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377 lines
14 KiB
377 lines
14 KiB
<chapter id="using-kstars">
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<title>A Quick Tour of &kstars;</title>
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<para>
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This chapter presents a guided tour of &kstars;, introducing
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many of its important features.
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</para>
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<screenshot>
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<screeninfo>
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Here is a screenshot of the &kstars; main window:
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</screeninfo>
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<mediaobject>
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<imageobject>
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<imagedata fileref="screen1.png" format="PNG"/>
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</imageobject>
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<textobject>
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<phrase>Main Window</phrase>
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</textobject>
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</mediaobject>
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</screenshot>
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<para>
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The above screenshot shows a typical view of the KStars program. You
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can see the sky display centered on Betelgeuse, the brightest star in
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the constellation Orion. Orion has just risen above the eastern horizon.
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Stars are displayed with <link linkend="ai-colorandtemp">realistic
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colors</link> and relative brightnesses. If you look closely, you can
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also see the Moon near the left edge of the window. In three corners
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of the sky display, there are on-screen text labels displaying data on
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the current time (<quote>LT: 16:41:39 22 Jan 2005</quote>), the current
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Geographic Location (<quote>Tucson, Arizona, USA</quote>), and the
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current object in the center of the display (<quote>Focused on: Betelgeuse
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(alpha Orionis)</quote>). Above the sky display, there are two toolbars.
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The main toolbar contains shortcuts for
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<link linkend="kstars-menus">menu functions</link>, as well as a
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time-step widget which controls how fast the simulation clock runs.
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The view toolbar contains buttons that toggle the display of different
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kinds of objects in the sky. At the bottom of the window, there is a
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status bar which displays the name of any object you click on, and the
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<link linkend="ai-skycoords">sky coordinates</link> (both
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Right Ascension/Declination and Azimuth/Altitude) of the mouse cursor.
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</para>
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<sect1 id="startwizard">
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<title>The Setup Wizard</title>
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<para>
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<indexterm><primary>Setup Wizard</primary></indexterm>
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The first time you run KStars, you will be presented with a Setup Wizard,
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which allows you to easily set your geographic location and download some
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extra data files. You can press the <guilabel>Finish</guilabel> button
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at any time to exit the Setup Wizard.
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</para>
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<para>
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The first page of the Setup Wizard allows you to choose the starting
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geographic location, by selecting from the list of the 2500+ known
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locations on the right side of the window. The list of locations can be
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filtered to match the text you enter in the <guilabel>City</guilabel>,
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<guilabel>Province</guilabel>, and <guilabel>Country</guilabel> edit
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boxes. If your desired location is not present in the list, you can
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select a nearby city instead for now. Later on, you can add your
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precise location manually using the <link linkend="setgeo">Set Geographic
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Location tool</link>. Once you have selected a starting location, press
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the <guilabel>Next</guilabel> button.
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</para>
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<para>
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The second page of the Setup Wizard allows you to download extra data
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that are not included with the standard distribution of &kstars;.
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Simply press the <guilabel>Download Extra Data</guilabel> button to open
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the <guilabel>Get New Stuff</guilabel> tool. When you are all done,
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press the <guilabel>Finish</guilabel> button in the Setup Wizard to
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start exploring &kstars;.
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</para>
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<note>
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<para>
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The Download Extra Data tool is only available if you have KDE 3.3.x
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installed.
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</para>
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</note>
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</sect1>
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<sect1 id="lookaround">
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<title>Have a Look Around</title>
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<para>
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<indexterm><primary>Navigation Controls</primary>
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<secondary>Basics</secondary></indexterm>
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Now that we have the time and location set, let us have a look around.
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You can pan the display using the arrow keys. If you hold down the
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&Shift; key before panning, the scrolling speed is increased. The
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display can also be panned by clicking and dragging with the mouse.
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Note that while the display is scrolling, not all objects are
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displayed. This is done to cut down on the <acronym>CPU</acronym> load
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of recomputing object positions, which makes the scrolling smoother
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(you can configure what gets hidden while scrolling in the <link
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linkend="config">Configure &kstars;</link> window).
