Libris Britannia 4/science library(b).zip/science library(b)/ASTRONOM/3033.ZIP/READ.ME

Text File | 1980-01-03 | 17KB | 449 lines

          S  T  A  R  S  I  D  E      2 . 3


            Copyright   (c)   1987,1990

                               by

                    Virtual Srket Technology



  STARSIDE is designed to generate star maps from any place in the
world, for a given time. Positions of the Sun, Moon and planets may
be included on any map. Two types of plots are available to the
user. Objects can be easily located with search and zoom. Generate
Starmaps or print coordinates. A realtime update can track celestial
objects throughout the night. Databases can be customized for
individual needs.

  A database of common objects is included so the user can get started
right away. Options are included to merge, change, add, search and
create a customized database of celestial coordinates.

  Ideal observing times can be calculated well in advance for your
favorite celestial objects. The math section allows the user to
iterate on a selected object and plot its path across the sky.
Eclipse dates may also be predicted and precession analysis may
be performed.

  This tool is designed to be highly interactive and user friendly.
The environment provided allows a user to interact with the program
as well as the operating system. A coprocessor is recommended to
further enhance the operation.

--------------------- SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS -------------------------

  This program is designed to run on PC/XT/AT machines with at least
256k, one drive, EGA graphics, DOS 3.x or later. Support for a
coprocessor is provided. If an IBM (TM) compatible printer is attached
as LPT1, the program can access it.

This program may be run under DOS 2.x, however the SHELL feature
will not be functional.


--------------------------- INSTALLATION --------------------------

  When you boot your system, you should make a backup copy of this
software. Keep one copy as a master copy and use the new copy. To
make a copy simply use the COPY*.* command to copy to a blank
formatted diskette or to a new directory on a hard drive.

  If you plan to use the print portion of the program you must have
a printer attached to LPT1.


------------------------ GETTING STARTED --------------------------

  Place the program diskette in the default drive or select the
correct program directory on a hard drive. Type STARSIDE and press
ENTER to start the program. The first thing the program does is
access the file ASTRO.DAT to load the default data. This includes
times, geographical locations and the celestial object database. The
memory is now loaded with over 1000 celestial coordinates.

  You have just generated a database of horizon coordinates and
displayed the southern view for the given time, date, and
geographical coordinates. Now you can use the left/right cursor keys
to identify each object plotted. Press E to show available options
from this section. Press ESC to exit.



------------------------------ EDIT -------------------------------


HELP:

Contains brief descriptions of EDIT options available. Help files
are on the program diskette.

TIME:

Select this option to set the time and date values in STARSIDE to
the system time and date. If a hardware clock is not installed in
the system then you will want to enter the correct time and date
when you boot the system.

ENTER:

This section allows a user to create a database of celestial
coordinates. The first prompt wants a descriptor of the object. The
second prompt wants a magnitude value. The third prompt wants the
right ascension of the object in decimal hours. The fourth prompt
requires the declination of the object in decimal degrees. To exit
this section enter Q at the descriptor prompt. The resulting
database is in memory and must be saved in the FILE section to keep
the data. A maximum of 5000 celestial objects can be loaded at one
time.

ADD:

Select this to add to the end of a memory resident database. Enter
the information in the same format as in the ENTER section. To exit
this section enter Q at the descriptor prompt. Remember to save the
resulting database with additions to a file if you want to keep them.

CHANGE:

Select this to insert,delete,find, or change a memory resident
database. Press ENTER to accept default value. If you wish to delete
an entry then enter DEL at the descriptor prompt for that entry. If
you want to insert an entry then enter ADD at the descriptor prompt
and enter the new data. This will insert the entry into the
database. To search the database enter FIND at the descriptor prompt
and enter a descriptor for the key. If a match is found it will
appear and you can resume normal editing.

To change a value under the prompt simply type the new value and
press ENTER. Enter Q at any prompt to exit.

CLEAR:

This selection will clear the memory of a database. For example: use
this if you have merged two databases into memory and want to erase
these and load another database. For example:if you have a database of
celestial coordinates in memory and you select the ALL option of the
PLANET section to add the celestial coordinates to the database. You
now decide you only wanted to convert the planet coordinates.
Select the CLEAR option to erase the database from memory and go
back to obtain the planet coordinates again. Now you will only
convert the planet coordinates when you select the HORIZON section.

RETURN:

Returns to the main menu.

----------------------------- FILE -------------------------------

HELP:

Contains brief descriptions of FILE options available. Help files
are on the program diskette.

RECALL:

When you select this option simply enter the filename of the disk
resident database. Press Enter to accept default. The database will
be placed in memory. Enter Q to exit this option.

SAVE:

This option prompts you for a filename. Whatever is in memory will
be saved to the specified destination. Use this to save a newly
created or changed database. Enter Q to exit.

DIR:

When selected a directory of the default drive will be displayed.
Press any key to return.

