AstroTray™
A Planisphere for your System Tray
Requirements
Minimum
AstroTray can be installed on any IBM compatible PC with a 486 DX processor or higher running Windows 95, 98, or NT. The more video and conventional RAM you have, the better - 1 Mb or more for the former, and at least 8Mb of the latter.
Recommended
The recommended system for running AstroTray is a Pentium 75 or higher with 16 Mb of RAM and a graphics card equipped with at least 2 Mb VRAM.
Additionally, AstroTray requires that your Windows display be in either Hi-color or Truecolor mode at a resolution of at least 800x600 pixels. The optimum screen resolution for AstroTray is 1024x768. Please note that a display of only 256 colors is bound to be a disappointment. If your video subsystem is not up to displaying in at least Hi-color at 800x600, we would strongly recommend purchase of our slightly less demanding Coeli - Electric Planisphere, with which AstroTray is maintaining maximum compatibility. Just point your Web browser at
http://www.coeli.com
for details.
A Quick Excursion around AstroTray
Loading and the System Tray
Running AstroTray is just a matter of clicking on the AstroTray galaxy icon or shortcut wherever you installed the program. We recommend, however, that a shortcut to AstroTray be placed in your Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp\ folder so that each time you boot Windows, AstroTray is automatically put into your system tray for instant access.
The most essential trick to learn is how to make AstroTray appear and disappear from your screen. All you do is double-click on the AstroTray icon in your system tray. This operation is what is known as a toggle, so if the sky is already present, a double click will minimize it, and if it is absent, clicking will make it reappear. While visible, though, the quickest way to hide the display is to double-click anywhere in the sky.
Let's begin by taking a look at the system tray icon's dedicated right-click popup menu. This, as its name suggests, is accessed by right clicking with the mouse pointer on the miniaturised galaxy icon in your Windows system tray. Most of the items on this popup menu are self-explanatory, the most important without doubt being Settings and Information.
Settings will allow you to find and enter your correct geographic coordinates and time zone so that AstroTray will always show your night sky from your own backyard.
Information will bring up the means to access the Overview you are reading now or the more extended and systematic Guide to Mouse and Key Functions for the entire Coeli Software range. Most of the sky operations relating to our flagship application Stella 2000 will also apply to AstroTray. The Information menu item is also a toggle, so clicking it a second time will reinstate AstroTray's sky display.
Some Hints on General Navigation
What the Sky window initially presents you with is the entire celestial sphere for the preset location, with South at the bottom, East at the left. Vega will be the initial focus for northern observers and Canopus for the southern hemisphere. Stars plotted in dark grey lie below your horizon: they have set, not yet risen, or may never rise at your position.
Display the time bar by pressing [t]
Now hide it again using the right-click menu entry |Clock|Bar|. It is worth noting here that enabling the timebar prevents the use of single keypresses in the sky window, unless the timebar itself was invoked with keypress [t] and not accessed with the mouse. So during intensive manipulation of the display it is as well to avail yourself of the Viewbar's comprehensive functions while the Clock bar is present..
AstroTray's virtual Earth revolves in real time, and the apparent motion of the stars is from left to right when facing south. AstroTray's basic population is around 3500 stars, over 5000 in QuikSky Enhanced, AstroTray's full color elder sibling, resulting in a realtime display update every minute or so. Zooming will be smooth all the way down to the magnitude limit of approximately 6.5.
AstroTray's default celestial projection is an azimuthal Equal Area, [F3], centered on your zenith. It is of the type used by planetaria the world over, so it is in good company, but if you happen to desire a change, there are three more to experiment with: Equidistant [F2], Stereographic [F4], and Orthographic [F5]. When you gain a little more experience using AstroTray, you'll want to begin experimenting with contrasting viewpoints too.
Start by pressing [H] for a horizon view of the southern sky. To traverse through the 360 degrees of the compass, access the traverse and elevation tools with [ctrl][D] or [ctrl][E]. Alternatively, you may prefer to enable auto-centering at the outset with |Viewpoint|Projection|Auto-center| thus doing the job of the traverse and elevation tools automatically each time you click on a new object. With its often abrupt switching of view, this setting can prove disorienting on occasion, especially if you have not yet attained full familiarity with your local celestial geography! As with all things AstroTray, it will therefore pay to experiment a little.
