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══════════════════════════════ EZCosmos Help Menu ═════════════════════════════ Welcome to the universe of EZCosmos! This unique software program will be your guide to the celestial realm for years to come. To get the maximum enjoyment from EZCosmos, please take time to read the instructions by using the menu below. To select a topic from the menu, use the arrow keys and then press the Enter or F1 key. ──> Press Esc or spacebar to exit the Help System <── ╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ The Help System...... How to use this Help System ║ ║ The Status Display... Interpreting the Status screen data ║ ║ Status Commands...... Changing the EZCosmos environment ║ ║ Calculated Data...... Your location and time affects the view ║ ║ Sky Plot Main Menu... Operating EZCosmos with the Plot menu ║ ║ The Sky Plot......... Interpreting what you see on the screen ║ ║ The Constellations... Abbreviations and full names ║ ║ Interesting Objects.. Double stars, clusters, nebulae and more ║ ║ Animate The Planets.. The Solar System, plotted and animated ║ ║ Astronomical Terms... Julian day, Ra/Dec and Sidereal time ║ ║ Looking At Pictures.. Views of objects from a large telescope ║ ║ Future Trends........ EZCosmos product information ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ ═══════════════════════════════ This Help System ═════════════════════ Page 1.1 ╔════════════════════════════╗ ║ Status screen or Plot mode ║ ╚═════╤═════════════════╤════╝ F1 or H Esc or spacebar ┌──┴─────────────────┴──┐ │ Help System Menu ┼── Main Help Menu or Picture Directory │ ───────────────────── │ Use │ First topic on menu │ arrow ──┤ Last topic you read ┼── EZCosmos remembers the last topic you keys │ Final topic on menu │ selected from a help menu. └────┬──────────────┬───┘ F1 or Enter Esc, Enter or spacebar ┌─┴──────────────┴────────────┐ ┌─────> │ ══════ Topic ═════ Page 1 ┼── Use the Home key to see the Pg Up/Dn │ ....... │ first page in a topic. ├─────> │ ────── Topic ───── Page 5 ┼── EZCosmos remembers the last Pg Up/Dn │ ....... │ page you read in a topic. └─────> │ ────── Topic ───── Page 9 ┼── Use the End key to see the └─────────────────────────────┘ final page in a topic. ─────────────────────────────── This Help System ───────────────────── Page 1.2 Pressing the F1 or H keys from either the Status screen or Plot mode will display the main Help Menu. Pressing D in the Plot mode will display the Picture Directory Menu. Both systems operate identically. Since you got this far, you already know to use the arrow keys and Enter or F1 to select a topic from the menu. And you now know to use the PgUp and PgDn keys to move within a topic. Use the Home and End keys to move to the first and last pages within a topic. Home and End are useful in browsing long topics such as "Status Commands". EZCosmos remembers the last topic you selected from a Help Menu, and remembers the last page displayed in that topic. This allows you to return to a the last help page you displayed from either the Status screen or Plot mode with the press of only two keys: F1 F1 or F1 Enter. You will find this memory feature useful when referring to topics such as "Animate The Planets", for entering data listed on the Help screen into the Status panels for date, time and location. Press Esc, Enter or spacebar to return to the Help Menu. Press Esc or spacebar twice to return to the Status screen or Plot mode. ══════════════════════════════ The Status Display ════════════════════ Page 2.1 ╔═══════ 1 ════════╗ ╔═══════════════ 3 ══════════════╗ ╔═════════ 4 ═════════╗ ║ Date: 02-16-1990 ║ ║ Julian day...... 2447939.38380 ║ ║ Field width... 180° ║ ║ Time: 15:12:40 ║ ║ Universal Time....... 21:12:40 ║ ║ RA........ 00:31:40 ║ ║ Zone: -6 (CST) ║ ║ Local Sidereal Time.. 00:31:51 ║ ║ DEC.......+32°47'00 ║ ╚══════════════════╝ ╚════════════════════════════════╝ ╚═════════════════════╝ ╔═════════════════════════ 2 ═════════════════════════╗ ╔═════════ 5 ═════════╗ ║ City....... DALLAS, TEXAS ║ ║ Constellations. ON ║ ║ Latitude... +32°47'00 ║ ║ NGC display.... ON ║ ║ Longitude.. 096°48'00 ║ ║ Planet display. ON ║ ╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ ╚═════════════════════╝ ── Summary of Status Screen Display Boxes - Press the PgDn key for details ── Box Information Source ─── ──────────────────── ───────────────────────────────────────── 1 Local date and time Input by you in Status mode 2 Location on Earth Input by you in Status mode 3 Star date and time Calculated from boxes 1 and 2 4 Display information Updated / changed during Plot mode 5 Display options Changed by you in Status mode or Plot mode ────────────────────────────── The Status Display ──────────────────── Page 2.2 ╔═══════ 1 ════════╗ ╔═══════════════ 3 ══════════════╗ ║ Date: 02-16-1990 ║ ║ Julian day...... 2447939.38380 ║ ┌───╢ Time: 15:12:40 ║ ║ Universal Time....... 21:12:40 ╟──┐ │ ║ Zone: -6 (CST) ║ ║ Local Sidereal Time.. 00:31:51 ║ │ │ ╚══════════════════╝ ╚════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ ╔═════════════════════════ 2 ═════════════════════════╗ │ │ ║ City....... DALLAS, TEXAS ║ │ │ ┌─╢ Latitude... +32°47'00 ║ │ │ │ ║ Longitude.. 096°48'00 ║ │ │ │ ╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ │ └─This data is calculated from the data in boxes 1 and 2. See the │ │ topics "Calculated Data" and "Astronomical Terms" for more information. │ │ │ └ Your location on Earth can be changed with the L command. North │ latitude is positive, South latitude is negative. West longitude │ is positive, East longitude is negative. │ └ The local date, time, and time zone can be changed with the D, T, and Z commands. The time zone is actually the number of hours from Universal time: UT + Time Zone = Local Time. ────────────────────────────── The Status Display ──────────────────── Page 2.3 This data is updated for you while in the Plot mode. ╔═════════ 4 ═════════╗ The field width is the number of degrees of sky ║ Field width... 180° ║ currently viewed across the screen. The RA and DEC ║ RA........ 00:31:40 ║ numbers locate the center of the current plot. See ║ DEC.......