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HELPS.DAN
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1991-12-23
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DANCE 2.5 ON-LINE HELP 12-15-91
CONTENTS:
0. The Dance Sampler
1. Control Bar Options
2. Using Find to Locate Things
3. The Main Menus
4. The Utility Menus
5. The Access Menu
6. Configuration Guide
7. Viewing the Earth Up Close
8. Specifying an Earth observing site
9. Pointers for Accurate Orbital Simulations
10. Printing the graphics screen
11. Screen junk on return from Access or Help
12. Constellation Abbreviations- press [End]
Use Page Up/Down, Home and End to move through the Help file. Hold
cursor keys down to move by lines. Press ESC key to return to Dance.
PRESS [PageDn] TO GET STARTED WITH THE DANCE SAMPLER...
0. THE DANCE SAMPLER
The Dance Sampler is the full program with the following modifications:
* A script-reading capability for easy viewing of pre-selected simulations.
* Close-up views of planets and satellites limited to Earth and Saturn.
* Except for the script initial date/time, date input is not accepted.
* The main asteroid, comet, and DSO files are not included.
USING THE SAMPLER
Press [Home] to get a menu of the script contents. Move the light blue bar
over the desired example and press [Enter].
Press [PageUp] and [PageDn] from the graphics screen to move sequentially
through the example `pages' of the script.
Press [Esc] when viewing the examples to suspend the script mode. You can
return to the script with the Home or Page keys.
The remainder of this file is a quick-reference guide for the full program.
Review the control options and operation suggestions below. You can press [End]
for a list of constellation abbreviations, which are used with the Find option.
The Configuration options are operable in the sampler, but can't be saved.
1. CONTROL BAR OPTIONS
Date -Enter initial date for simulation, or press [C] for current PC time-
(in which case site should be local). Year period from -4680 to 9999.
Format mm/dd.hh/yyyy or dd.hh/mm/yyyy- configuration selectable.
Renew -Erase/refresh the screen.
Skylns -Toggle on/off all screen lines (orbits, constellations, grids);
continuously variable using mouse or shift (VGA only).
Pace -Vary simulation speed/step size. Too fast may compromise accuracy.
The slowest setting is `true' time. Negative goes backwards in time.
Zoom -View magnification. Maximum is object-dependent from Earth. Lowest
`Skymap' setting from Earth gives special celestial wide-view.
(Ins) -Use Insert key to toggle 1°/ 5° change increments. Highlighted for 1°.
View -View point coordinates, direction towards which you are viewing.
Ecliptic latitude, longitude from space; declin and rt asc in sky.
(Loc) -ScrollLock locks screen to View/Zoom changes. Highlighted when locked.
Access -Access to simulation data/control and database files.
Find -Use to locate objects, horizon, etc. See FIND below for details.
Invert -Allows inversion of planets for telescope view. Arrow points north.
Label -Temporarily labels objects of all kinds for identification.
Star, constellation, and DSO labels are orbit color, so use Skylns.
Menu -Main menu for more operating options. Context sensitive to the
current simulation mode. Provides utility menu with More options.
Bar -Toggles control bar on/off; varies continuously just as Skylns (VGA).
ESC -Escape key generally allows backing out of current activity.
2. USING FIND TO LOCATE THINGS
Find (object) puts the specified object at the find center. Include `fix' to
lock on planet, sun, moon. THREE LETTERS are sufficient for most things.
Find (FIX) (PLANET, SUN, MOON)- include fix to lock screen on body.
Find (CONSTELLATION)- use 3-letter abrev. which are listed at end of HELP.
Find (ASTEROID or COMET)- use current label (i.e. Halley or 1986II).
Find (STAR NAME)- finds any of the 50 stars whose names appear on the screen.
Find (DSO)- use the 3-character labels used in the DSO files. DSOs must be on.
Find (CD) HORIZON- cardinal directions are: north,ne,east,se,south,sw,west,nw.
examples: Find east hor- see what's rising; Find sw hor- see Venus setting.
Find ZENITH- straight up view for current site and instant. Use with Skymaps.
Fine /(ref.file)- on-line access to reference files. Example: Find /sites
will bring up list of city site coordinates.
(Note: horizons and zenith are `of the instant', so simulation is paused.)
3. MAIN MENU OPTIONS (sm=space mode, pm=planet mode, em=earth sky mode)
Target&Lock -Provides box cursor to target and lock-on planets, sun, moon.
(Find and Planets menu are generally preferred for this.)
Tracking Off -Disengage from object tracking. (from pm)
Constel Draw -Toggle for drawing constellations.
Celest Grid -Draws celestial grid centered on Earth (sm) or in Earth's sky.
