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0001 <chapter id="using-kstars"> 0002 <title>A Quick Tour of the &kstars; Skymap</title> 0003 0004 <para> 0005 This chapter presents a guided tour of the &kstars; skymap, introducing 0006 many of its important features. 0007 </para> 0008 0009 <screenshot> 0010 <screeninfo> 0011 Here is a screenshot of the &kstars; main window: 0012 </screeninfo> 0013 <mediaobject> 0014 <imageobject> 0015 <imagedata fileref="screen1.png" format="PNG"/> 0016 </imageobject> 0017 <textobject> 0018 <phrase>Main Window</phrase> 0019 </textobject> 0020 </mediaobject> 0021 </screenshot> 0022 0023 <para> 0024 The above screenshot shows a typical view of the &kstars; program. You 0025 can see the sky display centered on Betelgeuse, the brightest star in 0026 the constellation Orion. Stars are displayed with <link linkend="ai-colorandtemp">realistic 0027 colors</link> and relative brightnesses. In three corners 0028 of the sky display, there are on-screen text labels displaying data on 0029 the current time (<quote>LT: 3:08:30 AM EEST Wednesday, July 6, 2016</quote>), the current 0030 Geographic Location (<quote>Bucharest, Romania</quote>), and the 0031 current object in the center of the display (<quote>Focused on: Betelgeuse 0032 (alpha Orionis)</quote>). Above the sky display, there are two toolbars. 0033 The main toolbar contains shortcuts for 0034 <link linkend="kstars-menus">menu functions</link>, as well as a 0035 time-step widget which controls how fast the simulation clock runs. 0036 The view toolbar contains buttons that toggle the display of different 0037 kinds of objects in the sky. At the bottom of the window, there is a 0038 status bar which displays the name of any object you click on, and the 0039 <link linkend="ai-skycoords">sky coordinates</link> (both 0040 Right Ascension/Declination and Azimuth/Altitude) of the mouse cursor. 0041 </para> 0042 0043 <sect1 id="startwizard"> 0044 <title>The Setup Wizard</title> 0045 <para> 0046 <indexterm><primary>Setup Wizard</primary></indexterm> 0047 The first time you run &kstars;, you will be presented with a Setup Wizard, 0048 which allows you to easily set your geographic location and download some 0049 extra data files. You can press the <guilabel>OK</guilabel> button 0050 at any time to exit the Setup Wizard. 0051 </para> 0052 0053 <para> 0054 The second page of the Setup Wizard allows you to choose the starting 0055 geographic location, by selecting from the list of the 3400+ known 0056 locations on the right side of the window. The list of locations can be 0057 filtered to match the text you enter in the <guilabel>City filter:</guilabel>, 0058 <guilabel>Province filter:</guilabel>, and <guilabel>Country filter:</guilabel> edit 0059 boxes. If your desired location is not present in the list, you can 0060 select a nearby city instead for now. Later on, you can add your 0061 precise location manually using the <link linkend="setgeo">Set Geographic 0062 Location tool</link>. Once you have selected a starting location, press 0063 the <guilabel>Next</guilabel> button. 0064 </para> 0065 0066 <para> 0067 The last page of the Setup Wizard allows you to download extra data 0068 that are not included with the standard distribution of &kstars;. 0069 Simply press the <guilabel>Download Extra Data...</guilabel> button to open 0070 the <guilabel>Get New Stuff</guilabel> tool. When you are all done, 0071 press the <guilabel>OK</guilabel> button in the Setup Wizard to 0072 start exploring &kstars;. 0073 </para> 0074 </sect1> 0075 0076 <sect1 id="lookaround"> 0077 <title>Have a Look Around</title> 0078 <para> 0079 <indexterm><primary>Navigation Controls</primary> 0080 <secondary>Basics</secondary></indexterm> 0081 Now that we have the time and location set, let us have a look around. 