+32°47'00 ║ "Astronomical Terms" for information on RA and DEC. ╚═════════════════════╝ This window shows the current values of the display ╔═════════ 5 ═════════╗ options. Use the O command to change these options. ║ Constellations. ON ║ ║ NGC display.... ON ║ Constellations ON/OFF - determines whether the out- ║ Planet display. ON ║ lines of constellations are displayed. Turn them ON ╚═════════════════════╝ to learn the constellations or to get your bearings. Turn them OFF (and turn the NGCs OFF) to see the sky as it actually appears. NGC Display ON/OFF - determines whether or not the NGC objects are displayed. These include objects such as galaxies, star clusters and nebulae, and are shown on the plot as small x's in CGA, magenta and blue icons in EGA/VGA. Planet display - determines whether or not the Sun, Moon and planets are displayed. Turn them OFF to save calculation time, or ON for display and Solar System animation. ═══════════════════════════════ Status Commands ══════════════════════ Page 3.1 ─── Command Summary - Press PgDn for details ─── ╔══════════Commands══════════╗ ║ D: Change local date ╫─ Change the local date, time and time zone for ║ T: Change local time ║ precise overhead views, star and object ║ Z: Change time zone ║ information, and Solar System positions. ║ L: Change your location ╫─ Change the location on Earth to see different ║ ║ overhead views or Solar System positions. ║ O: Change display options ╫─ Toggles constellations, NGC objects and planet ║ ║ displays. Changes line and cursor colors. ║ C: Load/Save configuration ╫─ Saves and restores location, time zone and ║ ║ display options to / from disk. ║ H: Display help ╫─ Displays the main Help Menu (or use F1). ║ Q: Exit to DOS ╫─ Quit EZCosmos and exit to DOS. ║ P: Plot the sky ╫─ Plot the sky using the current date, time ║ ║ and location information displayed on the ╚════════════════════════════╝ Status screen. Use the up and down arrow keys to make a selection from the menu, then press the Enter key. Or, press the Command Key (the letter preceding the command). ─────────────────────────────── Status Commands ────────────────────── Page 3.2 General keyboard rules: 1) The Escape key (Esc) will generally cancel a command without changing data, depending on how far the command has progressed. Esc will always cancel a command if pressed right after a Command Key. Thus, if you selected the L command and did not intend to change your location, press the Esc key. 2) Prompts of the form Enter some data: _______________ require that you type in the data requested and press Enter. The backspace key will erase the last key typed while entering data at a prompt. Pressing the Enter key without typing any data will cause a DEFAULT value to be entered. 3) Questions that require a YES/NO (Y/N) response will also accept the following keys: YES response: Y or Enter NO response: any key except Y or Enter 4) Make sure NumLock is OFF so that the arrow keys will work properly. ─────────────────────────────── Status Commands ────────────────────── Page 3.3 ─── Change Local Date ─── Use the D command to change the date at your location. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐ Rules: │ New date: ___________ │ Leading zeroes may be omitted. │ │ │ Format: MM-DD-YYYYB │ Default century is "19" if only │ Limits: 01-01-4000B to 12-31-9999 │ a two-digit year is entered. │ where the trailing 'B' is for B.C. │ │ You may use +x or -x (+1, -2 etc.) │ Year defaults to currently │ to increment the date by x days. │ displayed year if omitted. │ Press ENTER for DOS date. │ │ │ Default is the DOS date. └───────────────────────────────────────────┘ ───────── Examples (assume last date entered was 02-15-1700) ──────── Entered Displayed Entered Displayed Entered Displayed ------- ---------- ------- ---------- ------- ----------- 1-2 01-02-1700 1-2-3 01-02-0003 1-2-3B 01-02-0003B 1-2-89 01-02-1989 1-2-03 01-02-1903 +5 02-20-1700 ─────────────────────────────── Status Commands ────────────────────── Page 3.4 ─── Change Local Time ─── Use the T command to change the time at your location. The time must be entered in 24 hour or military format where 1PM is 1300, 2PM is 1400, etc. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐ Rules: │ New time: ________ │ Leading zeroes may be omitted. │ │ │ Format: HH:MM:SS or HH.hhhh │ Minutes default to 0 if not │ Limits: 00:00:00 to 23:59:59 │ entered. │ │ │ You may use +x or -x (+1, -2 etc.) │ Seconds default to 0 if not │ to increment the time by x minutes. │ entered. │ Press ENTER for DOS time. │ └───────────────────────────────────────────┘ Default is DOS time. ─────── Examples (assume current time displayed is 13:15:00) ─────── Entered Displayed Entered Displayed Entered Displayed -------- --------- -------- --------- -------- ---------- 5 05:00:00 5:16:7 05:16:07 +120 15:15:00 5:6 05:06:00 10.5 10:30:00 -5 13:10:00 ─────────────────────────────── Status Commands ────────────────────── Page 3.5 ─── Change Local Time Zone ─── Use the Z command to change the time zone at your location. ┌────────────────────────────────┐ │ Time zone: ________ (CST) ┼─ Default value is shown in parentheses. │ │ │ Universal: GMT │ │ Custom: GMT+x or GMT-x ┼─ Use GMT+x or GMT-x if your time zone is │ Eastern: EST EDT │ not Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific │ Central: CST CDT │ Hawaiian or Universal. │ Mountain: MST MDT │ │ Pacific: PST PDT │ │ Hawaiian: HST │ └────────────────────────────────┘ ───────────────────────── Examples ───────────────────────── Location Entered Local Time Universal Time ----------------------- -------- ---------- -------------- Newfoundland GMT-3.5 13:00:00 16:30:00 Dallas, Texas CDT 13:00:00 18:00:00 ─────────────────────────────── Status Commands ────────────────────── Page 3.6 ─── Change Local Time Zone (cont.) ─── The Zone command allows you to enter a time zone ID like EST or CDT for North American time zones, which will properly set the number of hours from Greenwich Mean Time (or Universal Time as it is now known). The time zone is used only to calculate Universal Time and make adjustments to the Julian Date. All other EZCosmos calculations are made using Universal Time. If you are located in a time zone for which no zone ID is supplied, you may select GMT and enter +/- the number of hours your zone is ahead or behind of GMT. For example, Newfoundland would be GMT-3.5 and W. Germany would be GMT+1. GMT + Time Zone = Local Time. Note that when changing locations, it is not necessary to alter the time zone if you want to see how the sky looks from different cities around the world at the current time in your home town. The time zone is used ONLY to calculate Universal Time and the Julian day, which are the same the world around at any moment. ─────────────────────────────── Status Commands ────────────────────── Page 3.7 ─── Changing Your Location ─── Use the L command to change your location. Enter the name of the city from which you wish to view. Only the first few letters of the city are normally required. See the examples below. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ City: ___________________________________ │ The default is the city saved │ │ in COSMOS.CFG by the Save │ Format: CITY, STATE -or- │ Configuration command. │ CITY, COUNTRY │ See the section on the │ Press ENTER for default city. │ Configuration command for │ │ further details (page 3.12). │ Note: Enter as much of the data as │ │ necessary to make it unique. │ Over 560 cities from around │ Normally, just the first few │ the world are on file. │ letters of city will suffice. │ └───────────────────────────────────────────┘ ─────────────────── Examples ──────────────────── ALB displays ALBANY, GEORGIA ALBANY, N displays ALBANY, NEW YORK ALBU displays ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO ─────────────────────────────── Status Commands ────────────────────── Page 3.8 ─── Changing Your Location (cont.) ─── ┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ City: NEWCITY │ │ │ │ ** City not found ** │ │ │ │ T: Try again ┼─ Return to Location panel │ L: Enter your own latitude and longitude ┼─ Proceed to Latitude panel │ Q: Leave current city unchanged ┼─ Exit the Location command │ │ │ Enter T, L, or Q: _ │ └───────────────────────────────────────────┘ If the city you enter is not on file, you must make a choice: Enter T to try a new city name, L to enter your own geographic coordinates, or Q (or Esc) to exit the location changing process. The next two pages describe the Latitude and Longitude panels. ─────────────────────────────── Status Commands ────────────────────── Page 3.9 ─── Changing Your Location - Latitude Panel ─── ┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Latitude: ________ │ │ │ │ Format: +DD.MMSS │ │ │ │ │ └── Seconds ┼─┐ │ │ │ └──── Minutes ┼─┼─ default is zero │ │ └─────── Degrees ┼─┘ │ └───────── +North, -South ┼─── default is + (North) │ Limits:-89.5959 to │ │ +89.5959 │ └───────────────────────────────────────────┘ Enter your latitude on Earth. NOTE that NORTH latitude is POSITIVE and SOUTH latitude is NEGATIVE. The latitude is displayed on the Status screen when you press Enter. Press Esc to abort the latitude/longitude process and return to the Location panel. ─────────────────────────────── Status Commands ───────────────────── Page 3.10 ─── Changing Your Location - Longitude Panel ─── ┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Longitude: _________ │ │ │ │ Format: +DDD.MMSS │ │ │ │ │ └── Seconds ┼─┐ │ │ │ └───── Minutes ┼─┼─ default is zero │ │ └──────── Degrees ┼─┘ │ └────────── +West, -East ┼─── default is + (West) │ Limits: -179.5959 to │ │ +179.5959 │ └───────────────────────────────────────────┘ Enter your longitude on Earth. NOTE that WEST longitude is POSITIVE and EAST longitude is NEGATIVE. The longitude is displayed on the Status screen when you press Enter. EZCosmos will then ask for a Time Zone. See the previous section on the Time Zone command for details. Esc returns you to the Latitude panel. ─────────────────────────────── Status Commands ───────────────────── Page 3.11 ─── Changing The Display Options ─── Use the O command to bring up the Display Options menu. Then use the C, N, P and D commands shown below to change the options. ┌───────────────────────────────┐ │ Enter display option: _ │ │ │ ╔═════════ 5 ═════════╗ │ C - Constellations off/on ┼─────────╫ Constellations. ■■■ ║ │ N - NGC objects off/on ┼─────────╫ NGC display.... ■■■ ║ │ P - Planets off/on ┼─────────╫ Planet display. ■■■ ║ │ D - Change display colors ┼──────┐ ╚═════════════════════╝ │ Esc - Done with options ┼─┐ └─ Change constellation line and └───────────────────────────────┘ │ cursor box colors (see next page) └────── Return to Command panel The constellation lines are shown in dark grey on EGA/VGA monitors. If you have difficulty seeing these lines, turn your monitor brightness and/or contrast up or use the D command to change the line color. The Display Options are saved and restored when the Configuration is saved and restored. See the section on the Configuration command (next page). ─────────────────────────────── Status Commands ───────────────────── Page 3.12 ─── Load/Save Configuration ─── Use the C command to bring up the Configuration menu. ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ─────── EZCosmos Configuration ─────── │ Items stored in COSMOS.CFG: │ Location - Time Zone - Display Options │ ∙ City Name │ │ ∙ Latitude and longitude │ S: Save configuration │ ∙ Time zone │ L: Load configuration │ ∙ Display options including │ │ line and cursor colors │ Enter S or L: _ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────┘ ∙ To create and SAVE a configuration: Use the Location command to set up a location and time zone. Use the Option command to set up desired display options and colors. Then bring up this Configuration Menu and press S to save the data on disk. ∙ To LOAD a previously saved configuration: To load the last configuration saved, use the L command from THIS menu. To restore only the saved location and time zone without affecting the display options, use the Location command and press Enter for City. ═══════════════════════════════ Calculated Data ══════════════════════ Page 4.1 ╔═══════ 1 ════════╗ ╔═════════════════════════ 2 ═════════════════════════╗ ║ Date: 02-16-1990 ╫─┐ ║ City....... DALLAS, TEXAS ║ ║ Time: 15:12:40 ╫─┼─╫ Latitude... +32°47'00 ║ ║ Zone: -6 (CST) ╫─┼─╫ Longitude.. 096°48'00 ║ ╚══════════════════╝ │ ╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ ┌───────────────────┘ │ The date, time, and time zone are used to calculate the Julian Day and │ Universal time. This plus Lat / Lon is used to get Local Sidereal Time. │ │ ╔═══════════════ 3 ══════════════╗ ╔═ Plot Display ═╗ ├─╫ Julian day...... 2447939.38380 ╫──┐ ║ BETA CYG ║ ├─╫ Universal Time....... 21:12:40 ╫──┼─────────┐ ║ ALBIREO ║ └─╫ Local Sidereal Time.. 00:31:51 ╫──┘ │ ║ Mag 3.1 ║ ╚════════════════════════════════╝ ┌──╫ Ra: 19:30:18 ║ │ ├──╫ Dec: +27°56'44 ║ The Julian day, Universal Time and Local └───────┼──╫ Alt: 26.25 ║ Sidereal time are then used to calculate the ├──╫ Azm: 287.72 ║ positions of the Sun, Moon and planets and the ├──╫ Rise: 02:51:32 ║ information displayed in the Plot mode. └──╫ Set: 17:31:31 ║ ╚════════════════╝ ─────────────────────────────── Calculated Data ────────────────────── Page 4.2 ─── Date, Time and Location ─── The date, time, time zone and location that you enter affect several calculated data in EZCosmos: the Julian day, Universal Time, and Local Sidereal Time, and the RA, DEC, altitude, azimuth, rise and set times of stars, NGC objects and the Solar System (see diagram above). The date, time and location are essential for precisely plotting an overhead view and calculating the positions of the Sun, Moon and planets. Except for the Sun, Moon and planets, the celestial sphere is pretty much static and unchanging. Relative positions of the stars and constellations are unaffected by