The program supplied on this disk is a demonstration version and will not allow you to alter the date,or step intervals in the animation and data report programs. If you would like the full version then please send a cheque for £8.50 to: David Hartley. 395 Holcombe Road, Greenmount, Lancashire. BL8 4HF. The following guide is for the full version of ASTRONOMYv3.7. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASTRONOMYv3.7 ------------- David Hartley,1993 Thankyou for purchasing ASTRONOMYv3.7,a menu driven program which calculates information about the Sun,Moon,Planets and constellations. The program was written and compiled with Hisoft Basic using programs from Peter Duffet Smiths' "Astronomy With A Personal Computer". Please note that all calculated times are Universal Time (which is the same as Greenwich Mean Time [GMT]) and are not corrected for any daylight saving time that may be in effect in your area. I wrote the program principally to help me determine the best time to observe the planets.I have a keen interest in observing the planet Jupiter and find the Jupmoons program ideal for predicting interesting Jovian moon events such as transitions and occultations,and identifying which moon is which. To anyone just starting out in astronomy I would suggest a visit to the local library to gain as much knowledge as possible,and then buying a Phillips Planisphere,a reference book (Collins-Guide To Stars And Planets by Ridpath and Tirion is excellent),and a pair of good quality 10x50 binoculars (Russian binoculars have excellent optics and are good value for money).If funds will allow binoculars are best mounted (with a binocular clamp from photostores) on a tripod.You will be amazed at how much can be comfortably seen with such a system. Eventually the beginner will want a telescope.I would strongly recommend you look through a magazine such as "Astronomy Now" to get an idea of prices.Telescopes are expensive,but a good quality three inch refractor or six inch reflector will give superb images for a lifetime. ******************************************************* ** NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN THROUGH BINOCULARS ** ** OR A TELESCOPE,YOU MAY BE PERMANENTLY BLINDED ** ******************************************************* Do not expect to see superb images as in the books,you won't,those images are achieved using multi-million dollar equipment,however whatever you have,aim to gain the maximum enjoyment out of it. I wish you warm nights and clear skys,and if it's not clear then you now have ASTRONOMYv3.7 to wander through. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASTRONOMYv3.7 ------------- MAIN MENU --------- Upon loading the program the main menu will be displayed along with an information box of current settings:- DATE - Defaults to 01.01.1993 and can be changed with option 9. TIME - Defaults to 00.00 hrs and can be changed with option 9. LAT - Defaults to London and can be changed using option 9. LONG - Defaults to London and can be changed using option 9. JUL - Julian date is calculated from the current settings. LST - Local siderial time is calculated from the current settings. OPTION 0 - QUIT --------------- This option closes down ASTRONOMYv3.7 and returns you to the workbench. OPTION 1 - THE PLANETS ---------------------- Upon selecting this option a new menu appears allowing you to select the planet of your choice. When the calculations are finished you will be presented with a planets option menu,where inputting 0 will return you to the main menu and inputting 1 will send the planet data to a printer.Inputting 2 will show the data report menu:- The data report menu will allow you to create tables of data across a range of dates and if needed send the data to a printer. Option 0 will return you to the planets option menu. Option 1 will allow you to alter the start date. Option 2 allows you to input the day step interval between calculations. Option 3 will start the report. When the report is finished option 0 will return you to the report menu and option 1 will send the data table to a printer. OPTION 2 - THE SUN ------------------ This option calculates data about the Sun.Remember to set the correct time for accurate Sun details. As with the planets you can print individual date data or a data table using the report generator. OPTION 3 - THE MOON ------------------- This option calculates data about the Moon and draws a Moon phase diagram. Remember to set the correct time for accurate Moon details. Once again individual or report data can be sent to a printer. OPTION 4 - ALT-AZ ----------------- Upon selecting this option a new menu appears allowing you to select:- 0 - Main Menu 1 - The Planets 2 - The Sun 3 - The Moon 4 - Constellations Upon selecting option 1 - The Planets,a new menu appears allowing you to select the planet of your choice (1 to 8) or to return to the Alt-Az menu (0). Options 2 and 3 (Sun and Moon) give immediate data. Option 4 shows a new screen of the 88 constellations.You can choose any constellation (1 to 88) or return to the Alt-Az menu (0). Once a choice has been made the altitude and azimuth (compass bearing) of the selected object will be calculated at one hour intervals using the set date. Press 0 for the previous menu,1 to send Alt-Az data to a printer and 2 to use the data report option. OPTION 5 - JUPMOONS ------------------- This option will calculate and plot the positions of Jupiters four largest moons on a given date and time. The program defaults to a magnification of x100 to allow you to see all four moons (if visible). The magnification can be increased to x800 from within the Jupmoons program (option 1),if for example you want to watch a moon crossing the surface of Jupiter. Increasing the magnification decreases the field of view,so you may not see all four moons at higher magnifications. The X and Y data indicates in terms of Jupiters radius how far away from the centre of Jupiter a moon is. X gives the horizontal displacement (-tive is left of Jupiters centre), Y gives the vertical displacement (-tive is below Jupiters centre). The left (<) and right (>) arrows indicate the direction in which a moon is travelling.Moons moving left travel in front of Jupiter,moons moving right travel behind jupiter. When the program has finished you will be given the option of pressing 0 for the main Jupmoons options list or 1 to send data to a printer. Option 0 - Returns you to the main menu. Option 1 - Allows you to change the Jupmoons plot date. Option 2 - Allows you to change the Jupmoons plot time. Option 3 - Allows you to change the viewing magnification. Option 4 - Allows you to change the minutes step size for animation. Option 5 - Allows you to change the number of animated plots. Option 6 - Allows you to pause after each animated plot. Option 7 - Allows you to change the viewing instrument type. Option 8 - Starts the Jupmoons animation.