PC Review 1998 November/PCR87.ISO/manual/m_globe.txt

Text File | 1997-05-13 | 6.4 KB | 120 lines

{bigtext=20,85,"Globe"}

{4}This screen displays the data wrapped around a rotating globe. The menu items
have the following actions:

{3}Display Type:{4} This option allows you to change the type of data being
displayed on the globe. There are currently 8 different choices:

  {3}satellite imagery{4}
  {3}shaded elevation:{4} colored according to height above sea level
  {3}shaded relief{4}
  {3}land vegetation:{4} This shows the changes in vegetation from month to month for
  an entire year.
  {3}ocean vegetation:{4} This shows the monthly changes in ocean vegetation (plankton) levels.
  {3}Cloud cover:{4} Shows the monthly average percentage of sunshine from 0 to 100 percent.
  {3}Precipitation:{4} Shows the monthly average precipitation in millimeters per month.
  {3}Temperature:{4} Shows the changes in temperature on a month-to-month basis.

{3}Names:{4} This toggles the display of continent names on or off on the globe.
The names show in every data type except the satellite imagery.

{3}Options:{4} This button allows you to change the color scale for the shaded
elevation display type. You can choose from 8 different color scales. Once you
choose the one you want, click on the close button to accept or press the ENTER
key, or press ESC to cancel.

{3}Flooding:{4} This allows you to interactively see what would happen if the water
level was changed on the globe. Once you click on this button, the globe changes
to show the shaded elevation data. You can click or drag the cursor on the color
scale bar to change the water level. Once done, click the button again to turn flooding
off, and you can then access any other function on the screen normally.

{3}Satellites:{4}

  {3}Turn on/off:{4} his button toggles display of satellite orbital
  tracks on or off. The program displays groups of satellites of the
  same family (for example, all the Landsat satellites at one time,
  or all the GPS satellites). The orbital positions are real, and are
  calculated for the current day for a 24- hour period. A date and time
  indicator are shown at the top, along with the type of satellite.
  The position of each satellite is displayed along with its name
  and altitude above the surface of the earth.    The program also displays
  a trail behind the satellite to give an idea of its movement and
  previous position.

  The orbital data can be updated in order to ensure accuracy by
  using the 'update software' button on the options screen. The
  orbital data will be posted periodically along with other software
  patches and updates on Axion's web site.

  {3}Info:{4} Shows in-depth information about each type of satellite. If
  there is text data available for the current satellite orbits
  being drawn, the program automatically goes to the specific information
  for that family of satellites. If not, it gives you a list from
  which you can choose the family of satellites you are interested
  in. Embedded within some of the text files are hot links to
  automatically turn on the satellite orbital tracks for that
  particular family of satellites.

  {3}up and down arrows:{4}  Switches to the next or previous family of
  satellites to display. There are about 14 groups provided with
  this version. We have also provided the orbital data for the
  Russian space station Mir as one of the satellite types for your
  interest.

{3}Tools:{4}

    The 4 buttons in a vertical column let you change the size of the globe in
    order to zoom in and out. You can also use the + and - keys on the keyboard
    for the same purpose at any time. This is useful when displaying some of the
    satellite orbits which are out farther from the earth so that you can see
    them.

    double left/double right arrows: these increase or decrease the
    speed of rotation left or right. You can also use the left and
    right arrow keys on the keyboard.

    single left/single right arrows: These toggle the direction of
    rotation of the globe.

    Pause/start button: This button (at the lower right of the tools
    control panel) lets you stop or start the rotation of the globe
    without having to change the speed to zero. Also, if the data
    type showing is changing such as the vegetation or precipitation,
    a similar button appears beside the color scale to allow you to
    pause or start the changing seasonal data display regardless of
    whether the globe is rotating or not.

    arc along left side of globe: This lets you tilt the globe up or
    down to one of 5 preset angles. You can also use the up or down
    arrow keys on the keyboard to do the same thing.

{3}Find (binoculars icon):{4} If you want to know what satellites are overhead at a
particular time and date from a location on the surface of the globe, you can do so
with this function. Give the observer location in latitude longitude coordinates
(from the 2D map) on the ground, and what day you are interested in, and the
local time. The program will then search a database of over 4000 satellites to
find out which of those would be visible within plus or minus 5 minutes from
that specified time. The user can then pick a particular satellite from the
resulting list to see in what direction it passed overhead, and at what location
in the sky it would be visible (elevation above the horizon, and azimuth, which
is the angle clockwise from true north from 0 to 360 degrees).

{3}Align:{4} As an added bonus, we have also provided a little utility that,
given your location on the ground and elevation above sea level, will print out
a table of elevation and azimuth values for each geosynchronous satellite visible
from that location on the ground. It saves this information in a text file which
you can then print out. This information can then be used to align your satellite
TV dish accurately, and is also useful for those interested in receiving weather
satellite transmissions. If you are interested in using this utility, the data
file for it is available for a nominal fee from our web site. This function can
be accessed by hitting F5 when in the globe display mode. If the data file
is not there, this function is not available.


The five buttons along the top act the same as anywhere else in the program.
To leave the globe view and go to another view, simply choose the one you want
by clicking on the button. Pressing ESC also takes you back the 2D view. The
buttons along the bottom also act the same as elsewhere in the program.