0082 You can pan the display using the arrow keys. If you hold down the 0083 &Shift; key before panning, the scrolling speed is increased. The 0084 display can also be panned by clicking and dragging with the mouse. 0085 Note that while the display is scrolling, not all objects are 0086 displayed. This is done to cut down on the <acronym>CPU</acronym> load 0087 of recomputing object positions, which makes the scrolling smoother 0088 (you can configure what gets hidden while scrolling in the <link 0089 linkend="config">Configure - &kstars;</link> window). 0090 0091 There are several ways to change the magnification (or 0092 <firstterm>Zoom level</firstterm>) of the display:</para> 0093 0094 <orderedlist> 0095 <listitem> 0096 <para>Use the <keycap>+</keycap> and 0097 <keycap>-</keycap> keys.</para> 0098 </listitem> 0099 <listitem> 0100 <para>Press the <guibutton>Zoom In</guibutton>/<guibutton>Zoom Out</guibutton> buttons in the toolbar.</para> 0101 </listitem> 0102 <listitem> 0103 <para>Select the <menuchoice><guimenu>View</guimenu> <guimenuitem>Zoom In / Zoom 0104 Out</guimenuitem></menuchoice> menu item.</para> 0105 </listitem> 0106 <listitem> 0107 <para>Select the <menuchoice><guimenu>View</guimenu> <guimenuitem>Zoom 0108 to Angular Size...</guimenuitem></menuchoice> menu item. This allows you to specify 0109 the field-of-view angle for the display, in degrees.</para> 0110 </listitem> 0111 <listitem> 0112 <para>Use the scroll <mousebutton>wheel</mousebutton> on your mouse.</para> 0113 </listitem> 0114 <listitem> 0115 <para>Drag the mouse up and down with the &MMB; pressed.</para> 0116 </listitem> 0117 <listitem> 0118 <para>Hold down &Ctrl; while dragging the mouse. This 0119 will allow you to define a rectangle in the map. When you release the mouse 0120 button, the display will zoom to match the rectangle.</para> 0121 </listitem> 0122 </orderedlist> 0123 0124 <para>Notice that as you zoom in, you can see fainter stars than at 0125 lower zoom settings.</para> 0126 0127 <para> 0128 Zoom out until you can see a green curve; this represents your local 0129 <link linkend="ai-horizon">horizon</link>. If you have not adjusted 0130 the default &kstars; configuration, the display will be solid green 0131 below the horizon, representing the solid ground of the Earth. There 0132 is also a white curve, which represents the <link 0133 linkend="ai-cequator">celestial equator</link>, and a brown curve, which 0134 represents the <link linkend="ai-ecliptic">Ecliptic</link>, the path 0135 that the Sun appears to follow across the sky over the course of a 0136 year. The Sun is always found somewhere along the Ecliptic, and the 0137 planets are never far from it. 0138 </para> 0139 0140 <para> 0141 You can configure &kstars; to draw or not the celestial equator and Ecliptic curves 0142 on the Sky Map using the <menuchoice><guimenu>Settings</guimenu> <guimenuitem>Configure 0143 &kstars;...</guimenuitem></menuchoice> menu item. 0144 Select the <guimenu>Guides</guimenu> page and check/uncheck the <guilabel>Celestial equator</guilabel> 0145 and <guilabel>Ecliptic</guilabel> check boxes. You can also configure which colors &kstars; uses for 0146 drawing these curves, using the <guimenu>Colors</guimenu> page. 0147 </para> 0148 <screenshot> 0149 <screeninfo> 0150 Here is a screenshot of the &kstars; main window, focusing on horizon, 0151 celestial equator and Ecliptic curves: 0152 </screeninfo> 0153 <mediaobject> 0154 <imageobject> 0155 <imagedata fileref="kstars_horizon.png" format="PNG"/> 0156 </imageobject> 0157 <textobject> 0158 <phrase>&kstars; Window</phrase> 0159 </textobject> 0160 </mediaobject> 0161 </screenshot> 0162 </sect1> 0163 0164 <sect1 id="skyobjects"> 0165 <title>Objects in the Sky</title> 0166 <para> 0167 <indexterm><primary>Objects in the Sky</primary> 0168 <secondary>Overview</secondary></indexterm> 0169 &kstars; displays thousands of celestial objects: stars, planets, 0170 comets, asteroids, clusters, nebulae and galaxies. You can interact 0171 with displayed objects to perform actions on them or obtain more 0172 information about them. Clicking on an object will identify it in the 0173 status bar, and simply hovering the mouse cursor on an object will label 0174 it temporarily in the map. Double-clicking will recenter the display on 0175 the object and begin tracking it (so that it will remain centered as 0176 time passes). <mousebutton>Right</mousebutton> clicking an object opens 0177 the object's popup menu, which provides more options. 0178 </para> 0179 0180 <sect2 id="popupquick"> 0181 <title>The Popup Menu</title> 0182 <indexterm><primary>Popup Menu</primary><secondary>Example</secondary></indexterm> 0183 0184 <para> 0185 Here is an example of the <mousebutton>right</mousebutton> click popup 0186 menu, for the Uranus: 0187 </para> 0188 0189 <screenshot> 0190 <screeninfo>Popup Menu for Uranus</screeninfo> 0191 <mediaobject> 0192 <imageobject> 0193 <imagedata fileref="popup.png" format="PNG"/> 0194 </imageobject> 0195 <textobject> 0196 <phrase>Popup Menu for Uranus</phrase> 0197 </textobject> 0198 </mediaobject> 0199 </screenshot> 0200 0201 <para> 0202 The appearance of the popup menu depends somewhat on the kind of 0203 object you <mousebutton>right</mousebutton>-click on, but the basic 0204 structure is listed below. You can get 0205 <link linkend="popup-menu">more detailed information about the popup 0206 menu</link>. 0207 </para> 0208 0209 <para> 0210 The top section contains some lines of information which are not 0211 selectable: the object's names ("Uranus"), 0212 object type ("Solar system object"), and the constellation 0213 which contains the object ("Pisces"). The next three lines show the 0214 object's rise, set, and transit times. If the rise and set times 0215 say "circumpolar", it means that the object is always above the 0216 horizon for the present location. 0217 </para> 0218 <para> 0219 The middle section contains actions which can be performed on the 0220 selected object, such as <guimenuitem>Center & Track</guimenuitem>, 0221 <guimenuitem>Details</guimenuitem>, and 0222 <guimenuitem>Attach Label</guimenuitem>. See the <link 0223 linkend="popup-menu">popup menu description</link> for a full list 0224 and description of each action. 0225 </para> 0226 <para> 0227 <indexterm><primary>Objects in the Sky</primary> 0228 <secondary>Internet Links</secondary> 0229 <seealso>Popup Menu</seealso></indexterm> 0230 The bottom section contains links to images and/or informative webpages 0231 about the selected object. If you know of an additional &URL; with 0232 information or an image of the object, you can add a custom link to the 0233 object's popup menu. Use the <guimenuitem>Details</guimenuitem> item in 0234 the popup menu to open the <guilabel>Object Details</guilabel> dialog. 0235 On the <guilabel>Links</guilabel> tab use the <guibutton>Add Link...</guibutton> 0236 button. 0237 </para> 0238 </sect2> 0239 0240 <sect2 id="findobjects"> 0241 <title>Finding Objects</title> 0242 <indexterm><primary>Find Object Tool</primary></indexterm> 0243 <indexterm><primary>Objects in the Sky</primary> 0244 <secondary>Finding by Name</secondary></indexterm> 0245 <para> 0246 You can search for named objects using the <guilabel>Find 0247 Object</guilabel> tool, which can be opened by clicking on the 0248 <guiicon>search</guiicon> icon in the toolbar, by selecting 0249 <menuchoice><guimenu>Pointing</guimenu> <guimenuitem>Find 0250 Object...</guimenuitem></menuchoice> menu item, or by pressing 0251 <keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;<keycap>F</keycap></keycombo>. 