location, date or time. Thus, zooming in on individual constellations and exploring areas of the cosmos other than those overhead can be done without regard to position or time on the Earth. With the Planet Display OFF, the constellation Orion, for example, looks the same from New York this year as it did from Paris in 2000 B.C. To see Solar eclipses, planetary conjunctions, and overhead views from different locations, however, you must correctly enter the date, time and location from which you wish to view. ══════════════════════════════ Sky Plot Main Menu ════════════════════ Page 5.1 ╔══════════════════════╗ ──────── Plot Mode Command Menu Summary ─────── ║ ═════ EZCosmos ═════ ╫─ Esc or spacebar displays the menu AT ANY TIME. ┌ ║ I: Identify object ╫─ Information about an object inside the cursor. │ ║ F: Find new object ╫─ Locate a new star, planet, or NGC object. │ ║ R: Replot at object ╫─ Center the plot at the object inside the cursor. │ ║ O: Overhead view ╫─ Plot an overhead view based on current Status. │ ║ Z: Zoom field ╫─ Re-size the plot to larger or smaller scales. │ ║ M: Magnitude Filter ╫─ Select the faintest star magnitude for plotting. │ ║ C: Con Lines Off/On ╫─ Toggle constellation lines off and on. │ ║ N: NGCs Off/On ╫─ Toggle NGC object display off and on. │ ║ P: Planets Off/On ╫─ Toggle Planet display off and on. │ ║ L: Look at picture ╫─ See the topic "Looking At Pictures". │ ║ D: Picture directory ╫─ See the topic "Looking At Pictures". │ ║ A: Animate planets ╫─ See the topic "Animate The Planets". │ ║ H: Display help ╫─ Displays the main Help Menu. │ ║ S: Status screen ╫─ Return to the Status screen mode. ├ ║ Q: Exit to DOS ╫─ Quit EZCosmos and exit to DOS. │ ║ Enter Command: _ ╫─ Use arrows and Enter, or press a Command Key. │ ╚══════════════════════╝ └─────────── The Command Keys and cursor keys may be pressed AT ANY TIME in the Plot mode with or without the menu displayed. ────────────────────────────── Sky Plot Main Menu ──────────────────── Page 5.2 ─── Using the Sky Plot Main Menu ─── The Main Menu is your index to all the special features available when the sky is plotted. Press the Esc key or the spacebar to display the Main Menu. Press either key again to turn the menu off. When the menu is displayed, use the up and down arrow keys to point to the option you want and press the Enter key. At any time while in Plot mode you can type the first letter of the menu item (Command Key) to activate the feature. You may type the letter whether the menu is displayed or not. Once you have learned the menu commands such as Find, Overhead, Zoom and Status, you will be able to operate the sky plot more quickly by not having to call up the menu. General keyboard rules: See Page 3.12 in the topic "Status Commands". ────────────────────────────── Sky Plot Main Menu ──────────────────── Page 5.3 ─── Cursor Keys - Make sure NumLock is OFF ─── \ / The numeric pad keys, shift + pad keys, and the 5 ╔═══╤═╧═╤═══╗ numeric pad key all move the cursor box around the plot ║ 7 │ 8 │ 9 ║ screen. Shifted keys (except "5") move the cursor ╟───┼───┼───╢ farther than unshifted keys. Once the cursor is over an <─╢ 4 │ 5 │ 6 ╟─> object or star, the I (or Enter) key will identify the ╟───┼───┼───╢ item, the R command will center the plot on the item, ║ 1 │ 2 │ 3 ║ the Z key will optionally let you zoom in (or out) on ╚═══╧═╤═╧═══╝ the item, and the L key will let you see a picture of / \ the item (if one is on file). The cursor keys may be pressed at any time, even while the plot is progressing. The extended arrow and shift arrow keys on 101 style keyboards will also work, but only if NumLock is OFF. ─── Scroll Keys ─── Pressing the Ctrl key and the keypad arrow keys will scroll the screen up, down, left or right about 1/3 of the current screen width. EZCosmos will sound an alert if you attempt to scroll above or below 90° of Declination. ────────────────────────────── Sky Plot Main Menu ──────────────────── Page 5.4 ─── Identify Object ─── When the cursor is over a star, planet or NGC object, pressing the I key or the Enter key will display information about that item. See the topic "Astronomical Terms" for more information on RA and DEC. ╔════════════════╗ ║ BETA CYG ╫─ Object name and constellation ║ ALBIREO ╫─ Common name or object type ║ Mag 3.1 ╫─ Magnitude: Bright <..-1..0..+1..+2..+3..> Dim ║ Ra: 19:30:48 ╫─ Right Ascension precessed to current date ║ Dec: +27°58'05 ╫─ Declination precessed to current date ║ Alt: +43.5 ╫─ Altitude from the horizon * ║ Azm: 165.2 ╫─ Azimuth from true North * * Without allowance ║ Rise: 02:21:05 ╫─ Local rise time * ┌ or Moon phase ┐ for atmospheric ║ Set: 19:24:21 ╫─ Local set time * └ and legend ┘ refraction. ╚════════════════╝ When several objects are crowded inside the cursor, EZCosmos will only identify one object plotted near the cursor center. Use the Zoom command and choose a smaller field to spread out crowded displays so that you can identify individual objects more easily. ────────────────────────────── Sky Plot Main Menu ──────────────────── Page 5.5 ─── Find New Object ─── ╔═══════════════════════════════╗ ┌─────╫ Object name: _____________ ║ Use the F command to display ┌─│─────╫ Constellation: ___ ║ this window. ┌─│─│─────╫ Not on screen. Move there? _ ║ │ │ │ ╚═══════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ │ │ └ Enter the name of a planet (or SUN or MOON), or an M or NGC identifier │ │ (ie., M32 or NGC4565) or a star catalog name (ie., ALPHA or BETA), │ │ or a common name (ie., ALBIREO or NORTH STAR or RING NEBULA). Usually │ │ just the first few letters of the object name will suffice. The default │ │ is the word ALPHA so you can find the main star in most constellations. │ │ │ └ If the object is not a planet or common name, you will then be asked to │ enter the 3 letter constellation identifier. See the topic "The │ Constellations" for information on abbreviations. │ └ If the object is not on the screen, you will be asked whether or not you wish to replot at the object. If the object is too dim to display (exceeds the current magnitude limit) you will be informed. Use the 'M' command to increase the magnitude limit in this case. ────────────────────────────── Sky Plot Main Menu ──────────────────── Page 5.6 ─── Replot at Object ─── Press R to center the object inside the cursor on the plot screen. This is useful when you would like to see more of the sky surrounding objects that are close to the edge of the screen, or for preparing to zoom in on an object. ─── Overhead View ─── Press O to display the sky overhead based on your current date, time, time zone and location (latitude and longitude). If your current field of view is less than 180 degrees, EZCosmos