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I’ve added some modifications to the widely known “xplanet-gnome.sh” script.

There are now the following new options:

– init

Downloads some nicer day and night images from a NASA site. (This option is needed only once.)

– clouds

Downloads the cloud images via Coral content distribution network and only if the cloud file is older than three hours. (Best set up via crontab.)

It also changes the day images according to the month.

The requirements are:
for Ubunutu

• xplanet
• xplanet-images
• imagemagick.

for Fedora

• xplanet
• ImageMagick

The script has to be placed under $HOME/.xplanet/

A short HOWTO:

mkdir ~/.xplanet
mv xplanet-gnome.sh ~/.xplanet/
cd ~/.xplanet
chmod +x xplanet-gnome.sh
./xplanet-gnome.sh --init

(this can take a while depending on your internet connection and processor power)

Add the following cronjob

*/15 * * * * ~/.xplanet/xplanet-gnome.sh --clouds >/dev/null 2>&1

and add the following command to System->Preferences->Startup Applications->Startup Programs

/home/<username>/.xplanet/xplanet-gnome.sh --start

done :)

(Of course, you may want to customize some of the options in the script, e.g. your resolution.)

Here’s the script:
For Ubunut/Gnome 2.x xplanet-gnome.sh
For Fedora 15/Gnome 3.x xplanet-gnome.sh

And a sample picture:

Updates/Changelog:
0.23: initial fork from original xplanet-gnome (2010-05-12)
- added option to download fancy images from NASA site
- added option to download cloud-images
- change background according to month
0.42: some additions (2011-01-30)
- translated german parts to english
- added check for required binaries in –init
- resize and cut the image to propper resolution (so there’s no scaling to be done by Gnome)

I've added some modifications to the widely known "xplanet-gnome.sh" script. There are now the following new options: -- init Downloads some nicer day and night images from a NASA site. (This option is needed only once.) -- clouds Downloads the cloud images via Coral content distribution network and only if the cloud file is older than three hours. (Best set up via crontab.) It also changes the day images according to the month. The requirements are: for Ubunutu xplanet xplanet-images imagemagick. for Fedora xplanet ImageMagick The script has to be placed under $HOME/.xplanet/ A short HOWTO: mkdir ~/.xplanet mv xplanet-gnome.sh ~/.xplanet/ cd ~/.xplanet chmod +x xplanet-gnome.sh ./xplanet-gnome.sh --init (this can take a while depending on your internet connection and processor power) Add the following cronjob */15 * * * * ~/.xplanet/xplanet-gnome.sh --clouds >/dev/null 2>&1 and add the following command to System->Preferences->Startup Applications->Startup Programs /home/<username>/.xplanet/xplanet-gnome.sh --start done :) (Of course, you may want to customize some of the options in the script, e.g. your resolution.) Here's the script: For Ubunut/Gnome 2.x xplanet-gnome.sh For Fedora 15/Gnome 3.x xplanet-gnome.sh And a sample picture: Updates/Changelog: 0.23: initial fork from original xplanet-gnome (2010-05-12) - added option to download fancy images from NASA site - added option to download cloud-images - change background according to month 0.42: some additions (2011-01-30) - translated german parts to english - added check for required binaries in --init - resize and cut the image to propper resolution (so there's no scaling to be done by Gnome)