SolarProbe V1.5 By SilverScope
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SolarProbe was created using Blitz Basic 2.
The full version of SolarProbe includes the following features:
* Fast operation, even on a 68020.
* Two viewmodes:- from space, or Earth.
* Dynamic viewpoints- zoom, rotate, incline.
* Shows useful, up-to-date information about each planet.
* Ideal for beginners, No understanding of astronomy required. 
* Great for simulations.


Space view mode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This displays the solar system as seen from any point around it. For now, all
orbits are circular and are all along the same plane. High speed is the aim,
not accuracy.
The viewing position can be altered by using the control panel. +/- zooms in
and out, < & > rotates the solar system, UP and DOWN buttons alters 
height
above the ecliptic plane.

Tip: For maximum speed turn off the "orbits" option in the "Mode" menu.
     This makes manoeuvring the viewpoint very fast on even an 020 
     processor.


Earth view mode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This mode shows the solar system as seen from Earth. The same control 
panel
can be used to change the view:-
< & > buttons change the view position from sun to left and right.
+ & - zooms in and out.
At the widest viewing angle (360 degrees), the "opposition" line is visible,
this is the part of the sky opposite the sun and is therefore due south at
midnight. When planets move past this line they will appear on the other 
side of the screen.


Both Modes
~~~~~~~~~~
In both modes, the date may be changed by entering it into the string 
gadget
(must be in the form dd/mm/yyyy). "NOW" displays the current date.
Clicking on "INCR" will advance the time by the number of days specified in
the "Time Increment" setting, located in the "Mode" menu.


Contact
~~~~~~~
SolarProbe costs 9.50 UK pounds. If you are interested in purchasing the full
version of SolarProbe, then please email me at: silverscope@redhotant.com ,
making sure to give your email address, so that I can then email you the
details for ordering. Any updates will be sent to you for free. Any ideas for
updates, or if you have found any bugs then please email me.


Bugs/Troubleshooting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There should be no problems. But no program is perfect:
* A corrupt SProbe.conf can cause strange behaviour or the program may 
  not run at all. So delete "SProbe.conf" if this happens, and rerun the
  program.

* Planets are not always displayed if dates prior to August 1999 are used.


History
~~~~~~~
V1.0 -  Initial idea
	Started life as a small window, with odd looking sun and planets.
	Added a small window to allow dates to be entered.
V1.1 -	Made window sizeable. Added zoom function.
V1.2 -	Decided to use a custom screen and added planet icons instead of 
        little
	dots! Fiddled about with the colours. Looking good!
V1.3 -	Made the planets positions more accurate. Added "NOW" button to 
        the
	main control panel.
V1.31-	Added "height" and rotate adjustment control.
V1.4 -	Added menus.
V1.41-	Started on the Earth centred view mode. Found out that not
        displaying
	the orbits speeds up the re-display, so I made it optional.
V1.42-	Implemented save configuration function.
	Made the Earth centred view mode more useable with zoom and angle
	functions.
V1.43-	Now able to increase/decrease time in user definable steps.
V1.44-	Planets in heliocentric mode now respond to mouse clicks. Window 
        opens detailing up to date information about planets.
V1.5 -  Now displays information about Meteor showers, opposition times for
        Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, morning/evening elongation times for Mercury
        and Venus.
V1.51-  Added Saturn ring aspect. Added Venus phase display.