will set the field of view to 180 degrees. If you have not changed your location, date or time for more than 30 minutes or so, set the time to the current DOS time (in the Status mode) to produce the most accurate plot. Field widths of 180° or more will display your horizon line when the plot center is near the zenith for your location and time. This will graphically show which stars, planets and objects are above your local horizon. ────────────────────────────── Sky Plot Main Menu ──────────────────── Page 5.7 ─── Zoom Field ─── ╔═════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Current field is 180° ═════ ╫─ Use the arrow keys, Home, End, PgUp, ║ ║ and PgDn to change this value. ║ Use arrow keys, press Enter ╫─ Press the Enter key for a new field, or ╚═════════════════════════════════╝ press Esc to keep the current field. The field of view changes the amount of sky shown on the plot. A 180° field will show horizon to horizon (West to East). Fields larger than 150° will have distortion at the edges of the screen, since it is impossible to map a sphere onto a flat screen with accuracy for large fields. Fields of 30° to 90° are useful for zooming in on a particular constellation. Fields of 1° to 10° are useful for zooming in on a single interesting object, such as the Pleiades or Epsilon Lyrae. If the cursor is not at the center of the screen and a star or other object is inside the cursor, you will be asked if you want to zoom in on that object. Answer Y or Enter to center the object inside the cursor on the plot screen. Answer N or spacebar to keep the same plot center (this may result in the object inside the cursor disappearing off the screen). ────────────────────────────── Sky Plot Main Menu ──────────────────── Page 5.8 ─── Magnitude Filter ─── ╔════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Current magnitude limit is 20 ╫─ Current limiting magnitude. Objects ║ Bright 0,1,..,19,20 Dim ║ fainter than this aren't displayed. ║ Enter new magnitude limit ___ ╫─ Type a new limiting magnitude ╚════════════════════════════════╝ and press Enter. An object's brightness is measured in units of magnitude, with smaller numbers representing brighter objects and larger numbers representing fainter objects. Thus 1st magnitude stars are brighter than 2nd magnitude stars. The faintest stars visible to the naked eye under perfect dark sky conditions are about magnitude 6.5 to 7. Binoculars increase the limit to about magnitude 10. The most powerful telescopes on Earth can "see" to about 20th magnitude. Most stars plotted by EZCosmos are brighter than 6th magnitude. Most NGC objects are fainter than 5th magnitude. Light pollution from nearby cities, atmospheric haze and clouds can reduce your viewing magnitude significantly. For example, objects fainter than magnitude 4.5 normally can't be seen with the unaided eye from inside the city limits of Dallas, Texas. Experiment with the magnitude limit to make the sky plot match the conditions you see in your sky. ────────────────────────────── Sky Plot Main Menu ──────────────────── Page 5.9 ─── Display Commands ─── The C command turns the display of constellation lines off and on. Turn the lines ON to see the outlines of the constellations or to get your bearings. Turn these lines off for a realistic plot of the sky. Since the plot center or field width is not changed, plot information does not need to be recalculated which results in a fast plot. The N command turns the display of NGC objects (star clusters, galaxies, and nebulae) on and off. Turn NGCs ON to find or look at pictures of these objects. Turn NGCs OFF for a realistic plot of the sky. Plot information is not recalculated, resulting in a fast plot. The P command turns the display of the Sun, Moon and planets on and off. If the planet display has been off while you changed the date, time or location and you decide to turn the planet display on, the planets are calculated automatically. As in the C and N commands, other plot information is not recalculated, resulting in a fast plot. The state of all three switches is shown in the Status display. ═════════════════════════════════ The Sky Plot ═══════════════════════ Page 6.1 When you plot the sky for the first time, the screen shows the sky as it appears directly overhead for the location, date and time you have chosen. Imagine that you are outside on a dark night, facing South with your head tilted back, looking directly overhead in the sky. The diagram below shows the relationship between what you see in the sky and what is plotted (EZCosmos displays the cardinal compass points on the screen when constellations are ON): (Sky behind you - plotted near top of screen) N │ (On your left) E <──Overhead──> W (On your right) │ S (Sky in front of you - plotted near bottom of screen) This configuration is the astronomical standard for star charts. ───────────────────────────────── The Sky Plot ─────────────────────── Page 6.2 Initially, the sky plot shows you the half of the celestial sphere that is visible - a 180° field. Use the Zoom command to see more of the sky or to zoom in closer to a particular constellation. The horizon line will appear at widths of 180° or more on Overhead plots only. On the screen are the visible planets, stars, constellations, and NGC objects. Even the Sun will appear if you plot during daylight hours. A square cursor is displayed in the center of the screen. Move the cursor with the keypad arrow keys (see the section "Cursor Keys", Page 5.3 of "Sky Plot Main Menu"). Use the Find, Replot and Zoom commands to look at any part of the sky - even areas that are not visible from your location. Use the C / N / P commands to vary what is displayed on the screen. Use the Status screen commands to change your location so that you can see how the sky looks overhead from any place at any time. If you don't change the time or time zone, you can see how the sky looks from any location on Earth at your local date and time. ══════════════════════════════ The Constellations ════════════════════ Page 7.1 The following list shows all 88 International Astronomical Union (IAU) constellations and their abbreviations (continued on Page 2). And Andromeda Cen Centaurus For Fornax Ant Antlia Cep Cepheus Gem Gemini Aps Apus Cet Cetus Gru Grus Aqr Aquarius Cha Chamaeleon Her Hercules Aql Aquila Cir Circinus Hor Horologium Ara Ara Col Columba Hya Hydra Ari Aries Com Coma Berenices Hyi Hydrus Aur Auriga CrA Corona Australis Ind Indus Boö Boötes CrB Corona Borealis Lac Lacerta Cae Caelum Crv Corvus Leo Leo Cam Camelopardalis Crt Crater LMi Leo Minor Cnc Cancer Cru Crux Lep Lepus CVn Canes Venatici Cyg Cygnus Lib Libra CMa Canis Major Del Delphinus Lup Lupus CMi Canis Minor