0252 The <guilabel>Find Object</guilabel> window is shown below: 0253 0254 <screenshot> 0255 <screeninfo>Find Object Window with search online feature</screeninfo> 0256 <mediaobject> 0257 <imageobject> 0258 <imagedata fileref="find2.png" format="PNG"/> 0259 </imageobject> 0260 <textobject> 0261 <phrase>Find Object Window with search online feature</phrase> 0262 </textobject> 0263 </mediaobject> 0264 </screenshot> 0265 </para> 0266 0267 <para> 0268 The window contains a list of (almost, see <xref linkend="catalogs"/>) 0269 all the named objects that &kstars; is aware of. Many of the objects 0270 only have a numeric catalog name (for example, NGC 3077), but some 0271 objects have a common name as well (for example, Whirlpool Galaxy). 0272 You can filter the list by name and by object type. To filter by 0273 name, enter a string in the edit box at the top of the window; the 0274 list will then only contain names which start with that string. To 0275 filter by type, select a type from the combo box at the bottom of the 0276 window. 0277 </para> 0278 <para> 0279 &kstars; provides another method for resolving the objects that are 0280 missing from any of its predefined catalogues, by using an internet 0281 connection. Thus, if you want to find an object that &kstars; is not 0282 aware of, you can easily do this by querying several professional 0283 astronomical databases as: SIMBAD, NED or VizieR. This can be done by 0284 entering the object's name and then press the <guibutton>or search the 0285 internet for <replaceable>ObjectName</replaceable></guibutton> button. After your object is found, 0286 you can use it exactly as any object that is already loaded into &kstars; 0287 (&ie; adding it to the Observing WishList). If the object was not found 0288 in the online databases, then a warning dialogue will pop-up. Once you 0289 resolve an object by using this method, it is stored in &kstars; database, 0290 so if you close &kstars; and open it again, your object will still be there. 0291 </para> 0292 0293 <para> 0294 You can choose to enable or disable this feature by checking or unchecking the 0295 <guibutton>Resolve names not known to &kstars; using online services</guibutton> 0296 check box from <guilabel>Catalogs</guilabel> page, inside of <guilabel>Configure 0297 - &kstars;</guilabel> dialog (select the <menuchoice><guimenu>Settings</guimenu> 0298 <guimenuitem>Configure &kstars;...</guimenuitem></menuchoice> menu item). 0299 If this checkbox is checked, when an object name unknown to &kstars; 0300 is entered in the <guilabel>Find Dialog</guilabel>, &kstars; will contact online 0301 services to learn about the desired object and then add it directly to &kstars; 0302 database. The objects acquired in this manner are stored in a fake catalog, called 0303 <quote>_Internet_Resolved</quote>. Thus, you can enable or disable the display of 0304 these objects by checking or unchecking the <quote>_Internet_Resolved</quote> catalog 0305 from the catalogues list. Note that you can not delete this fake catalogue, as you can 0306 do with a custom catalogue. If this checkbox is unchecked, then the 0307 <guilabel>Find Object</guilabel> window will be exactly the same, excepting a minor change: 0308 the online searching button will no longer be visible. 0309 </para> 0310 <screenshot> 0311 <screeninfo>Find Object Window</screeninfo> 0312 <mediaobject> 0313 <imageobject> 0314 <imagedata fileref="find.png" format="PNG"/> 0315 </imageobject> 0316 <textobject> 0317 <phrase>Find Object Window</phrase> 0318 </textobject> 0319 </mediaobject> 0320 </screenshot> 0321 <para> 0322 To center the display on an object, highlight the desired object in 0323 the list, and press <guibutton>Ok</guibutton>. Note that if the 0324 object is below the horizon, the program will warn you that you may 0325 not see anything except the ground (you can make the ground invisible 0326 in the <guilabel>Guides</guilabel> settings page, or by pressing the 0327 <guiicon>Ground</guiicon> button in the View toolbar). 