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STARMAP                    Keith Neighbour                     Amiga 512k

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STARMAP will display a view of the sky in any part of the world, at any
date and time.  It will show Stars ,Interesting Objects ( Nebulae, Star-
clusters,  Galaxies ) and Planets, in their correct places for the
particular location, date and time chosen.
The Sun is displayed ( in daylight time ), and also the Moon in its correct
phase.

Information on 1522 stars is stored in a data file.  The files STARMAP,
SMPX, STARS2S and DATAP must all be available in the current directory,
together with AmigaBASIC.

You may choose any number of stars ( at the prompt ) up to 1522 as a base
number of "available" stars. The default <RETURN> is 500.  The program will
use only a little more than half of the base number in any one display as
the remainder will be below the horizon.
Whatever the base number chosen, stars will be loaded into the program in
order of brightness.

Because the mathematical calculations are lengthy and complex, the time
taken to load the star data and process it, and the amount of memory used,
will be in proportion to the number of base stars chosen.  However this is
all allowed for in the program and arrays are only dimensioned according to
the needs.

The approximate time for loading is indicated as the program runs ( based on
microdisk files ).  It will be faster if you transfer all relevant files
to a harddisk, and much faster if you have expanded memory.
Additional Basic memory is automatically cleared to accommodate the maximum
possible number of stars when using a base number of 1522.

The display wakes up in a Day mode ( blue sky ).  The program checks to see
if the sun is above the horizon, and if not, it then changes the display to
Night mode ( black sky ).  In the Day mode the stars, planets, etc. are
shown in their correct positions even though they are not normally visible
in a Day sky. ( They're still up there! ).

All stars are graded from white to grey in order of apparent brightness.
The sun is shown as a red sphere, and the moon, in its correct phases, is
shown in yellow.  Planets are shown larger than the stars and are yellow.
Interesting Objects are shown as magenta dots.

If you visualize the screen Starmap being above your head, with physical
East and West in agreement with E and W as shown on the Starmap, then the
display will be the same as the actual sky for the location, date and time
used for the display.

The MOUSE can be used to identify any object on the screen, by using key M
as an on/off toggle for the mouse mode, and then pressing the left button
when the "Point" of the mouse pointer is on the centre of the object.

As an alternative, pressing the S key ( also an on/off toggle ) will put you
in a key Search mode.  This allows you to activate a single pixel "cursor"
( which will appear as a yellow dot in the center of the Starmap display ),
with the arrow keys.  When correctly centered on an object, pressing key I
will identify it in the same way as the mouse pointer.  In effect the dot
cursor is transparent, that is, it will not obliterate any of the display.
In the S mode, use key Zero as a toggle switch for coarse/fine movement of
the dot cursor with the arrow keys.

In the Starmap mode, pressing N will give you a complete listing of code
numbers and names for all Planets, Interesting Objects, and Stars that
are currently displayed on the Starmap.  These of course change for every
different set of circumstances, and therefore cannot be regarded as
permanent code listings.

After noting code numbers for any particular objects which you may wish to
identify on the Starmap, and having toggled key N to return to the Starmap,
pressing key C will cause a prompt for a Code number.  When a code number is
entered the appropiate body will blink on and off, and relevant information
will be displayed, until key C is toggled again.  This process can be
repeated any number of times for different objects - if you have noted the
Code numbers!

The purpose of key command O is to display ( temporarilly ) on the Starmap
the position of a new or periodic Object or phenomena, such as a Comet or a
Supernova. The R.A. and Decl. of the object must be known of course,
and input at the prompt as HH.mm,+-DD.dd. ( Toggle O to clear red circle )
( e.g. the April 1987 Supernova, R.A.= 5 hr 39 min,  Decl.= -69.28 deg
input as 5.39,-69.28 ).

From Starmap mode, an enlargement of any of the four Quadrants indicated as
1,2,3 and 4, can be activated by pressing keys 1,2,3 or 4.  Search and
Identifying routines etc. are also extended to the Quad modes.  Pressing F
returns you to the full display.

Pressing A from the Starmap mode provides an Auto-update mode.( This mode
can also be chosen, at the prompt, during the initial menu display ).
This links the display to the computer's running time and date, and the
Starmap display will be refreshed every 10 minutes.  For the location chosen
a correct picture of the "present" sky is maintained in this mode.

This will apply for any place in the world, as well as your own ( more
useful ! ) location, as time zone correction is automatic for the 90
locations built in.

For strange places not listed, the required data can be keyed in at the
initial prompt menu.  You will need to know for the location, its Latitude,
Longitude and Time Zone ( Hours + or - from Greenwich ).

The use of all Starmap single key commands, including some not described
here, can be displayed or printed out, when prompted during the initial
menu display, by pressing K or H.

To run the program simply click twice on the Starmap Icon, but remember that
all relevent files must be in the current directory.

(1) Enter the number of base Stars required ( or RETURN for default of 500)
    Cities and places will load ...
(2) Look at the list of Starmap key codes (commands) by hitting K ( or H to
    print out list for future reference )
(3) Look at the list of places by hitting D ( or P to print out list for
    future reference )
(4) Choose a city or place & enter its code number ( e.g. 77 for Sydney )
(5) Hit E, and enter Date & Time ( or A for Auto up-date )
(6) Wait and watch, patiently ...



N O T E S:

The MOUSE POINTER will be more effective and accurate if it is changed to a
cross-hair type pointer, by using PREFERENCES .. EDIT POINTER.
The existing arrow pointer is too crude for accuracy in pointing to a pixel.

A useful pointer for this program is a red cross, 7 pixels by 7 pixels, set
in a black square frame also 7 x 7. Use SET POINT in EDIT POINTER to locate
the "Point" at the crossing of the arms and then make that pixel transparent
by clicking on it with the background color.

If you have a telescope, the data Hour Angle, R.A.(Right Ascension), and
Declination displayed for an object after identification, together with the
time displayed, will allow you to accurately set the telescope to find the
object in the sky.

In auto-update mode the times displayed and constantly updated are Local
Time ( ordinary clock time ), and Local Sidereal Time ( which runs at a
different rate from clock time ). These times are derived from the computer
clock, so it is important to see that the time and date have been set
correcly.

END of STARMAP.TEXT ... to print out from CLI use:  
   
                    1> copy to prt: megadisc4:starmap/starmap.text



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