Dor Dorado Lyn Lynx Cap Capricornus Dra Draco Lyr Lyra Car Carina Equ Equuleus Men Mensa Cas Cassiopeia Eri Eridanus Mic Microscopium ────────────────────────────── The Constellations ──────────────────── Page 7.2 Constellations (continued) Mon Monoceros Sgr Sagittarius Mus Musca Sco Scorpius Nor Norma Scl Sculptor Oct Octans Sct Scutum Oph Ophiuchus Ser Serpens Ori Orion Sex Sextans Pav Pavo Tau Taurus Peg Pegasus Tel Telescopium Per Perseus Tri Triangulum Phe Phoenix TrA Triangulum Australe Pic Pictor Tuc Tucana Psc Pisces UMa Ursa Major (contains the Big Dipper) PsA Piscis Austrinus UMi Ursa Minor (contains the Little Dipper) Pup Puppis Vel Vela Pyx Pyxis Vir Virgo Ret Reticulum Vol Volans Sge Sagitta Vul Vulpecula ═════════════════════════════ Interesting Objects ════════════════════ Page 8.1 MIZAR - Double star in the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. Find this star and then zoom in at 25° to see how it looks with binoculars. M45 - The Pleiades or Seven Sisters located in Taurus. Find this object (with NGC objects ON) and zoom in at 10° to see this famous star cluster. Zoom out in increments to see the surrounding area. ALBIREO - Beta in the constellation Cygnus the Swan. This true binary star system appears as a beautiful gold and blue pair in small telescopes. Find this star and zoom in at 5° to 1°. M42 - The great nebula in Orion is located in an interesting region of the sky. Zoom in from 60° to 10° in increments to see the stars in the sword of Orion. EPSILON LYRae - Another double star system visible in binoculars, this pair of stars is actually four stars - each star in the pair is itself a close binary system visible in 4 inch and larger telescopes. Find VEGA, then zoom in at 60°. At this power, Epsilon will look like a single star. Zoom in increments from a plot of 45° down to 3° and watch Epsilon resolve into two and then four stars. ───────────────────────────── Interesting Objects ──────────────────── Page 8.2 The Milky Way - our home Galaxy is visible as a belt of stars through the Summer and Winter skies. Find SIRIUS (Winter) or ANTARES (Summer) and zoom out to 180° to 210° to see our Galaxy edge-on (turn constellations, NGCs and planets OFF). The center of the Milky Way Galaxy lies in the area of Sagittarius. The Coma / Virgo Cluster of Galaxies - Find ALPHA, the leading star in the constellation COMa Berenices. Zoom in at 75° to 150° with NGCs ON. On the border between Coma and Virgo is a large cluster of galaxies of all types. The North Galactic Pole lies in this direction - our view of intergalactic space is thus not obscured by the dust clouds and stars that lie in the plane of the Milky Way. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere and have never travelled south of the Equator, EZCosmos can show you a part of the sky that you have never seen - the sky visible from the Southern Hemisphere. Objects of note here include: ∙ ALPHA CENtauri, the nearest star to our Solar System. ∙ The constellation Crux, the Southern Cross. ∙ The Large and Small Magellenic clouds (LMC and SMC), satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. ───────────────────────────── Interesting Objects ──────────────────── Page 8.3 The Planets - On January 1, 1900 at 00:01:00, all of the planets except Neptune and Pluto were within 40 degrees of the Sun. Set the Date and Time for this event, then Plot the sky and Find the Sun. Note the new Moon! The Planets - On January 10, 1986 at 12:00:00, all of the planets were within 80 degrees of the Sun. Set the Date and Time for this event, then Plot the sky and Find the Sun. Note the new Moon! The Planets - On June 17, 0002 B.C. the planets Venus and Jupiter were in an extremely close conjunction. This conjunction along with other evidence leads astronomers to believe that this was the Star of Bethlehem. Location: JERUSALEM, ISRAEL Time Zone: GMT+2 Planets: ON Date: 6-17-2B Time: 19:30 View: Overhead Plot the sky, then note the positions of Venus and Jupiter. Zoom in at 15° on Jupiter and you will see these planets almost superimposed. A conjunction of Jupiter and Venus occurs on August 13, 1990 and will be best visible from Europe around 04:00 GMT. It will be visible in daylight in telescopes about three hours before sunset from North America. ═════════════════════════════ Animate The Planets ════════════════════ Page 9.1 In CGA mode, the planets will appear as white circles with a dot in the center. The Sun is drawn as a white disc with a black circle just inside the perimeter. The Moon is drawn according to its phases, from new to full. With an EGA or VGA monitor, the planets are color coded: ╔══════════════════╤════════════════╤══════════════════╤════════════════╗ ║ Mercury - White │ Mars - Red │ Saturn - Magenta │ Neptune - Blue ║ ║ Venus - Yellow │ Jupiter - Cyan │ Uranus - Green │ Pluto - Grey ║ ╚══════════════════╧════════════════╧══════════════════╧════════════════╝ The Sun is drawn as a yellow disc with a red outline and the Moon is drawn as a white and blue disc according to its phases from new to full. On a monochrome monitor with Hercules graphics, the planets are shown as high intensity rectangles and the Sun and Moon are drawn the same as CGA. You can always find a planet (or the Sun or Moon) by pressing the letter F (in Plot mode) and typing the name of the planet. Only the first 2 letters are needed. ───────────────────────────── Animate The Planets ──────────────────── Page 9.2 Use the A command while in Plot mode to animate the Solar System. You may choose any interval from 1 minute to 9,999 days as shown below. ╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ┌────╫ Interval in days, hours, minutes (DDDD.HHMM): _________ ║ │ ┌─╫ Animate the Moon? _ ║ │ │ ╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ │ │ │ └─ Answer Y or Enter to animate the Moon. Answer N or spacebar │ if you do not wish the Moon to clutter large field animations. │ └──── Enter an interval from 1 minute to 9,999 days, or press Esc to abort the animate operation. The format is DDDD.HHMM. The interval you select is displayed at the top of the screen. Examples: ──Entered── ──Displayed── 0.0001 1 minute 0.01 1 hour 0.1230 12 hours 30 minutes 2 2 days 365.0549 365 days 5 hours 49 minutes (1 year ≈ 365.2524 days) ───────────────────────────── Animate The Planets ──────────────────── Page 9.3 An exciting feature of EZCosmos is its ability to show partial and full Solar Eclipses. Example: From the Status screen: Location: HILO, HAWAII Time Zone: HST Planets: ON Date: 07-11-1991 Time: 06:15 In the Plot mode: Find: SUN, Replot so the Sun is in the center of the screen Zoom: 5°, then zoom out in increments to see the area surrounding the Sun as it will appear