PRINT:

This option allows printing of database information if a compatible
printer is attached. If you enter N for the ARE YOU SURE prompt then
you are returned to the FILER menu. Press ENTER to continue. If the
database had just been plotted then entering Y to the CELESTIAL MAP
prompt will print a starmap on a IBM (tm) compatible line printer.
The maps must cover less than or equal to 60 degrees. Press ENTER
to skip this option. Enter Y to the WINDOW DATA ONLY prompt will
print only the visible objects. Press ENTER to print the entire
database in memory. The printing may be aborted by typing Q.

The header of each printout will have the system time and
date at the top. Below this will appear the time, date, and
geographical location for the calculation.

MERGE:

Once selected MERGE tells the system that the next file retrieved by
the RECALL option will be added to the one in memory. If a database
is in memory and you wish to add a custom database to memory then
select MERGE. You must now select RECALL to read in the custom
database. Now when the HORIZON section is selected to convert the
database both databases will be operated on as one.

RETURN:

Returns to the main menu.

------------------------------ PLOT -------------------------------

HELP:

Contains brief descriptions of commands available.

SETUP:

If you are satisfied with the default value just press ENTER to
accept.

Allows the user to change XMIN,XMAX,YMIN,YMAX,XTIC,YTIC,LABELS etc..
If you want to show all objects change XMIN to 0,XMAX to 360, YMIN
to -90 and YMAX to 90 and plot the objects again. To display more
tic marks on either the X or Y axis increase the value from 10 to
20.You may also change colors, magnitudes, and realtime increments.

If you enter Y to the more prompt then you can either accept, by
pressing ENTER, or modify the default values of items such as
geographical location, time, date etc... To modify the value simply
type a new value and press ENTER.

WINDOW:

This is the main plotting section. Once horizon coordinates have
been calculated, select this option to display the map. The size of
objects corresponds to their brightness, with the larger sizes
representing the brighter objects. The time, date, and location
appears at the top of the screen. For a brief explanation of the
features available press E. To exit the plot press Q or ESC.

The following keys may be used in this section:

           KEY         FUNCTION
           ---         --------
           G           DRAW A GRID
           F           FIND AN OBJECT
           -           HIGHLIGHT A GROUP

           ]           SLEW WINDOW 30 deg. TO THE RIGHT
           [           SLEW WINDOW 30 deg. TO THE LEFT
           >           DECREASE ZOOM RESOLUTION
           <           INCREASE ZOOM RESOLUTION
           X           ZOOM ON SELECTED OBJECT
           R           RESTORE PREVIOUS SCREEN
           I           INITIALIZE TO SOUTHERN VIEW

           T           START REALTIME UPDATE (1 TO 60 min./INCREMENT)
           V           END REALTIME UPDATE

           Q           QUIT
           <ESC>       QUIT

           UP CURSOR   FAST MOVE FORWARD
           DN CURSOR   FAST MOVE BACK
           RT CURSOR   EASY MOVE FORWARD
           LT CURSOR   EASY MOVE BACK


To identify/select an object use the right/left cursor keys to
move a pointer. Up/Down cursor keys move the pointer faster.
The name and magnitude will be shown near the top. Also the
altitude and azimuth values are shown at the left.

To change the latitude and longitude in the ASTRO.DAT file
to your own location:

         1) Go to EDIT section and select CLEAR.
         2) Go to FILE section and select RECALL.
         3) Press ENTER to load ASTRO.DAT .
         4) Go to PLOT section and select SETUP.
         5) At the MORE? prompt enter Y.
         6) Change the latitude and longitude.
         7) Go to the FILE section and select SAVE.
         8) Save the database to ASTRO.DAT .

ATLAS:

This provides an alternative plot to WINDOW. Polar coordinates are
plotted instead of rectangular. The left/right cursor keys move a
pointer to identify/select objects on the screen.

The following keys may be used in this section:

           KEY         FUNCTION
           ---         --------
           G           DRAW A GRID
           F           FIND AN OBJECT
           -           HIGHLIGHT A GROUP

           T           START REALTIME UPDATE (1 TO 60 min./INCREMENT)
           V           END REALTIME UPDATE

           Q           QUIT
           <ESC>       QUIT

           UP CURSOR   FAST MOVE FORWARD
           DN CURSOR   FAST MOVE BACK
           RT CURSOR   EASY MOVE FORWARD
           LT CURSOR   EASY MOVE BACK

ECLIPSE:

Use this section to predict eclipses. You are asked for the year and
the month to start the display. Next you may change the windows of
acceptance for the stopping criteria. The first window is the
acceptance for comparing the right ascension of the Moon and Sun.
The second window represents the acceptance criteria for the
comparison of the ascending/descending nodes and the Sun/Moon
intersection. Once a match is found the process halts so you can
record the data. Pressing any key will continue processing. At any
time press Q to exit this option.

Once the program finds a match use the PLANET and HORIZON sections
to tell whether the eclipse may be visible. The displayed
information includes the right ascension of the Sun with a 12 hour
delta, the right ascension of the Sun, the right acension of the
Moon, the ascending node of the Moon and the descending node of the
Moon. The date is also shown.

