Spherical Trig Graphics Tools?

I sometimes like to draw spherical trig graphics, but use draw in MS
World. It can work, but is a bit tedious and limited. I've noticed that
some web pages do quite well in producing this material, particularly on
Wikipedia for astro topics involving coordinate systems. Any idea if
such programs exist or might be helpful?

On Apr 11, 2:55*pm, "W. eWatson" wrote:
I sometimes like to draw spherical trig graphics, but use draw in MS
World. It can work, but is a bit tedious and limited. I've noticed that
some web pages do quite well in producing this material, particularly on
Wikipedia for astro topics involving coordinate systems. *Any idea if
such programs exist or might be helpful?

My best guess would be AutoCAD, but that is very expensive and has a
steep learning curve.

\Paul A

"W. eWatson" wrote in news:hptgg2$jd0$1
@news.eternal-september.org:

I sometimes like to draw spherical trig graphics, but use draw in MS
World. It can work, but is a bit tedious and limited. I've noticed that
some web pages do quite well in producing this material, particularly on
Wikipedia for astro topics involving coordinate systems. Any idea if
such programs exist or might be helpful?

Mathematica -

http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/TrianglesOnASphere/

Also try Mathlab at local university.

- Canopus56

On 4/11/2010 7:50 PM, canopus56 wrote:
"W. wrote in news:hptgg2$jd0$1
@news.eternal-september.org:

I sometimes like to draw spherical trig graphics, but use draw in MS
World. It can work, but is a bit tedious and limited. I've noticed that
some web pages do quite well in producing this material, particularly on
Wikipedia for astro topics involving coordinate systems. Any idea if
such programs exist or might be helpful?

Mathematica -

http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/TrianglesOnASphere/

Also try Mathlab at local university.

- Canopus56
Wolfram. I've forgotten the name of their math package. Doesn't one have
to buy it to use the tool shown in the demo? Does it allow for labeling.
I have an old version of MatLab, infrequently used, but don't recall
seeing spherical trig graphics. Ah, Mathematica.

Unfortunately, closest university is 75 miles away. Well, 60 miles
through much more traffic.

On 4/11/2010 7:50 PM, canopus56 wrote:
"W. wrote in news:hptgg2$jd0$1
@news.eternal-september.org:

I sometimes like to draw spherical trig graphics, but use draw in MS
World. It can work, but is a bit tedious and limited. I've noticed that
some web pages do quite well in producing this material, particularly on
Wikipedia for astro topics involving coordinate systems. Any idea if
such programs exist or might be helpful?

Mathematica -

http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/TrianglesOnASphere/

Also try Mathlab at local university.

- Canopus56
Here's a very good example. Print page 3 and elsewhere in this web page.
http://www.davincisworld.com/Satellites/OrbitalDynamics.htm

"W. eWatson" wrote:

I sometimes like to draw spherical trig graphics, but use draw in MS
World. It can work, but is a bit tedious and limited. I've noticed that
some web pages do quite well in producing this material, particularly on
Wikipedia for astro topics involving coordinate systems. Any idea if
such programs exist or might be helpful?

Google Sketchup. I've tried it before and found it to be fairly good;
but, I'm more familliar with other software, so I ended up not using
it for very long.

I've made such 3D illustrations in Adobe Illustrator by making a
circle, transforming it into an ellipse, then rotating and translating
it appropriately. Do that three times to get the planes of the
coordinate system. To make the triangle, you do the same thing, then
use the scissors tool to delete the part of the ellipse you don't
need, one ellipse for each edge of the triangle.

It's tedious in the extreme. However, the final product is well worth
the effort. The illustrations show up crystal clear in PDF files and
in printed versions of Word docs (use the WMF export function in
Illustrator). For on-screen viewing--e.g., web pages--going to a
raster format does make clarity suffer; but that's unavoidable... no
free lunches and all that.
--
Dave

On 4/12/2010 12:54 PM, Dave Typinski wrote:
"W. wrote:

I sometimes like to draw spherical trig graphics, but use draw in MS
World. It can work, but is a bit tedious and limited. I've noticed that
some web pages do quite well in producing this material, particularly on
Wikipedia for astro topics involving coordinate systems. Any idea if
such programs exist or might be helpful?

Google Sketchup. I've tried it before and found it to be fairly good;
but, I'm more familliar with other software, so I ended up not using
it for very long.

I've made such 3D illustrations in Adobe Illustrator by making a
circle, transforming it into an ellipse, then rotating and translating
it appropriately. Do that three times to get the planes of the
....
I'm told Designer3 of Micrografx from back a number of years ago did a
good job at this. It's a bit DOS based, but as far as I can tell
there's now a version 10 for XP.

"W. eWatson" wrote:

On 4/12/2010 12:54 PM, Dave Typinski wrote:
"W. wrote:

I sometimes like to draw spherical trig graphics, but use draw in MS
World. It can work, but is a bit tedious and limited. I've noticed that
some web pages do quite well in producing this material, particularly on
Wikipedia for astro topics involving coordinate systems. Any idea if
such programs exist or might be helpful?