(See later animation info). Please note that you do not need a telescope to see Jupiters moons,a pair of good quality 7x50 binoculars,held steady will show these four moons. OPTION 6 - ORRERY ----------------- This program will use the set date to compute the positions of all the planets in the solar system. You view the planets from directly above the Sun,placed some considerable distance outside the solar system looking straight down. Elliptical paths of the planets and orbital scales have been ignored, however the program is still capable of predicting favourable elongations of the inner planets and oppositions of the outer planets. Option 0 - Returns you to the main menu. Option 1 - Allows you to change the Orrery plot date. Option 2 - Allows you to change the day step size for animation. Option 3 - Allows you to change the number of animated plots. Option 4 - Allows you to pause after each animated plot. Option 5 - Starts the Orrery animation.(See later animation info). OPTION 7 - SKYCHART ------------------- Upon selecting this option a new menu appears allowing you to select:- 0 - Main Menu - This option returns you to the main menu. 1 - Alter View - This option allows you to select the direction in which you wish to look.You may select either the F(ull) 360 degree view which will show all the visible sky looking south from your location,or you can select to look N(orth),E(ast),S(outh) or W(est) which will give a narrower 90 degree view. 2 - Plot Chart - This option starts the Skychart plot. The program uses the set date,time,latitude and longitude to calculate and plot the positions of the Sun,Moon,Planets and over 1100 stars. When all calculations are finished,inputting 0 will return you to the Skychart menu,inputting 1 will change all colours to black and white and "dump" the screen to a printer. (If the print quality is poor then you will need to alter the printer graphics settings in PREFERENCES to suit your printer). OPTION 8 - QUICK LIST --------------------- This program uses the set date,time,longitude and latitude to calculate the positions of the Sun,Moon and Planets,and gives an indication of the strength of any current meteor activity.This gives the user a quick overview of what can and cannot be seen. Pressing option 0 will return you to the main menu,option 1 will send data to a printer. OPTION 9 - ALTER DATA --------------------- Upon selecting this option a new menu appears allowing you toselect:- 0 - Main menu - Returns you to the main menu. 1 - Alter Date - Allows you to manually change the date. 2 - Alter Time - Allows you to manually change the time. 3 - Alter Lat - Allows you to change your observing latitude. 4 - Alter Long - Allows you to change your observing longitude. 5 - Sys Date/Time - The current date and time is loaded from your computers clock.The computer clock can be changed from the PREFERENCES option on you workbench. 6 - Save Data - Upon selecting this option a new menu will appear allowing you to select:- 0 - Data Menu - Returns you to the previous alter data menu. 1 - Auto Sysdata - When this option is chosen,selecting YES instructs the Amiga to load the system date and time on startup.(Only select this option if your Amiga has a clock). Selecting NO instructs the Amiga to load in the default date and time (1st Jan 1993,0 hrs 0 mins). 2 - Save Data - This option will save the selected latiude and longitude to disk along with the auto load choice. ANIMATION INFORMATION --------------------- The Jupmoons and Orrery programs have an animation facility.To use this facility please use the following steps as a guide:- (a) - JUPMOONS -------------- (1) - Select the start date of your choice - Option 1 (2) - Select the start time of your choice - Option 2 (3) - Select the viewing magnification - Option 3 (4) - Select the step interval in minutes - Option 4 (5) - Select the number of plots you wish to see - Option 5 (6) - Select pause YES/NO between plots - Option 6 (7) - Select binocular or telescope view - Option 7 (8) - Start the animation - Option 8 Please note that any combination of options can be selected,the Jupmoons information box will inform you of your current settings.No changes will be made to the Jupmoons animation until option 8 is selected. (b) - ORRERY ------------ (1) - Select the start date of your choice - Option 1 (2) - Select the step interval in days - Option 2 (3) - Select the number of plots you wish to see - Option 3 (4) - Select pause YES/NO between plots - Option 4 (5) - Start the animation - Option 5 Please note that any combination of options can be selected,the Orrery information box will inform you of your current settings.No changes will be made to the Orrery animation until option 5 is selected. PRINTING OUT DATA ----------------- ASTRONOMYv3.7 has the ability to send data to a printer. There are several printer drivers in the DEVS directory on your ASTRONOMYv3.7 disk,these are:- (1) - Generic - A very basic printer driver than can handle text but little else. (2) - EpsonQ - A driver for use with all 24 pin Epson Q series compatible printers. (3) - EpsonX - A driver for use with all 8/9 pin Epson X series compatible printers. (4) - EpsonXold - A driver for use with older 8/9 pin Epson X series compatible printers.If you are using an Epson X compatible printer but the Epson X driver does not work,then try this driver. These four printer drivers should cover most printers.You will have to select the one which suits your printer best.You can select a printer driver from the PREFERENCES option on the ASTRONOMYv3.7 workbench. Please remember to SAVE the preferences you have selected. If you have a printer driver specially designed for your printer then just copy it into the DEVS directory and select its use from the PREFERENCES option. That's it.I hope you enjoy the program. David Hartley,November,1993 --------------------------------------------------------------------------