Abstract:  The technique of the star map simulation is widely used to test star identification algorithms and the performance of star sensor on the ground．A novel approach of star map simulation is put forward in this paper, considering satellite orbit motion and effect of image shift．The simulation procedure consists of four steps： firstly， searching the navigator stars that appearing in the field of view throughout the whole sky. Dividing index method is proposed to accelerate the selecting velocity. Secondly, the accurate positions of selected guide stars on the image plane of star sensor are derived by constructing a pinhole model. Thirdly, gray values for simulating star image pixels are evaluated according to the 2D Gaussian distribution law．In order to simulate the star image accurately and actually， the image shift should be considered．Finally, noises made by stray light and circuits are added in order to simulate the orbit environment vividly. In a world, the approach proposed here is with the merit of high speed, nice accuracy, and good reality and so on.

Key words: star map simulation, satellite orbit motion, image shift