0328 </para> 0329 </sect2> 0330 0331 <sect2 id="centertrack"> 0332 <title>Centering and Tracking</title> 0333 <indexterm><primary>Objects in the Sky</primary> 0334 <secondary>Tracking</secondary></indexterm> 0335 <para> 0336 &kstars; will automatically begin tracking on an object whenever one 0337 is centered in the display, either by using the <guilabel>Find 0338 Object</guilabel> window, by double-clicking on it, or by 0339 selecting <guimenuitem>Center & Track</guimenuitem> from its 0340 <mousebutton>right</mousebutton>-click popup menu. You can disengage 0341 tracking by panning the display, pressing the <guiicon>Stop Tracking</guiicon> 0342 icon in the Main toolbar, or selecting <menuchoice><guimenu>Pointing</guimenu> 0343 <guimenuitem>Stop Tracking</guimenuitem></menuchoice> menu item. 0344 </para> 0345 0346 <note> 0347 <para> 0348 <indexterm><primary>Orbit Trails</primary> 0349 <secondary>Attached to centered object</secondary> 0350 </indexterm> 0351 When tracking on a Solar System body, &kstars; will automatically 0352 attach an <quote>orbit trail</quote>, showing the path of the body 0353 across the sky. You will likely need to change the clock's timestep 0354 to a large value (such as <quote>1 day</quote>) to see the trail. 0355 </para> 0356 </note> 0357 </sect2> 0358 0359 <sect2 id="objectactions"> 0360 <title>Keyboard Actions</title> 0361 <indexterm><primary>Objects in the Sky</primary> 0362 <secondary>Keyboard Actions</secondary></indexterm> 0363 <para> 0364 0365 When you click on an object in the map, it becomes the 0366 <firstterm>selected object</firstterm>, and its name is identified in 0367 the statusbar. There are a number of quick key commands available 0368 which act on the selected object: 0369 0370 <variablelist> 0371 <varlistentry> 0372 <term><keycap>C</keycap></term> 0373 <listitem> 0374 <para>Center and Track on the selected object.</para> 0375 </listitem> 0376 </varlistentry> 0377 0378 <varlistentry> 0379 <term><keycap>D</keycap></term> 0380 <listitem> 0381 <para>Show the <link linkend="tool-details">Details window</link> 0382 for the selected object.</para> 0383 </listitem> 0384 </varlistentry> 0385 0386 <varlistentry> 0387 <term><keycap>L</keycap></term> 0388 <listitem> 0389 <para>Toggle a visible name label on the selected object.</para> 0390 </listitem> 0391 </varlistentry> 0392 0393 <varlistentry> 0394 <term><keycap>O</keycap></term> 0395 <listitem> 0396 <para>Add the selected object to the 0397 <link linkend="tool-obsplanner">Observing wish-list</link>.</para> 0398 </listitem> 0399 </varlistentry> 0400 0401 <varlistentry> 0402 <term><keycap>T</keycap></term> 0403 <listitem> 0404 <para>Toggle a visible curve on the sky, showing the path of the 0405 object across the sky (only applicable to Solar System bodies). 0406 </para> 0407 </listitem> 0408 </varlistentry> 0409 0410 </variablelist> 0411 </para> 0412 0413 <note> 0414 <para> 0415 By holding down the &Shift; key, you can perform 0416 these actions on the centered object, rather than the selected 0417 object. 0418 </para> 0419 </note> 0420 </sect2> <!--object actions--> 0421 </sect1> <!--objects in the sky--> 0422 0423 <sect1 id="endtour"> 0424 <title>End of the Tour</title> 0425 <para> 0426 This concludes the tour of the &kstars; skymap, although we have only scratched 0427 the surface of the available features. &kstars; includes many useful 0428 <link linkend="tools">astronomy tools</link>, it can directly 0429 <link linkend="indi">control your telescope</link>, and it offers a 0430 wide variety of <link linkend="config">configuration and 0431 customization options</link>. In addition, this Handbook includes the 0432 <link linkend="astroinfo">AstroInfo Project</link>, a series of short, 0433 interlinked articles explaining some of the celestial and astrophysical 0434 concepts behind &kstars;. 0435 </para> 0436 </sect1> 0437 0438 </chapter>