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428 lines
13 KiB
428 lines
13 KiB
<tip category="KStars|General">
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<html>
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<p>You can locate objects in the sky by their name.
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Use Ctrl+F, the "Focus->Find Object" menu item, or the "Find"
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Toolbar button.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|General">
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<html>
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<p>To change your Geographic Location,
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use Ctrl+G, the "Settings->Set Geographic Location..." menu item,
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or the "globe" Toolbar button.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|General">
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<html>
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<p>You can Track an object, so it will always be centered
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in the display.<br/>
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Use Ctrl+T, the "Focus->Track Object" menu item, or the "lock"
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Toolbar button. You can also simply center the object by
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double-clicking on it or selecting "Center and Track" from the
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object's popup menu.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|General">
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<html>
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<p>The KStars Handbook includes the AstroInfo Project, a series
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of informative articles about Astronomy.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|General">
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<html>
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<p>There are three on-screen "Info Boxes" which show data related to the
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time/date, your geographic location, and the current central position on the
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sky (the focus). You can drag these boxes with the mouse, and "shade" them
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by double-clicking them to show more (or less) information. You can hide
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them altogether in the Settings->Info Boxes menu.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|General">
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<html>
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<p>KStars has a full-screen mode; you can toggle this mode using the
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"fullscreen" toolbar button, or by pressing Ctrl+Shift+F.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Navigation">
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<html>
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<p>The N,S,E,W keys will point the display at the North,
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South, East and West points on the Horizon. The Z key will point the
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display at the Zenith.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Navigation">
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<html>
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<p>The 0-9 keys will center the display on one of the major solar system
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bodies. 0 centers on the Sun, 3 centers on the Moon; the rest are the eight
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planets, in order of their distance from the Sun.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Navigation">
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<html>
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<p>Click and Drag with the mouse to slew the skymap to a new position on
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the sky.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Navigation">
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<html>
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<p>Double-click with the mouse to center the display on the location
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of the mouse cursor. If you double-click on an object, KStars will
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automatically begin tracking it.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Navigation">
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<html>
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<p>The status bar displays the current sky coordinates of the mouse cursor,
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in both Equatorial and Horizontal coordinate systems.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Navigation">
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<html>
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<p>The display can be zoomed in or out by spinning your mouse's scroll wheel,
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or by dragging the mouse up or down with the middle mouse button pressed. You
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can also use the +/- keys, or the "Zoom In"/"Zoom Out" items in the toolbar and
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in the View menu. The Zoom Level can be set manually using the "Zoom to Angular
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Size" item in the View menu (Shift+Ctrl+Z), and you can set it graphically by
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holding down the Ctrl button while dragging the mouse to define a rectangle for
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the new window boundaries.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Navigation">
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<html>
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<p>You can manually set the coordinates of the central Focus point.
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Press Ctrl+M, or use the "Focus->Set Focus Manually..." menu item, and enter
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the desired coordinates in the popup window.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Navigation">
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<html>
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<p>To switch between Equatorial and Horizontal coordinate
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systems, use the "View->Coordinates" menu item, or press the spacebar.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Time">
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<html>
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<p>To set the Time and Date, type Ctrl+S, use the "Time->Set Time" menu item,
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or press the "time" toolbar button. Note that dates in KStars can be very
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remote; you can use any year between -50,000 and +50,000.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Time">
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<html>
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<p>You can use Ctrl+E or the "Time->Set Time to Now" menu item to synchronize
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the simulation clock with your CPU clock.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Time">
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<html>
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<p>The Spin Box in the Toolbar allows you to adjust the time step
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used by the KStars clock; setting it to "1.0 sec" provides "real time".
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Note: negative values make time run backwards.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Time">
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<html>
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<p>You can stop and start the clock with the "Play/Pause" button
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in the Toolbar, or with the "Time->Stop/Start Clock" menu item.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Time">
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<html>
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<p>You can advance the simulation clock forward or backward by a single
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time step by pressing the ">" or "<" keys.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Objects">
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<html>
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<p>When you click your mouse in the map, the object in the sky nearest
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the mouse cursor is identified in the status bar.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Objects">
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<html>
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<p>When you hold the mouse cursor still for a moment, the nearest object
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will be identified by a temporary name label that automatically fades
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out when you move the mouse again.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Objects">
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<html>
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<p>Right-click with the mouse to open a popup menu of detailed options
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for a particular object, including links to images and information on
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the Internet.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Objects">
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<html>
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<p>The deep-sky objects with a special color (the default is Red)
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have extra URL links available in their popup menu.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Objects">
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<html>
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<p>By default, stars in KStars are displayed with realistic colors.
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A star's color depends on its temperature; cooler stars are red,
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while hotter stars are blue.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Objects">
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<html>
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<p>If you want the very latest orbital information for asteroids and
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comets (including recently-discovered objects), check the "Download
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Data" tool ("File|Download Data" or Ctrl+D) frequently for updated
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ephemerides.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Objects">
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<html>
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<p>The Details window provides a large amount of information on any
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object in the sky, including coordinates, rise/set times, internet
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links, and your own custom notes. Access the Details window through
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the popup menu, or by clicking on an object and then pressing "D".
