IMPORTANT UPDATE INFORMATION FOR REDSHIFT 2.0.6 This file comes in five sections; you may not need to read them all, but everyone needs to read section 1: 1) Late-breaking information with this version of the software. 2) I'm a new user - where do I start? 3) What are the new features in RedShift 2.0? 4) How do I install RedShift (more detailed instructions than those found in your box)? 5.) Space Flight - what are the general principles? What do I need to know? --------------------------------- 1) Late-breaking information with your version of the software On your CD you will find the RedShift.PDF which is an online manual. Before opening it you must install the copy of Acrobat Reader that you will also find on the copy of your CD. If you're a new user, see 2) below, and then use the manual and tutorials to familiarize yourself with RedShift 2. You can print out this manual for easy reference while using the program. --------------------------------- 2) I'm a new user - where do I start? RedShift has an entire feature designed to help new users; it's called Tutorials. Do this: 1) Install RedShift (you have printed instructions in the box, and they are repeated in a little more detail at the end of this file) and double-click on its icon to open it. 2) Click Main Program or press Return. 3) Go to the Information menu and select Tutorials. 4) All the tutorials simultaneously teach you astronomy and how to use RedShift's controls and settings. If you want to reach straight into outer space, try going to Mars with Observe Mars from its moon, Phobos [13/20] (scroll down the list). Read also page 3 of the manual for other speedy ways to get the most out of RedShift. --------------------------------- 3) What are the new features in RedShift 2.0? RedShift 2 is the first major upgrade to RedShift. For those who have already used the program, this is a review of the new features. There's a quick summary on them on page 4 of the manual: here we are able to give a bit more detail and take you through some of them step by step. The opening screen for RedShift 2 offers you two options: Guided Tours and Main Program. To go to Guided Tours, the new astronomy tutor feature with music, sound and narration, click on the Guided Tours Button. The music is from "RedShift Suite", a space-age symphony, written about the original RedShift by composer Jean-Pierre Garatoni. RedShift Suite is available separately. Narration is by Hannah Gordon. • The ten Guided Tours introduce the basic principles of astronomy and help users find their way around the sky. Choose a tour by clicking on the picture of the tour you've selected. To experience the range of the Guided Tours try these three: History of the Solar System, Double Stars, and Find Your Way Around The Night Sky. Tip: You can advance quickly through each tour by clicking the Progress Bar at the bottom of the animation. Tours can be interrupted at any time to return to the Guided Tours interface screen by clicking the Back button located on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. This will return you to the Guided Tours Menu Screen. • RedShift 2 lets you hitchhike on satellites, space probes, comets, and asteroids with Space Flight. From the Guided Tours menu screen, click the Space Flight button in the left-hand corner. To ride Apollo 13 from Earth around the moon, scroll down the list. Click the folder to open the file. Click the settings file. Click OK. To start the flight, go to the Control Time Panel and click the far right arrow. To stop the ride, click on the Stop Button (the black square button in the Control Time Panel). To choose another experience, hit the Stop Button on the Control Time Panel and choose Space Flight again. Another great voyage is Lageos-1, a satellite that orbits Earth. Or try a ride on fragment nine of the Shoemaker-Levy comet as it crashes into Jupiter. (You'll see Jupiter loom close up, but don't worry, you won't see the crash!) Tip: If you click the Show me it Button, you'll get a different perspective of your adventure. Try Venera-13 both ways. Venera-13 is a space probe that was launched from Earth to Venus. Watch the orbital paths (click Show me it) or experience the flight (click Locate me on it). Remember, because these are being calculated in real time, and the distances the objects are traveling are enormous, the flights can take a while. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride! Once you have finished with the Space Flight feature, select Default Settings from the Controls Menu. This will return you to a general view of the sky. (If the command is dimmed, close all the controls and settings panels open.) • From the general view of the sky (the default settings) pull down Display from the Main Menu Bar and choose Object Filters. This opens a dialog box that lets you control the display of the various objects you can see in the sky. Click the Stars Tab; this brings the Stars page to the front. Drag the right Magnitude Slider down to the bottom of the scale (Magnitude 12) and switch off the Zoom-dependent filtering button. Then click OK. This procedure shows all 260,000 stars stored in RedShift 2 (the default operation, limits the number of stars displayed depending on their brightness and the current zoom setting). You will now see the sky covered with stars. Each star displayed is 'hot'. Clicking any one of them will result in an Object Window being displayed. This window links to the Penguin Dictionary of Astronomy. Tip: To change your view of the sky, first click the Constellations or Grids (or both) buttons on the control panel to the far left of the screen. This will help orientate you relative to your hemisphere. Then pull down Display from the Main Menu Bar and choose Telescope Views, and any sub-menu, eg Equatorial View, Inverted Equatorial, Ecliptic View or Galactic View. For a real change of pace, pull down Display and choose Atlas Views, Polar Projection. To return home go: Display/Telescope View/Horizon. Displaying nearly 260,000 objects slows down the speed at which RedShift can draw the sky, so you may want to check again the zoom dependent filtering box in the stars filter. Pull down Controls from the Main Menu Bar and choose Default Settings to restore the general view of the sky. • RedShift 2 displays a grid to show the plane of the ecliptic. This is an imaginary plane in our solar system in which nearly all of the planets orbit. The exception is Pluto, whose orbit is angled significantly relative to the ecliptic. From the general view, pull down Display from the Main Menu Bar and choose Markers. A dialog box will appear. Check Ecliptic Grid, Ecliptic Axes, and Show Markers. Click OK. To get a good view of the plane of the ecliptic, we will locate ourselves on Pluto, which is the outermost planet. Pull down Controls and select Choose Location. A dialog box will appear; select Pluto. Click the Center of Object button under Location. Click OK. Now pull down Controls and Center on Planet and choose Sun from the sub-menu. Finally, pull down Display and choose Object Filters. This opens the Object Filters dialog box. Choose Planets. In the Planets dialog, click the Icon Button (each planet will now display as an icon), check the Show Labels and Show Orbits Buttons, and then click the Labels and Orbits Buttons under Magnification to turn them on for every planet. Click OK. You can get a good idea of how close the Earth is to the Sun, relative to the outer planets, by slowly zooming in (press the + key repeatedly). There will be a slight delay as RedShift 2 calculates each frame in real time, and moves through the massive distance from Pluto to the inner planets! To see the next new feature, go to the general sky view by pulling down Controls and selecting Default Settings. • RedShift 2's Movie Gallery contains many new videos and animation sequences. From the general view of the sky, go to Information on the Main Menu Bar. Pull it down and go to the Movie Gallery. There are 20 movies to choose from. To get a range of what's available we suggest you view these three: Merger of Galaxies (it's number 2), Mechanism of a Nova (number 4), and Local Structure of the Universe (number 9). The movie of the shuttle Endeavor's Rescue of Intelsat IV is an excellent example of mankind's voyages into space. The movies of Venus are also quite spectacular. To select a movie, click on the Film Strip Icon on the movie thumbnail. Click the Start Button to play the movie. To stop a movie, click the second from left button on the Progress Bar. To close the Movie window click the button in the upper left-hand corner of the window. After you have viewed the movies, leave the Movie Gallery by clicking the upper left corner of the Gallery Window. Try the Photo Gallery next. • The updated Photo Gallery contains the most stunning views astronomers have photographed. Pull down Information from the Main Menu Bar and choose Photo Gallery. To see a particular photograph, scroll down the index to choose a gallery. Enter the gallery by clicking on your gallery selection. To bring a particular photograph full screen, click the Magnifying Glass Icon. Try looking at the following photographs. First, locate the 5th photo in the Historical Maps Gallery which can be found under The Sky, Constellations. It's the constellation of Auriga. This map was created in 1732 by Bayer Uranometria. Clicking Return on the photo and Back on the Gallery will return you to the Gallery Index. Also try to find the 13th photo under: The Galaxy, sub-gallery Interstellar Matter. It's the dust lanes in Messier 16. (No traffic jam jokes please!) To return to the main program simply click the Close box in the Photo Gallery window. Tip: Don't miss the Eruption from the Sun in UV light from Skylab series-in the last third of the Sun gallery. Another beautiful shot is the Tarantula Nebula (look for it in the Photo Gallery index). To fully appreciate the beauty of the universe, turn out all the lights in the room and go through the galleries in the dark. • RedShift can now show you four detailed Planet Maps: Venus has been added to them. From the general sky view (default