The ecliptic (path the Sun follows) is also shown (from em).
Planet Grid -Draws celestial (orientation) grid for tracked planet. (pm)
Earth's Sky -Change to ground based viewpoint. Observer's latitude and
longitude is as specified in Access Configure. (from sm)
Space View -Return to space from Earth. (from em)
Asteroid Plot-Plot the asteroids, position for the date. Break off with Esc.
Planets -Select/track on any planet. Close-up of Earth available from a
sky view or using menu Earth View when tracking Earth from space.
DS Objects -Select classes of deep space objects for viewing. Label then
active. Refer to Access DSO files. Use DSO menu to turn off.
More Options -Mode-sensitive utility menu with additional options.
Help -To access this operation guide.
eXit Dance -Exit the program and save the current simulation to resume file.
4. UTILITY MENU OPTIONS
Resume -Resume simulations by entering file name. The default file
`Resume' is the simulation automatically saved using eXit Dance.
Save Status -Saves current simulation. File name requested. Simulations may
be resumed from either the Access screen or this menu Resume option.
Time Tics -Places interval marks on the traces of orbiting objects.
Enter interval in days. Enter date with which to begin.
Turn off by entering 0. Tics are orbit color, so use Skylns.
Draw Orbits -Toggle on/off orbit drawing for asteroids/comets. The path is
still traced. Planet orbits are unaffected.
SubEcliptic -Toggle to show portion of orbits below ecliptic plane. Adjust
lower portion with Skylns. Not for satellites except Moon.
Move Center -Move primary object (sun, or planet in pm) on the screen.
Select, move cursor, and click. Pressing `C' when active will
place at center of screen.
Move Find Pos-Like Move center, but for convenient Find location in sky.
Print Labels -Type temporary screen labels, notes for printing with screen.
Select, type label, click, move T to desired location, click.
Esc when done. Erase mistakes by moving T to left with BkSp.
Extended IBM characters (ä,ñ,etc.) using (alt)+ASCII number.
Site Coords -Specify the viewing location on Earth. Enter in indicated format,
include comma. West longitudes and south latitudes are negative.
Cloud Cover -Toggle Earth's clouds on/off when observing up close.
5. ACCESS MENU OPTIONS (Bar select or use Hot key)
Return -Use to return to the simulator. Esc will also do it.
Satellites -Appears when tracking a planet. Displays satellite information to
compare, deactivate satellites, select and goto another system.
Object Status-Access to asteroid/comet information and selection screen.
Esc to return to access screen.
Resume Files -List resume files to select, edit, add descriptive header, etc.
Comet Files -List comet files. File names indicate period. LOOKUP provides a
lookup search by comet name (i.e. 'halley').
Asteroid Files-List asteroid files. File names indicate number range. LOOKUP
provides search by asteroid name (only first 4 characters used).
Deep Sky Objs-DSO files by object type; for reference only (objs not selected
from files). Label in 1st column used for FIND and LABEL.
Planet On/Off-Deactivate irrelevant planets to speed up simulations. Toggle
with Enter. Use ESC to return to this menu.
Julian Calc -Use to convert dates between the Julian day and calendar date,
either direction. Julian day must be greater than 10000.
Configure -Put configuration option in file box for inspection/modification.
6. CONFIGURATION GUIDE
Obs Latitude -Earth observation latitude. Particularly important for lunar
phenomena. 90°N to -90°S. Use with shift for 0.1° increments.
Obs Longitude-Observation longitude from 180°W to 180°E. Shift for 0.1°.
Printer Type -Supports screen dumps to HP Laserjet, 9 pin, or 24 pin Epson-
compatible printers and IBM Proprinter.
Scrn Dump Res-Screen dump resolution for laser printers. 75, 100, 150, 300 dpi.
(Higher resolutions produce smaller images on the page.)
DOS Path -File path that Dance will use for its data files. Doesn't
change default path.
Hour Offset -Time zone is determined by Obs longitude (local time). You can
use offset to allow for daylight savings or time zone irregular-
ities, or for UT on clock (e.g. +5 offset for UT from N.Y.).
Display Type -Dance determines your graphics type. Provided for rare circum-
stances for which it may be desirable to force a different mode.
Screen Save -Fast graphics screen restore on return from Access, Help. May
cause screen junk if graphics adapter not fully IBM compatible.
Keyboard Speed-Vary keyboard/cursor speed 0-10. Fast 10 nice for cursor keys.
Date Format -For our friends who require day before month. Your choice.
View Lat Sens-Should negative latitudes correspond to up or down cursor/
mouse movement? Your choice.
Save Changes -Make Dance come up with your configuration by saving on disk in
the DANCE.CFG file. Temporary changes won't affect those saved.