Once started the display continues until the calendar year is up.

PRECESS:

    Perform a precession analysis from Epoch 1950.0 or Epoch 2000.0.
Enter the Epoch of the database of celestial coordinates in memory
using the cursor keys. Enter the date to convert (e.g. 1990.5). The
conversion will take place and the new coordinates will be in memory.
You may wish to save the newly converted database.

RETURN:

Exits to the main menu.

---------------------------- HORIZON ------------------------------

DATABASE USE:

This section performs the celestial to horizon coordinate
conversion. If a database of celestial coordinates are in memory and
the program values for time, date, and location are acceptable then
enter Y to convert the database. If the default is Y the press ENTER
to accept this value. If you wish to change a parameter enter N and
press ENTER until the cursor is positioned over the parameter to
change. Type the new value and press ENTER. Move the cursor to the
LIBRARY prompt and enter Y to convert the database with the newly
changed value. A Q entered at the default prompt returns you to the
main menu. After the conversion is finished choose PLOT to show the
locations on the screen.

* You may want to use the CLEAR option if you have been working with a
  database and you want to discard it.

SINGLE USE:

Enter N to the DEFAULT prompt. To accept default values shown press
ENTER. To change any value, type the new value and press ENTER. When
the LIBRARY prompt is shown enter N. Now you may enter new celestial
coordinates. If you had previously calculated the celestial
coordinate of a single planet then the calculated value is placed in
this section. When you press enter for the last parameter the
horizon coordinates are shown along with the Local Sidereal Time and
Julian Date. The horizon coordinate is placed in the plot buffer
so that it can be plotted.

---------------------------- SOL SYSTEM -----------------------------

This section allows a user to calculate the right ascension and
declination of the planets. The calculatd value is placed in the
HORIZON section at the appropriate place.

At the DEFAULT prompt enter Y if you want to use the default values
for time, date. If you enter N then you may change any parameter for
the calculation. Enter Q to exit this section.

Use the up/down cursor key to select either a single planet, the
Sun, Moon or ALL. The ALL option calculates the right ascension and
declination for the eight possible planets and the Moon. The
approximate phase of the Moon is determined. These celestial
coordinates are added to a database if it is resident in memory.
With the ALL option a small database is created so when the
coordinates are converted using the HORIZON section choose the
DEFAULT option to perform the calculation on all of the database.

NOTE: When plotted, planets are the largest object and they're
      filled.

---------------------------- FUNCTION -------------------------------

This allows you to iterate on the positions of a single object. Use
this to determine sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset, etc... You can
also convert a calendar date to Julian Day.

JULIAN->CALENDAR [Y/N]:
Enter Y to JULIAN->CALENDAR prompt to convert Julian Date to Calendar
Date. Just press ENTER to continue.

CELESTIAL OR HORIZON [C/H]:
At the CELESTIAL OR HORIZON prompt ENTER H to plot horizon coordinates.
Just press ENTER to plot celestial coordinates.

FUNC DAY/HOUR [D/H]:
ENTER D or H at the FUNC DAY/HOUR prompt to iterate by day or hour.
Just press ENTER to select HOUR.

STEP +[0...100]:
At the STEP prompt enter a positive integer from 1 to 100 or a
decimal value from 0 to 1 representing the increment of
iteration.Press ENTER to choose 1.

ALTITUDE STOP [N/-90..90]:
ENTER an altitude to stop the iteration. (i.e. 0.0 to determine when
an object sets). ENTER N to defeat this option. Press ENTER to choose
N.

#ITERATIONS [1...365]:
At the # of ITERATIONS prompt ENTER a positive integer value.Press
ENTER to choose 24.

Now you may select the object of interest.

After this operation is complete just choose PLOT to show the map.

NOTE: To plot the path of a planet among the stars choose the following:

      1) EDIT
           CLEAR     buffer
      2) FILE
           RECALL    ASTRO.DAT
      3) FUNCTION
           PRESS ENTER AT JULIAN->CALENDAR
           PRESS ENTER AT CELESTIAL OR HORIZON
           ENTER D AT FUNC DAY/HOUR
           ENTER 2 AT STEP
           ENTER N AT ALTITUDE STOP
           ENTER 182 AT # OF ITERATIONS
           SELECT MARS
      4) PLOT
           SETUP     change xmin to 0, xmax to 24, ymin -90, ymax 90
           WINDOW

      You will see the path MARS takes among the stars over the course
      of a year.

------------------------------ SHELL --------------------------------

This allows you to exit the program to the operating system while
still retaining register values. Operating system utilities may be
used then control is passed back to the program by entering EXIT. The
register values are restored and execution of the program can
proceed. This powerful feature can be useful in many situations.
Make sure that the command.com file is present.

------------------------------ QUIT ---------------------------------

Exits the program and returns to the operating system. The
COMMAND.COM file will need to be present on your disk.