical background and numerical methods of OS3D. Take a look here!
Full Changelog: v1.10...v1.11
The auto-scaling polar grid.