during the eclipse. Notice that from Hilo, the Moon and Sun will only be about 20° above the horizon. You will see the Moon partially covering the Sun, with the star Delta Geminorum close by. If you Zoom to 3° and animate the planets (the A command) with an interval of 2 minutes and "Animate Moon = Yes", you can watch the eclipse progress. EZCosmos can accurately display Solar Eclipses throughout a date range of about A.D 1000 to A.D 3000. Eclipses can be plotted outside this range, but will not be quite as accurate. ───────────────────────────── Animate The Planets ──────────────────── Page 9.4 EZCosmos accurately displays the angular sizes of the Sun and Moon and can thus display annular solar eclipses. These occur when the Moon appears too small to entirely cover the Sun. From the Status screen: Location: Thibodaux, LA Planets: ON Lat: N 29°45' (+29.45) Zone: CDT Lon: W 90°50' (+90.50) Date: 5-30-84 Time: 11:04:44 In the Plot mode (press P in Status mode right after entering the time): Find: SUN, Replot so the Sun is in the center of the screen Zoom: 1° or 2°. At 30° you can see the surrounding sky in Taurus. You will see the Moon centered inside the Sun, with a small band of the Sun completely surrounding the Moon. Annular eclipses are not as exciting to see in person as total eclipses since the solar corona is not visible, but these eclipses are important to astronomers for comparing eclipse measurements with predicted eclipse data. ───────────────────────────── Animate The Planets ──────────────────── Page 9.5 EZCosmos can animate the Solar System to show you the motion of the Sun, Moon and planets from any location, date and time on the Earth. From the Status screen: Location: Anywhere Planets: ON Date: 06-01-1989 Time: Any In the Plot mode: Find: Saturn, and Replot so that it is centered on the screen Zoom: 75° Animate: Interval = 2 days, Display Moon = NO Press the spacebar to pause or quit the animation. Let the animation run through January of 1990. You will see Saturn and Neptune in close conjunction with each other, and Uranus off to the West. They are moving in retrograde motion (apparent backwards motion due to the Earth's orbit around the Sun). In September Venus will appear, followed by Mercury and the Sun (the Sun passes through Sagittarius in the Winter). Watch as both Venus and Mercury reach the apparent edge of their orbits and begin to travel behind the Sun almost simultaneously during the month of November. ───────────────────────────── Animate The Planets ──────────────────── Page 9.6 Animating from a polar viewpoint is also interesting, since all planets and the Sun are visible. For example, EZCosmos can demonstrate the inclined orbit of Pluto: From the Status screen: Location: Anywhere Planets: ON Date: 06-01-1989 Time: Any In the Plot mode: Find: POLARIS, and Replot so that it is centered on the screen Zoom: 240° to 270° Animate: Interval = 365.0549 (1 year), Display Moon = NO Press the spacebar to pause or quit the animation. Let the animation run for 100 years or more. Notice that the orbit of Pluto is different from the other planets - Pluto's orbit is inclined to the Ecliptic (the plane defined by the Earth's orbit around the Sun). EZCosmos will show you the length of 1 Plutonian year in Earth years if you animate long enough for Pluto to make one complete revolution about the Sun. ───────────────────────────── Animate The Planets ──────────────────── Page 9.7 ─── Interpreting Solar System Animation ─── Since EZCosmos is designed to run on all PC-Compatible computers including the 4.77 MHz XT, animation of the entire sky is not possible. Full sky animation would require at least a 33 MHz 80386 with a math coprocessor, and even then it would tax the resources of the computer. Thus a compromise had to be made. It was decided that in order to animate the Solar System, the simulated rotation of the Earth would be stopped. This works well for most animation sequences, but can become confusing when you try to animate the planets while looking at an overhead view with the horizon line displayed. Instead of seeing the Sun, Moon and planets rise above the Eastern horizon and set in the West, they move backwards in the sky. This is because the stars overhead and the horizon line are not being replotted during each interval (EZCosmos will erase the horizon line). When you animate the Solar System, you effectively "freeze" the background of stars on the screen. The motion of the Sun, Moon and planets is then calculated for each animation time interval and plotted against this frozen background of stars. If you could take a picture of an area of the sky each day at the same Sidereal time and then superimpose all of the pictures, you would see what EZCosmos displays during an animation sequence. ══════════════════════════════ Astronomical Terms ═══════════════════ Page 10.1 ─── Julian Day ─── The number of elapsed days since Noon on January 1, 4713 BC. Astronomers use the Julian date instead of the Gregorian date (mm/dd/yyyy) since the Julian date eliminates ambiguities resulting from changes to the calendar in the past. ─── Right Ascension and Declination ─── The coordinate reference system for the heavens, analogous to longitude and latitude on the Earth. Right Ascension (RA) is analogous to longitude and Declination (DEC) is analogous to latitude. Right Ascension is measured in hours, minutes and seconds of time (instead of degrees) from 0 hours to 23.59.59. The prime meridian of RA, 0 hours, is the point at which the Sun crosses Declination 0 (the Celestial Equator) from South to North, on the first day of Spring (Vernal Equinox). Declinations range from -90° over the South pole to 0° over the equator to +90° over the North pole. All objects in the heavens are given celestial coordinates of RA and DEC. The entire coordinate system of RA and DEC changes slowly over a period of some 22,000 years due to the precession of the Earth's axis of rotation. EZCosmos shows all celestial coordinates accurate to the instant in time that you have set on the Status screen (astronomers would say that EZCosmos shows RA and DEC 'precessed for the current epoch'). ────────────────────────────── Astronomical Terms ─────────────────── Page 10.2 ─── Sidereal time ─── The current star time. Local sidereal time indicates which line of Right Ascension is directly overhead in the sky right now. For instance, if the Local Sidereal Time is 06:30, objects whose Right Ascension (RA) is near 06:30 are overhead in the sky on a line running from the North pole to the South pole (the meridian). The Earth must make 366 ROTATIONS about its axis during its 365 DAY trip around the Sun - the extra rotation results from the fact that a