settings - pull down Controls from the Main Menu Bar; choose Default Settings), pull down Information from the Main Menu Bar, choose Maps. Earth is the default map. To select Venus, click the second button from the left in the icon panel. This will open the panel that controls which planet's map is displayed. Scroll past the maps of Earth, Moon, and Mars by pressing the Up Button next to the black dialog box. Venus is the map after Mars. Click OK. To explore the planet, click the first button in the top icon box, the one that looks like a globe. This pulls down a Globe Control Panel. To label points of interest, click the square Map Setting Button between the Grid and Label Buttons. Click on the features you want to label: Features or Landing Sites (or both). Click OK. Click the Label button to activate the labels. To find something click the Find button. This will bring up the Gazetteer Dialog Box. Click on Features to list the geological points of interest on Venus, or Landing Sites to list those. Select from the list displayed to the left of the buttons. Click OK. RedShift 2 will place a red cross-hair over your choice. You'll probably have to move the Control Panels to find the cross-hairs. To move the Control Panels grab the horizontal lines across the top of the icon bar and drag the panel to somewhere else on the screen. To return to the default settings, click Return on the top icon bar. • This ends your tour of the biggest new features in RedShift 2. Of course, there's much more to the program including sky charts, visibility reports, eclipses, conjunctions, and all the other features you've come to expect from RedShift. --------------------------------- 4) HOW DO I INSTALL REDSHIFT 2.0? Printed instructions are supplied as an insert that comes with the RedShift jewel-case or box; if you have mislaid the sheet you can use the instructions below, which also give a little more detail. RedShift will run directly off CD-ROM; however, performance will be considerably enhanced if the application is copied onto hard disc (it occupies about 3 megabytes). The software requires a minimum of 2 megabytes of available memory, preferably 4 (Macintosh users should give RedShift as much memory as they can). INSTALLATION FOR WINDOWS 3.1 USERS ---------------------------------- In order to properly run RedShift 2 you need to have the CD-ROM in your computer at all times. To install the program follow the instructions given below: Step 1. Insert the RedShift 2 CD in the CD-ROM drive. Step 2. Click on File in the menu at the top of the Program Manager window. Step 3. Click on Run and type D:\setup (where D is the letter of your CD-ROM drive). If you are not sure of your CD-ROM drive's letter, double click on the File Manager Icon (usually in the Main program group), and make note of the letter on the CD-ROM. Step 4. Click OK or press enter. Step 5. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen. If you do not already have QuickTime for Windows v2.0.3 or later on your hard disk, accept the option to run the QuickTime for Windows v2.0.3 installer to install QuickTime for Windows v2.0.3. RUNNING THE PROGRAM FOR WINDOWS 3.1 USERS ----------------------------------------- From the Program Manager window, double-click the RedShift 2 CD icon. (The icon is in the Expert program group window). INSTALLATION FOR WINDOWS 95 USERS --------------------------------- In order to properly run RedShift 2 CD you need to have the CD-ROM in your computer at all times. To install the program follow the instructions given below: Step 1. Insert the RedShift 2 CD in the CD-ROM drive. Step 2. If your computer is configured to detect a newly inserted CD, the autorun menu will appear. If the autorun menu does not appear after a few moments, click on the Start Button then Select Run, and type D:\setup (where D is the letter of your CD-ROM Drive). If you are not sure of your CD-ROM drive's letter, double click on the 'My Computer' Icon on your desktop, and make note of the letter on the CD-ROM Icon. Step 3. Click on the Install option and follow the instructions that appear on your screen. If you do not already have QuickTime for Windows v2.0.3 or later on your hard disk, accept the option to run the QuickTime for Windows v2.0.3 installer to install QuickTime for Windows v2.0.3. RUNNING THE PROGRAM FOR WINDOWS 95 USERS ---------------------------------------- After installing RedShift 2 the Expert auto-play dialog will be displayed automatically when you insert the CD-ROM. Click on RUN to start RedShift 2. If your computer is not configured for auto-play, click on Start, then select Programs, Expert Software, RedShift 2 and click on the RedShift 2 Icon. Note: Guided tours are best viewed using 64,000 colors. For Macintosh and Power Macintosh users --------------------------------------- Step 1. Insert the RedShift Cd-ROM into a CD-ROM drive attached to your Macintosh. The disk windows will open to show you the RedShift 2 program icon. Step 2. Install QuickTime 2.5 QuickTime is a System Extension developed by Apple Computer. It should