Google Sketchup. I've tried it before and found it to be fairly good;
but, I'm more familliar with other software, so I ended up not using
it for very long.

I've made such 3D illustrations in Adobe Illustrator by making a
circle, transforming it into an ellipse, then rotating and translating
it appropriately. Do that three times to get the planes of the
...
I'm told Designer3 of Micrografx from back a number of years ago did a
good job at this. It's a bit DOS based, but as far as I can tell
there's now a version 10 for XP.

Good point! I forgot all about that. It's now owned by Corel and
sold under the name Designer X4.

I'm not familiar with it, but Autodesk's AutoSketch might also be good
for this. Kind of a stripped-down version of AutoCAD, I think.
--
Dave

On Apr 11, 4:55*pm, "W. eWatson" wrote:
I sometimes like to draw spherical trig graphics, but use draw in MS
World. It can work, but is a bit tedious and limited. I've noticed that
some web pages do quite well in producing this material, particularly on
Wikipedia for astro topics involving coordinate systems. *Any idea if
such programs exist or might be helpful?

Nearly any basic CAD or Drawing program should let you draw the
elliptical arcs found in spherical trig illustrations. Here are some
that I am familiar with:

AutoSketch (Autodesk) - Moderate price (~ $140) but lots of power and
control. Not quite as formidable as AutoCAD, but more than enough for
the drawings you require. Wide variety of snaps and file export
formats. Fairly intuitive interface, easy enough to learn if you have
some CAD/drafting training/background. My personal preference.
Recommended.

TurboCAD (IMSI ?) - Moderate price. A little more powerful than
AutoSketch in some areas, but a bit quirky and limited in others.
Interface is a combination of intuitive and irritating. There is a
cheaper version (TurboSketch ?) which might work for what you want,
but is not otherwise recommended.

Illustrator (Adobe) - Pricy ($200+). Very good for drawing almost
anything. Results can be layered and anti-aliased. Elliptical arcs
can be drawn using bezier curves. Has adjustable transparency for
each layer. Great program if you can afford it. Recommended.

Corel Draw (Corel) - Somewhat variable price ($130 - $350 ?). Also
very good. Interface is not as refined as Adobe Illustrator, but is
nearly as powerful in some areas, and not so much in others. Has
transparency and anti-aliasing. Recommended.

Windows Draw (Micrografix ?) - An older drawing program. Much less
pricy ($30 - $70) Many good features, but much less powerful than
Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw or AutoSketch. I haven't played with
this in a while, so I don't know how easily or well in will produce
the drawings you desire.

There are other programs out there which might work for your needs.
Of these, my personal choice would be to create the main drawing in
AutoSketch, then import the .DFX file into Adobe Illustrator or Corel
Draw for refinements such as shading, transparency and anti-aliasing.

In article
,
LarryG wrote:

On Apr 11, 4:55*pm, "W. eWatson" wrote:
I sometimes like to draw spherical trig graphics, but use draw in MS
World. It can work, but is a bit tedious and limited. I've noticed that
some web pages do quite well in producing this material, particularly on
Wikipedia for astro topics involving coordinate systems. *Any idea if
such programs exist or might be helpful?

Nearly any basic CAD or Drawing program should let you draw the
elliptical arcs found in spherical trig illustrations. Here are some
that I am familiar with:

AutoSketch (Autodesk) - Moderate price (~ $140) but lots of power and
control. Not quite as formidable as AutoCAD, but more than enough for
the drawings you require. Wide variety of snaps and file export
formats. Fairly intuitive interface, easy enough to learn if you have
some CAD/drafting training/background. My personal preference.
Recommended.

TurboCAD (IMSI ?) - Moderate price. A little more powerful than
AutoSketch in some areas, but a bit quirky and limited in others.
Interface is a combination of intuitive and irritating. There is a
cheaper version (TurboSketch ?) which might work for what you want,
but is not otherwise recommended.

Illustrator (Adobe) - Pricy ($200+). Very good for drawing almost
anything. Results can be layered and anti-aliased. Elliptical arcs
can be drawn using bezier curves. Has adjustable transparency for
each layer. Great program if you can afford it. Recommended.

Corel Draw (Corel) - Somewhat variable price ($130 - $350 ?). Also
very good. Interface is not as refined as Adobe Illustrator, but is
nearly as powerful in some areas, and not so much in others. Has
transparency and anti-aliasing. Recommended.

Windows Draw (Micrografix ?) - An older drawing program. Much less
pricy ($30 - $70) Many good features, but much less powerful than
Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw or AutoSketch. I haven't played with
this in a while, so I don't know how easily or well in will produce
the drawings you desire.

There are other programs out there which might work for your needs.
Of these, my personal choice would be to create the main drawing in
AutoSketch, then import the .DFX file into Adobe Illustrator or Corel
Draw for refinements such as shading, transparency and anti-aliasing.

Inkscape is a free, open-source, and fairly capable drawing program that
uses SVG (now supported by most Web browsers, to some degree at least)
as its native format; it can import/export in AI, EPS, PDF, &c.

http://www.inkscape.org/download/

--
Odysseus