Solar day is delimited by consecutive crossings of the meridian (overhead) by the Sun. As the Earth travels around the Sun, it must rotate about 1 degree farther each day to make the Sun appear directly overhead in the sky. A Sidereal day is delimited by the points in time that a given star crosses the meridian each day. There are thus 366 Sidereal days - exact ROTATIONS of the Earth with respect to the stars - per year. This ratio of 366/365 is the ratio of Sidereal time to Solar time - a Sidereal day is about 4 minutes shorter than a solar day. EZCosmos calculates your Local Sidereal Time (LST) based on the local date, time, time zone (to compute Universal Time and Julian day) and longitude. ═════════════════════════════ Looking At Pictures ═══════════════════ Page 11.1 EZCosmos can show you what certain objects look like through a large telescope. The most interesting objects to view in the sky are the NGC (New General Catalog), Index Catalog (IC) and Messier (M) objects. There are 5 main types of non-stellar objects in the heavens: ∙ Open star clusters which are part of our Galaxy and contain hundreds to several thousands of stars ∙ Globular star clusters which orbit our Galaxy and contain hundreds of thousands stars ∙ Nebulae which are clouds of interstellar gas and dust in our Galaxy: ∙ Reflection nebulae which shine by light reflected from nearby stars ∙ Emission nebulae which shine due to the ionization of their gas molecules excited by embedded or nearby stars ∙ Planetary nebulae which are the remains of stars that have blown their atmospheres into interstellar space ∙ External galaxies of two types: ∙ Spiral galaxies like our own Milky Way Galaxy ∙ Elliptical galaxies which are balls of millions to billions of stars The next page will describe how to locate and view the pictures shipped with your EZCosmos software. ───────────────────────────── Looking At Pictures ─────────────────── Page 11.2 To see a directory of pictures available, use the D command from the Plot mode. The directory is operated in the same manner as this help system. The directory will list all pictures available on a picture disk set. Each directory entry describes both the common and catalog names of the pictured object along with informative text about the object. Floppy disk users must insert the first Picture Disk of a set to see the directory of pictures provided with that set. Once you have decided on which picture you would like to view, use Esc to return to the Plot mode. If the object is an NGC or M object, make sure that NGC objects are displayed. Find the desired object using the F command or place the cursor over the object. Then use the L command to see the picture. Floppy disk users should insert the appropriate Picture Disk prior to using the L command. Pictures are best viewed in a darkened room at a distance of eight feet or more from the monitor. Like looking through a telescope, the longer you look the more you will see. VGA monitors will display the most color and resolution. Press Esc or spacebar when you are done viewing. ════════════════════════════════ Future Trends ══════════════════════ Page 12.1 ─── Technical Product Information ─── Supported hardware: PC, PC/XT, PC/AT, PS/2, 80386 with or without math coprocessor Math coprocessor automatically used if one is present - a math coprocessor will dramatically increase animation and plot speeds Processor speeds from 4.77 MHz to 33+ MHz Hercules, CGA, EGA, MCGA, VGA graphics adapters Color and monochrome monitors or wide aspect Laptop LCD displays Dual floppy or hard disk Calculational accuracies (for AD 1500 to AD 2500): Position of the Sun - +/- 8 arcseconds Position of the Moon - +/- 8 arcseconds Positions of the planets - +/- 10 arcseconds (except Pluto) Position of Pluto - +/- 2 arcminutes Positions of the stars - +/- 30 arcseconds Sidereal time - +/- 1 second Altitude and azimuth - +/- .05 degrees (no refraction) Rise and set times - +/- 10 seconds (no refraction) ──────────────────────────────── Future Trends ────────────────────── Page 12.2 ─── New Products and Releases ─── Look for the release of EZCosmos Professional during 3rd Quarter 1990. This new version includes: ∙ Over 50 pictures of NGC objects and the Solar System ∙ Extended astronomical phenomenon including lunar eclipses ∙ A much larger data base with entry and edit capabilities ∙ Many more stars plotted, down to magnitude 7.5 ∙ Option for extended precision Solar System calculations ∙ Support for Microsoft and Logitech 2- and 3-button mice ∙ Support for a wide range of printers for making custom star charts ∙ Ability to rotate the sky plot on the screen for easier interpretation ∙ Constellations and major stars labelled on the screen ∙ User programmable viewing sequences (batch mode) ∙ Automatic time zone entry for all cities in the data base Registered EZCosmos 2.0 users qualify for a special upgrade offer. For further information or to order EZCosmos Professional, call the Future Trends Software sales hotline: 1 (800) 869-EASY. ──────────────────────────────── Future Trends ────────────────────── Page 12.3 ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ P L E A S E D O N O T M A K E I L L E G A L C O P I E S ║ ║ ║ ║ O F T H I S S O F T W A R E ║ ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ The software you are using was produced through the efforts of many people: designers, artists, programmers, distributors, retailers and other dedicated workers. The costs of developing this and other software programs are recovered through software sales. The unauthorized duplication of personal computer software raises the cost to all legitimate users. This software is protected by federal copyright law. Copying software for any reason other than to make a backup is prohibited by law and prevented by your integrity. Future Trends Software and Astrosoft, Inc. support the industry's effort to fight the illegal copying of personal computer software. ──────────────────────────────── Future Trends ────────────────────── Page 12.4 EZCOSMOS IS NOT SHAREWARE NOR IS IT TO BE PUBLISHED ON BULLETIN BOARDS OR DISTRIBUTED BY ANY OTHER MEANS WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE PUBLISHER. Comments, suggestions, praise, problems and money should be addressed to: FUTURE TRENDS SOFTWARE P.O. BOX 3927 AUSTIN, TX 78764 For troubleshooting and technical information, call 1 (512) 443-6564. PLEASE do not use the toll-free number for technical support. This EZCosmos Owner's Guide and the EZCosmos Program and Picture Disks are: (c) Copyright 1990 Astrosoft, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. GIF and "Graphics Interchange Format" are trademarks of Compuserve, Inc., an H&R Block company.