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1996-09-07
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D a r k S k y
Version 1.0
Copyright (C) B. Simpson 1996
OS/2 Shareware Astronomy Program
Dark Sky is a "planetarium" program for OS/2, and will display the heavens
from any location on earth. Viewing options allow the user to control which
sky objects to display, which font to use, and manipulation of various star
parameters. Time may be set to run at multiple speeds, including backwards.
--- Shareware --------------------------------------------------------------
Dark Sky is shareware. It may be freely copied and distributed provided
that the program in all of its components (program file, help file, database
files, install file, and documentation) are kept together and all remain
unmodified.
Considerable effort has gone into the making of this program. If you find
it useful please register by contributing $15 to:
Brian Simpson
P.O. Box 773
Niwot, CO. 80544
Comments and suggestions are welcome.
--- Disclaimer -------------------------------------------------------------
Dark Sky is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. No warranty is
made, expressed, or implied, that this documentation or accompanying
software is free of error, or is consistent with any particular standard of
performance, quality, or merchantability, or that it will meet your
requirements for any particular application. It should not be relied on for
solving a problem whose incorrect solution could result in injury to a
person or loss of property. If you do use this software in such a manner,
it is at your own risk. The author and distributors disclaim all liability
for direct, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from your use of
this software. The use of this program constitutes total agreement and
acceptance of this disclaimer.
--- Requirements -----------------------------------------------------------
Dark Sky requires OS/2 version 2.1 or later. (Untested on 2.0)
Dark Sky should run on any X86 - based processor that runs OS/2. Because of
the computationally intensive nature of this program, a math coprocessor is
strongly recommended. (A math coprocessor is already built into 486DX,
Pentium, and later processors, but is a separate chip on some other
systems.)
--- Installation -----------------------------------------------------------
Since you are reading this documentation, you have likely already unzipped
DSKY.ZIP into its component files. Place all files into a directory on your
hard drive and issue the following command from an OS/2 command prompt in
that directory:
INSTALL
A program icon will be installed onto your OS/2 desktop. Just double click
on the icon to start Dark Sky. Alternately you can invoke the program by
issuing the following command from the same directory:
DSKY
--- Your first view --------------------------------------------------------
Dark Sky opens with a view of the heavens looking straight up from the
user's preferred location. (Or, until a preferred location has been
selected, a default location of Niwot, Colorado, the author's favorite small
town.)
Two scroll bars control the direction of view:
Moving the vertical scroll bar (right side of window) controls the
altitude, or the angle from the horizon to the center of the view
(center of window). With the scroll at the top the view is straight up.
With the scroll at the bottom the view is along the horizon. Brown
tinting will indicate where the earth blocks the view. (This horizon
indication can be turned off.)
Moving the horizontal scroll bar (bottom of window) controls the
azimuth, or direction along the horizon. With the scroll in the center,
the view towards the horizon is to the south. Moving the scroll to the
right moves the view to the west, then the north. Moving the scroll to
the left moves the view to the east, then the north. Thus north can be
achieved by moving the scroll either to the far right or the far left.
Altitude and azimuth are indicated in the information window at the top.
Interpret altitude as follows:
Alt View
---------------------------------
0 Along the horizon
90 Straight up (zenith)
Interpret azimuth as follows:
Az View
---------------------------------
0 and 360 North
90 East
180 South
270 West
Magnification is controlled as follows:
Pressing 'z' will "zoom in" to magnify the view.
Pressing 'Z' will "zoom out" to de-magnify the view. By pressing 'Z'
and/or enlarging the window an entire 180° view can be seen. (I.e. 90°
in all directions from center of window.)
'CapsLock' must be off for 'z' and 'Z' to work.
--- Setup ------------------------------------------------------------------
Dark Sky can be set up for any location. Begin by going to the "Location"
window (via the "Set" pull down menu). Select the city closest to your
location and press "OK City", or enter your longitude, latitude, and
time zone and press "OK Coordinates". If your new location is in a
different time zone, then your local time (as displayed in the information
line above the star window) will have changed, and you must reset the time.
To do so, go to the "Set local date/time" window (via the "Time" pull down
menu), select or deselect "Daylight Savings Time", and then press "Set to
computer date/time". You are now re-sync'd to your computer time.
Be sure to save this location information if you would like Dark Sky to
always start at this position. Go to the "File" pull down menu and select
"Save location".
You may also save your viewing preferences (objects, font, and star
parameters) by selecting "Save preferences" from the "File" pull down menu.
Note: The city database used in the "Location" window may be edited to suit
the user's preferences. Follow the directions at the top of DSKY.CTY.
--- List of files ----------------------------------------------------------
Dark Sky contains the following files:
File Description
-------------------------------------------------------
DSKY.EXE The executable (program file) for
Dark Sky
DSKY.HLP The help file
DSKY.DB Sky database
DSKY.CTY City database - May be modified, but
please distribute only the original
INSTALL.CMD Installs program object onto desktop
DSKY.DOC Documentation - This file
DSKY.INI Initialization file - Created by program
- Should not be distributed with other
files
--- Misc. notes ------------------------------------------------------------
Dark Sky is written in C++ and uses the IBM Open Class Library. The program
utilizes two threads of execution. The first manages the user interface,
while the second manages drawing on the main window.
The star database is derived from the "Yale Catalogue of Bright Stars", a
public domain listing of stars. Their placement is for Epoch 2000.0 (i.e.
the beginning of the year 2000AD). No adjustment for precession is made,
which is the reason for limiting the dates between 1900 and 2099.
--- Bugs -------------------------------------------------------------------
Please report any bugs to the registration address given above. Comments
and suggestions also welcome.
--- Future updates ---------------------------------------------------------
Dark Sky will be updated in the future. Future updates may include:
- Printing
- Precession
- Star identification
- User selectable colors
- User selectable fonts per object
- User modifiable information line
- Constellation boundaries
- Altitude/Azimuth grid
- Labels for grids
- Comets
- ...
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