be installed in the Extensions folder, inside the System Folder, on your computer's hard disk. A copy of QuickTime 2.5 is provided on the 'RedShift 2.0' CD-ROM. To install QuickTime 2.5 on your computer double-click the 'Install QuickTime' alias on CD-ROM. Step 3. Drag the RedShift 2 application to your hard disk. Although RedShift will work perfectly from the CD-ROM, many operations will be faster if the application is installed on your hard disk. Create a new folder and drag the RedShift application (not the whole CD-ROM) into it. Step 4. Double-click the RedShift 2 application icon installed on your hard disk to start the program. Click Main Program on the title screen. For up to date technical help with RedShift see the world wide web pages at http://www.maris.com --------------------------------- 5.) Space Flight - what are the general principles? What do I need to know? A significant addition to RedShift 2 is the Space Flight feature. To access Space Flight select Events, Space Flight... the dialog box gives you a list of folders that contain settings for different objects. Double-click a folder to open it, then click a setting and select it. Some objects have more than one setting file. The dialog opens with buttons preset; if they are altered, next time you open the dialog in your RedShift session your choice will be shown and applied to further settings. "Locate me on it" is activated by default; this view uses the space flight object as your viewing platform. Or, you can choose "Show Me it," which gives a view of the object from a preset point in space. The settings file for an object may include not only the date and time and the step sizes in which the time runs, but also the magnitudes of nearby planets and filters for stars and constellations, among other parameters. This combination is called the "Recommended settings & controls" for the object setting, and its effect is to give two of the most interesting views possible for the object (one view from "Locate me on it,' the other with "Show me it.") When you first open the Space Flight dialog box, Recommended settings are selected by default. When RedShift has implemented the Recommended settings and redrawn the screen, start time running to enjoy the sequence. Within Recommended settings you can alter all settings except date, time and time steps. To end your session either select Controls, Default Settings... (to start afresh), or click Stop Space Flight Session (if you want to preserve your view but change to a new date, switching off the special calculus.) Note 1: RedShift Space Flight calculus does not take account of the facts that spacecraft land, and comets vaporize on impact with a planet - so an object that crashes or lands will appear to pass through a planet's center. Note 2: If the "Locate me on it" button is dimmed in the Space Flight dialog box, you will need to close one or more of the Follow Planet, Position, Zoom or Location panels before you can use it. Note 3: If you want to locate yourself on a special object without resetting time, do so using "Choose Location" or the Location panel. Note 4: If you alter the settings panels, the OK light glows red to show that you must click it to confirm changes. Two significant improvements have been made to the program's Space Flight feature since the manual was written. Bear these in mind when use this feature. 1) When you choose an object that has more than one setting, playing the Recommended settings will join together the settings files and show them end to end. For example, if you select Voyager 2 Injection to Jupiter (Locate me on it) and run time, when that sequence has finished playing, RedShift will load the settings for Voyager 2 Jupiter entered, and so on for the whole Voyager mission. This means that you can sit and travel through the whole Solar System on the Voyager missions, or see the entire sequence of other missions in nearly continuous space travel. These are not movies: you can change them. If you stop time running you can see the planets with different magnifications, phases switched on or off, varying all RedShift settings except date and time steps. Enjoy your journey! You can stop the sequence at any time by clicking the Stop button on the Control Time panel; you may wish to do this to examine a planet in more detail, or implement some of the suggestions in the leaflet. 2) Time steps now alter dynamically, to speed up and slow down the rate at which you view a journey, according to the interest of visible features. For example on Apollo 13's journey to the moon, the time steps are larger on the flight in space between Earth and the Moon, which is a relatively lackluster journey through cold dark space! -------------------- For technical support contact a friendly Expert Product Support Specialist Monday - Friday, 9 am to 5pm EST Phone (305) 567-9996 Fax (305) 569-1350 E-mail: Support@expertsoftware.com 24 Hour Fax Back Support: (800) 772-5706 World Wide Web www.expertsoftware.com (c) 1997, Expert Software, Inc. (c) 1996, Maris Multimedia Ltd 18 October 1996