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Objects">
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<html>
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<p>You can attach a name label to any object in the sky. Toggle the
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label in the popup menu, or by clicking on the object and then
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pressing "L".
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Tools">
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<html>
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<p>The KStars Astrocalculator (Ctrl+C) gives you direct access to many
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of the calculations that KStars does behind-the-scenes.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Tools">
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<html>
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<p>The AAVSO Light Curve Generator tool (Ctrl+V) connects to a server at the
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American Association of Variable Star Observers, and constructs a
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lightcurve for any of the 6000+ variable stars that they monitor
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on a daily basis.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Tools">
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<html>
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<p>The Altitude vs. Time tool (Ctrl+A) will plot altitude curves for any group
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of objects that you select. This is a great tool for planning
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observing sessions.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Tools">
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<html>
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<p>With the What's Up Tonight? tool (Ctrl+U), you can tell at a glance what
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objects will be visible from your location on a given night.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Tools">
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<html>
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<p>The Observing List tool (Ctrl+L) gives you easy access to a selected group
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of objects. Add objects to the list through the popup menu, or by
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clicking on the object, and pressing "O".
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Tools">
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<html>
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<p>The ScriptBuilder tool allows you to construct complex DCOP
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scripts using a simple GUI. The scripts can be played back later
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from the command line, or from within KStars.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Tools">
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<html>
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<p>The Solar System Viewer tool (Ctrl+Y) shows an overhead view of the solar
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system, showing the positions of the major planets for the current
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simulation date.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Tools">
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<html>
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<p>The Jupiter Moons tool (Ctrl+J) shows the relative positions of Jupiter's
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four largest moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto), as seen from
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Earth, and as a function of time.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Tools">
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<html>
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<p>You can export the sky image to a file using the "Save Sky Image"
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item in the File menu, or by pressing Ctrl+I. In addition, you can
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run KStars from a command prompt with the "--dump" argument to save a
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sky image to disk without even opening the program window. This can
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be used to generate dynamic wallpaper for your KDE desktop.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Customize">
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<html>
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<p>To add your own custom Object Catalogs, select
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"Add Catalog" from the Catalogs tab in the KStars Configuration window.
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See the Handbook for instructions on formatting your catalog file.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Customize">
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<html>
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<p>To add your own custom image/information URLs to
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any object, select "Add Link..." from the object's popup menu.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Customize">
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<html>
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<p>You can adjust dozens of display options by clicking the
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"configure" Toolbar button, or selecting the "Settings->Configure KStars..."
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menu item.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Customize">
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<html>
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<p>The on-screen Info Boxes can be hidden or shown using the
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"Settings->Info Boxes" menu.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Customize">
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<html>
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<p>The Toolbars can be hidden or shown using the "Settings->Toolbars" menu.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Customize">
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<html>
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<p>You can hide either the Ra/Dec or Az/Alt coordinate fields in the statusbar,
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or hide the stausbar completely, using the Settings|Statusbar menu.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Customize">
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<html>
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<p>You can easily switch between predefined color schemes by selecting
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the scheme from the "Settings->Color Schemes" menu.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Customize">
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<html>
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<p>You can define your own Geographic Locations. Fill in the
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required fields in the "Change Location" Dialog and then press the
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"Add to List" button. Your Locations will be available in all
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future sessions.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Customize">
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<html>
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<p>You can define your own Color Schemes. Adjust the colors
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in the Configuration Window's "Colors" Tab, and then press the "Save
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Current Colors" button. Your Color Scheme will appear in the list in
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all future sessions.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Customize">
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<html>
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<p>You can construct your own field-of-view (FOV) symbols, using the
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FOV Editor under the Tools menu. You can set the angular size, the
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shape, and the color of your new symbols.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Customize">
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<html>
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<p>The Advanced tab of the KStars Configuration window allows you to fine-tune
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the behavior of KStars. You can specify whether to correct for atmospheric
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refraction, and whether to use animated slewing. You can also specify which
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objects are hidden while the display is in motion.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Trivia">
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<html>
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<p>KStars displays 126,000 stars, 13,000 deep-sky objects, 88 constellations,
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all planets, the Sun, the Moon, thousands of comets and asteroids, and the
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Milky Way.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Trivia">
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<html>
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<p>The line in the sky that the Sun and all the Planets seem to follow
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is called the Ecliptic.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Trivia">
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<html>
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<p>Object positions in KStars include the effects of precession, nutation,
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aberration, atmospheric refraction, and light travel time (for planets).
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Trivia">
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<html>
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<p>The nearest star to the Sun is Rigel Kentaurus (alpha Centauri).
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The brightest star in the sky is Sirius (alpha Canis Majoris).
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Trivia">
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<html>
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<p>The large group of galaxies between Leo, Virgo and Coma Berenices
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is called the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Trivia">
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<html>
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<p>The large group of clusters and nebulae near the south celestial pole
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are objects in the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is a dwarf galaxy in
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orbit around the Milky Way.
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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<tip category="KStars|Trivia">
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<html>
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<p>The Messier Catalog is a list of 110 of the brightest non-stellar objects
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in the sky. It includes such famous objects as the Orion Nebula (M 42), the
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Andromeda Galaxy (M 31), and the Pleiades (M 45).
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</p>
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</html>
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</tip>
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