Astronomy software question

Greg Crinklaw wrote:
Stephen Tonkin wrote:
Guide. (http://www.planetpluto.com)

The URL should be: http://www.projectpluto.com

AAARRRRGH! Thanks for the correction. I should not post when I've just
got home from a 4-hour finance meeting!

Are you sure about "flying" to other locations in the solar system?

Yes. You can set your location to another planet (or natural satellite
thereof) or the Sun quite simply: Settings - Location - [select from
list at the top of the dialogue box]


Best,
Stephen

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Stephen Tonkin wrote:
Yes. You can set your location to another planet (or natural satellite
thereof) or the Sun quite simply: Settings - Location - [select from
list at the top of the dialogue box]

Yes, you can do that with Guide and many programs, including Starry
Night. But I believe the poster was asking for something mo the
ability to simulate "flying" from one location to another.

Clear skies,
Greg

--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools Software for the Observer:
http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html

Skyhound Observing Pages:
http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html

Greg Crinklaw wrote:
But I believe the poster was asking for something mo the ability to
simulate "flying" from one location to another.

Then I understood his request differently. The "fly" was in quotes, and
he mentioned different viewpoints, which I took to be the "important"
part of his request -- Guide permits these different viewpoints.

Best,
Stephen

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Stephen Tonkin wrote:
Then I understood his request differently. The "fly" was in quotes, and
he mentioned different viewpoints, which I took to be the "important"
part of his request -- Guide permits these different viewpoints.

Yeah, it's rather ambiguous. Perhaps the poster should clarify.

Clear skies,
Greg


--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools Software for the Observer:
http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html

Skyhound Observing Pages:
http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html

"Greg Crinklaw" wrote in message
...
Stephen Tonkin wrote:
Then I understood his request differently. The "fly" was in quotes, and
he mentioned different viewpoints, which I took to be the "important"
part of his request -- Guide permits these different viewpoints.

Yeah, it's rather ambiguous. Perhaps the poster should clarify.

Clear skies,
Greg

Well, I meant that you could move the viewpoint rapidly between locations
rather than just entering a new location. So the package would have to be
able to animate in realtime. I find that this sort of capability gives you a
real sense of how things relate spatially in 3D.

Anyway thanks, all for the references - some downloading to be done

- Michael

MichaelJP wrote:
Well, I meant that you could move the viewpoint rapidly between
locations rather than just entering a new location. So the package
would have to be able to animate in realtime.

In that case, I was wrong and Greg was correct. Guide does not do what
you want (unless it is one of the myriad features that I've not yet
investigated).

Best,
Stephen

Remove footfrommouth to reply

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Wasn't it Stephen Tonkin who wrote:
MichaelJP wrote:
Well, I meant that you could move the viewpoint rapidly between
locations rather than just entering a new location. So the package
would have to be able to animate in realtime.

In that case, I was wrong and Greg was correct. Guide does not do what
you want (unless it is one of the myriad features that I've not yet
investigated).

In that case you might consider StarStrider. It's great for doing such
animations. The animations can optionally display relativistic effects
and Doppler shifts due to your motion. It can run 3D animations suitable
for viewing with red/blue 3D glasses. You can drive through space
interactively or write scripts that describe the motion. It's
planetarium capabilities are not particularly brilliant.

You can download it at
http://www.5star-shareware.com/Homehob/Astronomy/star-strider.html

It costs $49.95 to register.
The 30 day trial version requires you to restart every 5 minutes.

--
Mike Williams
Gentleman of Leisure