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There are seven ways to change the magnification (or
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<firstterm>Zoom level</firstterm>) of the display:</para>
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<orderedlist>
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<listitem>
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<para>Use the <keycap>+</keycap> and
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<keycap>-</keycap> keys</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>Press the Zoom In/Zoom Out buttons in the toolbar</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>Select
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<guimenuitem>Zoom In</guimenuitem>/<guimenuitem>Zoom Out</guimenuitem>
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from the <guimenu>View</guimenu> menu</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>Select <guimenuitem>Zoom to Angular Size...</guimenuitem> from
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the <guimenu>View</guimenu> menu. This allows you to specify the
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the field-of-view angle for the display, in degrees.</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>Use the scroll wheel on your mouse</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>Drag the mouse up and down with the &MMB; pressed.</para>
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</listitem>
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<listitem>
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<para>Hold down &Ctrl; while dragging the mouse. This
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will allow you to define a rectangle in the map. When you release the mouse
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button, the display will zoom to match the rectangle.</para>
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</listitem>
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</orderedlist>
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<para>Notice that as you zoom in, you can see fainter stars than at
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lower zoom settings.</para>
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<para>
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Zoom out until you can see a green curve; this represents your local
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<link linkend="ai-horizon">horizon</link>. If you have not adjusted
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the default &kstars; configuration, the display will be solid green
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below the horizon, representing the solid ground of the Earth. There
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is also a white curve, which represents the <link
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linkend="ai-cequator">celestial equator</link>, and a tan curve, which
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represents the <link linkend="ai-ecliptic">Ecliptic</link>, the path
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that the Sun appears to follow across the sky over the course of a
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year. The Sun is always found somewhere along the Ecliptic, and the
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planets are never far from it.
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</para>
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</sect1>
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<sect1 id="skyobjects">
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<title>Objects in the Sky</title>
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<para>
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<indexterm><primary>Objects in the Sky</primary>
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<secondary>Overview</secondary></indexterm>
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&kstars; displays thousands of celestial objects: stars, planets,
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comets, asteroids, clusters, nebulae and galaxies. You can interact
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with displayed objects to perform actions on them or obtain more
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information about them. Clicking on an object will identify it in the
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status bar, and simply hovering the mouse cursor on an object will label
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it temporarily in the map. Double-clicking will recenter the display on
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the object and begin tracking it (so that it will remain centered as
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time passes). <mousebutton>Right</mousebutton> clicking an object opens
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the object's popup menu, which provides more options.
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</para>
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<sect2 id="popupquick">
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<title>The Popup Menu</title>
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<indexterm><primary>Popup Menu</primary><secondary>Example</secondary></indexterm>
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<para>
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Here is an example of the <mousebutton>right</mousebutton> click popup
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menu, for the Orion Nebula:
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</para>
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<screenshot>
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<screeninfo>Popup Menu for M 42</screeninfo>
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<mediaobject>
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<imageobject>
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<imagedata fileref="popup.png" format="PNG"/>
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</imageobject>
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<textobject>
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<phrase>Popup Menu for M 42</phrase>
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</textobject>
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</mediaobject>
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</screenshot>
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<para>
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The appearance of the popup menu depends somewhat on the kind of
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object you <mousebutton>right</mousebutton>-click on, but the basic
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structure is listed below. You can get
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<link linkend="popup-menu">more detailed information about the popup
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menu</link>.
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</para>
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<para>
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The top section contains information labels (which are not selectable).
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The top one to three labels display the object's name(s) and object
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type. The next three labels show the object's rise, transit, and
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set times. If the rise and set times say "circumpolar", it means that
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the object is always above the horizon for the present location.
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</para>
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<para>
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The middle section contains items for performing actions on the
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object, such as <guimenuitem>Center and Track</guimenuitem>,
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<guimenuitem>Details...</guimenuitem>, and
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<guimenuitem>Attach Label</guimenuitem>. See the <link
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linkend="popup-menu">popup menu description</link> for a full list
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and description of each action.
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</para>
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<para>
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<indexterm><primary>Objects in the Sky</primary>
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<secondary>Internet Links</secondary>
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<seealso>Popup Menu</seealso></indexterm>
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The bottom section contains links to images and/or informative webpages
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about the selected object. If you know of an additional &URL; with
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information or an image of the object, you can add a custom link to the
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object's popup menu using the <guimenuitem>Add Link...</guimenuitem>
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item.
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</para>
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</sect2>
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<sect2 id="findobjects">
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<title>Finding Objects</title>
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<indexterm><primary>Find Object Tool</primary></indexterm>
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<indexterm><primary>Objects in the Sky</primary>
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<secondary>Finding by Name</secondary></indexterm>
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<para>
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You can search for named objects using the <guilabel>Find
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Object</guilabel> tool, which can be opened by clicking on the
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<guiicon>search</guiicon> icon in the toolbar, by selecting
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<guimenuitem>Find Object...</guimenuitem> from the
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<guimenu>Pointing</guimenu> menu, or by pressing
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<keycombo action="simul">&Ctrl;<keycap>F</keycap></keycombo>.
