=========================================================== WHATSNEW.TXT =========================================================== CyberSky 3.0.1 Shareware Version ----------------------------------------------------------- WHAT'S NEW IN CYBERSKY 3.0 ----------------------------------------------------------- New and improved features of CyberSky 3.0 include: - MORE VIEWPOINT OPTIONS. You can view the sky in any direction, even toward a point that's below the horizon. Double-click a point to move it to the center of the sky chart. Or, right-click a point and select the Center command on the popup menu that appears. Use buttons on the View toolbar to scroll the sky chart. Use the arrow keys by themselves to scroll the sky chart in large steps, or with a Ctrl key to scroll in smaller steps. - MORE ZOOM LEVELS. You can view the sky at zoom levels between 1X and 8192X. Use buttons on the View toolbar to zoom in or out. Or, press the PgUp or PgDn key. Or, right-click the sky chart and select the Zoom In or Zoom Out command from the popup menu that appears. Use the Zoom Level command on the View menu to set the zoom level to a specific value. Use the 1 through 0 keys to set the zoom level to 1X through 512X. Use the mouse wheel to zoom in or out if you have a Microsoft IntelliMouse or similar mouse with a wheel. - SEARCH CAPABILITY. Search for a star, constellation, deep sky object, solar system object, or point. Searching for an object moves it to the center of the sky chart, even if it is below the horizon. Searching for a solar system object also locks the object to the center of the sky chart. Use the buttons on the Search toolbar to quickly search for solar system objects. - MANY MORE STARS. CyberSky includes 80,179 stars to magnitude 8.5, almost 10 times the number of stars included in previous versions of the program. Stars are displayed using smaller symbols, but you can select to use larger symbols if you wish. The limiting magnitude value for stars can be adjusted automatically as you zoom in or out. Stars can be labeled with their magnitudes. - MANY MORE DEEP SKY OBJECTS. CyberSky includes 472 deep sky objects to magnitude 8.5, almost five times the number of deep sky objects included in previous versions of the program. Deep sky objects are displayed in correct sizes and orientations whenever possible. The limiting magnitude value for deep sky objects is independent of the value for stars, and this value can be adjusted automatically as you zoom in or out. - SAVE BITMAP COMMAND. The Save Bitmap command on the File menu allows you to save sky charts as 8- or 24-bit bitmaps. The Bitmap Setup dialog box allows you to select a standard bitmap size, useful for making Windows wallpaper, or to specify another set of dimensions. - MORE PRINTING OPTIONS. The Page Setup dialog box, displayed when you use the Print or Print Preview command on the File menu, allows you to specify the sizes of margins around a printed sky chart, and whether to print in black and white or in color. The sizes of margins are specified in inches or centimeters, depending on the preference specified under Regional Settings in the Windows Control Panel. - MORE TOOLBARS. The View, Animation, Chart, and Search toolbars give you easy access to many of the program's most frequently used features. The positions of all toolbars are remembered between sessions. - DATA BAR. The panes in the Data bar display the local and universal time and other information about the sky chart. Click a pane to access a dialog box or perform a related command. For example, click the pane that displays the local time to display the Local Time dialog box. The position of the Data bar is remembered between sessions. - POINTER BAR. The panes in the Pointer bar display the equatorial coordinates, horizontal coordinates, and constellation under the mouse pointer. Click the equatorial or horizontal coordinates pane to turn the equatorial or horizontal coordinate system grid on or off, or the constellation pane to access the Constellations dialog box. The position of the Pointer bar is remembered between sessions. - CHART MODE OPTIONS. Use the Atlas Mode command on the Chart menu to align the sky chart with the equatorial coordinate system. Use the Horizon Mode command on the Chart menu to align the sky chart with the horizontal coordinate system. - OBJECT DISKS. Solar system objects are displayed as disks with correct sizes, orientations, and phases whenever possible. You can see the moon move across the sun during a solar eclipse, and can observe transits of Mercury and Venus. You can also see the phases of Mercury and Venus as these planets orbit the sun. - GALILEAN SATELLITES. The four Galilean satellites of Jupiter, called Io, Europe, Ganymede, and Callisto, are displayed whenever you zoom in to view the planet at 256X or higher magnification. - SATURN'S RINGS. The rings of Saturn are displayed whenever you zoom in to view the planet at 1024X or higher magnification. - OBJECT PATHS. Use the Object Paths command on the Chart menu to display the paths of solar system objects across the sky. The positions of objects along their paths can be marked and labeled with the date and time. - LOCK COMMAND. The Lock command on the Animation menu allows you to lock the most recently selected or searched for solar system object to the center of the sky chart. You can also right-click on a solar system object and select the Lock command on the popup menu that appears. - LOCALIZED DATE AND TIME FORMATS. Local and universal dates can be entered and displayed in month/day/year, day/month/year, or year/month/day format, and local times can be entered and displayed in 12-hour or 24-hour format. The formats used are based on the preferences specified under Regional Settings in the Windows Control Panel. - SEASONS DATA DIALOG BOX. The Seasons Data dialog box, accessible from the Data menu, displays the local times, universal times, and Julian dates at which the four seasons of the year begin, as well as the duration of each season. - TWILIGHT DATA DIALOG BOX. The Twilight Data dialog box, accessible from the Data menu, displays the local times at which astronomical, nautical, and civil dawn and dusk begin and end, and the times at which sunrise and sunset occur. This data is displayed for the three previous days, the current day, and the three following days. - LUNAR PHASES DATA DIALOG BOX. The Lunar Phases Data dialog box, accessible from the Data menu, displays the local times and Julian dates at the beginning of new moon, first quarter, full moon, and last quarter phases. - COPY BUTTONS. The program's data dialog boxes contain Copy buttons that allow you to copy the data they display onto the clipboard. After the data has been copied onto the clipboard, it can be pasted into an editor or word processor, and then saved to a file or printed. - POPUP MENUS. You can right-click on an object or point in the sky chart to display a popup menu. The menu may be used to move the object or point to the center of the sky chart, view data about the object, lock the object to the center of the sky chart, zoom in or out, or turn full screen mode on or off. - ANGULAR SEPARATION DISPLAY. You can display the angular separation between two points on the sky chart by using the mouse. To measure an angular separation, move the pointer over the first point, click and hold down the left mouse button, drag the pointer to the second point, and then release the mouse button. The angular separation will be displayed in the status bar until another message takes its place.