7. VIEWING THE EARTH UP CLOSE
Close views of the rotating Earth can be seen from the `Apollo' vantage
point; 250,000 km (about 150,000 miles) from Earth. To go there:
1) if viewing the solar system from afar, select `3 Earth' from the Planets
menu, and then `Earth View' from the main menu.
2) if viewing from the Earth (the sky view), just select `3 Earth' from the
Planets menu.
You can zoom up to 2X on the Earth. You can get a cloudless view by
toggling `Cloud Cover' off on the utility menu. You can return to where you
came from (far space or sky view) by pressing ESC. You can select the
alternate vantage point (Earth's sky or Space view) from the main menu.
8. SPECIFYING AN EARTH OBSERVING SITE
1. For a list of worldwide city latitude/longitude use: Find /sites
2. Enter using Site Coord(inates) on 2nd menu. Use comma after latitude,
and enter south latitudes and west longitudes as negative.
(You can add other site coordinates to this file- see manual.)
9. POINTERS FOR ACCURATE ORBITAL SIMULATIONS
1. Observe EPOCH CURRENCY for asteroids and comets (pages 2-16,17). What this
refers to is that, because of perturbations and other effects, the orbital
description for these objects is accurate only for dates not too different
from the epoch calculation date for asteroids (appears in the main files
as part of the orbital elements), or for comets, dates not too far from the
perihelion dates with the orbital elements.
2. If a comet or asteroid is initialized on a date when it is close to Jupiter
or other major perturber (including the Sun at a comet perihelion), there
may well be some additional error introduced since the calculation for the
initial position and velocity assumes no perturbations. In the case of a
periodic comet, initializing near aphelion is generally good.
3. Use a Pace that provides a small step size between consecutive simulation
calculations. A good rule of thumb is a minimum of 1000 steps per orbit.
At a pace of 1000 there are 240 steps/day, at 10,000 24 steps/day, etc. So
for a satellite with a period of 1 day, max pace = 200. See 1-23 and 5-16.
10. PRINTING THE GRAPHICS SCREEN
Dumping the graphics screen, dot-for-pixel, is supported for printers
compatible with HP laserjet, Epson (9 and 24 pin), and IBM Proprinters.
The default printer port is assumed. Printer type and laserjet resolution
should be selected on the Access Configure screen. To dump the graphics:
1. Use Move Center to compose scene as you wish- dump will be centered.
2. Press Ctrl-Print Screen.. a blue border, the print window, will appear.
3. Adjust print window with cursor keys.
4. Press Enter to commence printing. Use Esc if you change your mind.
11. SCREEN JUNK ON RETURN FROM ACCESS OR HELP
The fast graphics screen restore routine may produce temporary junk near
screen top with graphics adapters not fully adhering to the IBM standard.
If this is too objectionable, set Screen Save OFF on Access/configure.
12. CONSTELLATION ABBREVIATIONS
And Andromeda Cir Circinus Lac Lacerta PsA Piscis Austrinus
Ant Antlia Col Columba Leo Leo Pup Puppis
Aps Apus Com Coma Berenices LMi Leo Minor Pyx Pyxis
Aqr Aquarius CrA Corona Australis Lep Lepus Ret Reticulum
Aql Aquila CrB Corona Borealis Lib Libra Sge Sagitta
Ara Ara Crv Corvus Lup Lupus Sgr Sagittarius
Ari Aries Crt Crater Lyn Lynx Sco Scorpius
Aur Auriga Cru Crux Lyr Lyra Scl Sculptor
Boo Boötes Cyg Cygnus Men Mensa Sct Scutum
Cae Caelum Del Delphinus Mic Microscopium Ser Serpens
Cam Camelopardalis Dor Dorado Mon Monoceros Sex Sextans
Cnc Cancer Dra Draco Mus Musca Tau Taurus
CVn Canes Venatici Equ Equuleus Nor Norma Tel Telescopium
CMa Canis Major Eri Eridanus Oct Octans Tri Triangulum
CMi Canis Minor For Fornax Oph Ophiuchus TrA Triang.Australe
Cap Capricornus Gem Gemini Ori Orion Tuc Tucana
Car Carina Gru Grus Pav Pavo UMa Ursa Major
Cas Cassiopeia Her Hercules Peg Pegasus UMi Ursa Minor
Cen Centaurus Hor Horologium Per Perseus Vel Vela
Cep Cepheus Hya Hydra Phe Phoenix Vir Virgo
Cet Cetus Hyi Hydrus Pic Pictor Vol Volans
Cha Chamaeleon Ind Indus Psc Pisces Vul Vulpecula