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The <guilabel>Find Object</guilabel> window is shown below:
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<screenshot>
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<screeninfo>Find Object Window</screeninfo>
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<mediaobject>
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<imageobject>
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<imagedata fileref="find.png" format="PNG"/>
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</imageobject>
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<textobject>
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<phrase>Find Object Window</phrase>
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</textobject>
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</mediaobject>
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</screenshot>
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</para>
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<para>
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The window contains a list of all the named objects that &kstars; is
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aware of. Many of the objects only have a numeric catalog name (for
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example, NGC 3077), but some objects have a common name as well (for
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example, Whirlpool Galaxy). You can filter the list by name and
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by object type. To filter by name, enter a string in the edit box
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at the top of the window; the list will then only contain names
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which start with that string. To filter by type, select a type
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from the combo box at the bottom of the window.
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</para><para>
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To center the display on an object, highlight the desired object in
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the list, and press <guibutton>Ok</guibutton>. Note that if the
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object is below the horizon, the program will warn you that you may
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not see anything except the ground (you can make the ground invisible
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in the <guilabel>Display Options</guilabel> window, or by pressing the
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<guiicon>Ground</guiicon> button in the View toolbar).
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</para>
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</sect2>
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<sect2 id="centertrack">
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<title>Centering and Tracking</title>
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<indexterm><primary>Objects in the Sky</primary>
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<secondary>Tracking</secondary></indexterm>
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<para>
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&kstars; will automatically begin tracking on an object whenever one
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is centered in the display, either by using the <guilabel>Find
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Object</guilabel> window, by double-clicking on it, or by
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selecting <guimenuitem>Center and Track</guimenuitem> from its
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<mousebutton>right</mousebutton>-click popup menu. You can disengage
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tracking by panning the display, pressing the <guiicon>Lock</guiicon>
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icon in the Main toolbar, or selecting <guimenuitem>Track
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Object</guimenuitem> from the <guimenu>Pointing</guimenu> menu.
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</para>
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<note>
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<para>
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<indexterm><primary>Orbit Trails</primary>
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<secondary>Attached to centered object</secondary>
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</indexterm>
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When tracking on a Solar System body, &kstars; will automatically
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attach an <quote>orbit trail</quote>, showing the path of the body
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across the sky. You will likely need to change the clock's timestep
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to a large value (such as <quote>1 day</quote>) to see the trail.
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</para>
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</note>
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</sect2>
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<sect2 id="objectactions">
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<title>Keyboard Actions</title>
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<indexterm><primary>Objects in the Sky</primary>
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<secondary>Keyboard Actions</secondary></indexterm>
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<para>
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When you click on an object in the map, it becomes the
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<firstterm>selected object</firstterm>, and its name is identified in
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the statusbar. There are a number of quick key commands available
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which act on the selected object:
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<variablelist>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><keycap>C</keycap></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>Center and Track on the selected object</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><keycap>D</keycap></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>Show the <link linkend="tool-details">Details window</link>
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for the selected object</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><keycap>L</keycap></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>Toggle a visible name label on the selected object</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><keycap>O</keycap></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>Add the selected object to the
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<link linkend="tool-observinglist">Observing List</link></para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><keycap>T</keycap></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>Toggle a visible curve on the sky, showing the path of the
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object across the sky (only applicable to Solar System bodies)
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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</variablelist>
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</para>
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<note>
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<para>
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By holding down the <keycap>Alt</keycap> key, you can perform
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these actions on the centered object, rather than the selected
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object.
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</para>
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</note>
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</sect2> <!--object actions-->
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</sect1> <!--objects in the sky-->
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<sect1 id="endtour">
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<title>End of the Tour</title>
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<para>
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This concludes the tour of &kstars;, although we have only scratched
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the surface of the available features. &kstars; includes many useful
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<link linkend="tools">astronomy tools</link>, it can directly
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<link linkend="indi">control your telescope</link>, and it offers a
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wide variety of <link linkend="config">configuration and
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customization options</link>. In addition, this Handbook includes the
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<link linkend="astroinfo">AstroInfo Project</link>, a series of short,
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interlinked articles explaining some of the celestial and astrophysical
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concepts behind &kstars;.
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</para>
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</sect1>
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</chapter>
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