[Z] will return you to a zenith view, but at the new line of sight you traversed with the tools.
It is worth stressing that after any operations which somehow change AstroTray's viewpoint, pressing [F12] immediately is the safest way to ensure an accurate display of all stars visible at the current magnification. For extra responsiveness, some operations do not incorporate this process.
By default, [a]uto-resolution of stars is switched on. What this means is that you only begin to see the dimmer stars as you increase your resolving power (change to binoculars/telescope), in imitation of reality. AstroTray's initial magnification is negative in order to encompass the entire sky. Zoom down to zero magnification to receive an impression of the sky as seen on a clear night by the naked eye. To adjust the number of stars visible at any given magnification, press [+] or [-]. Auto-resolution will need to be disabled with [a] if you wish your changes to survive any zooming or unzooming operations you might perform subsequently.
AstroTray itself provides these keys for tampering with colors: [B] , [D] , and [R].
[B] brightens (lightens) the palette uniformly, giving a washed-out effect, and finally washes color out completely. [D] achieves exactly the opposite, darkening - and thereby deepening - all the colors. Unrealistic, as if seen through sunglasses, but you may find it a change. It at least reveals a star's underlying 'character', subleties that the brightness may have hidden.
[z] does just what it says: zooms you in (or narrows the field of view, like a pair of binoculars or a telescope), displaying the magnification factor as you go. Try this on Albireo, Izar, Castor, Mizar and many others. They will eventually resolve as true doubles, imitating reality. [x] widens the field, and zooms you out. AstroTray automatically resolves stars for you in proportion to the magnification, like a real instrument: the bigger the objective glass, the more stars you will see and the brighter the more brilliant ones will appear. Conversely, the more extremely your field narrows, the fewer stars will be seen, because AstroTray's database is restricted, unlike the galaxy's.
Perhaps the [a]uto resolution feature merits a bit more elaboration. Firstly, if you disable it, you will have to add and brighten stars manually via the keys listed on AstroTray's [h]elp screen. This is long winded, but the best way to achieve the most impressive results for the given magnification, and to derive the most personal satisfaction. We all see the sky differently and are affected by different facets of it. But for quicker and yet still fairly realistic resolution, our preset values are quite good. Keep it automatic until you come across a starfield which you truly deem worth perfecting.
AstroTray allows you to use [f] to find a specific constellation, star, DSO, or planet. If a constellation was selected, the group of stars will be spotlighted for you against a neutralised star background. Selecting 'not designated' from the dropdown list will always return you to a normal display.
Stars may also be searched for by common name: AstroTray has almost 200 of these recorded, and you may add more if you've the inclination.
Above all, AstroTray is a point-and-click introduction to the skies, and the mouse-crosshair its most useful instrument. Use the crosshair to select a star, then click the <left> button for a short display of the star's name and designation as follows:
- The Greek letter plus I.A.U. abbreviation (Bayer nomenclature), accompanied by the Flamsteed number. For dimmer stars, just a Yale Catalogue number will be given, and in the case of Hipparcos and SAO stars, the Henry Draper ID. If the star has a common name this will be displayed underneath.
Using the [c]entre key on a series of points is the best way to star-hop across the heavens: Use the stars as 'stepping stones' as you shift your gaze. The technique goes like this: click on the first point, centre the display, click on the next point, centre the display, and so on. AstroTray does not restrict you to stepping across stars, you may also click and center on Deep Sky Objects, planets, comets, the Sun and Moon, or empty space.
The Celestial Sphere modeled by AstroTray revolves in real time, updating itself without your intervention. Ever yearned to see a heliacal rising of Sirius on an unexpectedly clear southeastern horizon when all the zenith is thunderous overcast? AstroTray plots the moment of its rising, so effectively you're permitted to observe it twice - first on AstroTray's virtual heavens, and then outside in the strangely silent dawn cold where Sirius twinkled ominously red for a fleeting instant in the atmospheric turbulence of sea-level. AstroTray even shows scintillation (twinkling) for that extra touch of realism.
Incidentally, if the relative positions of some stars begin to appear a little scrambled (as they may do during frequent use of functions which change your viewpoint in some way) , simply press [s], [n], [e], [w], or [F12] depending on your preferred orientation, for a full recalculation of all altitudes and azimuths. In any event, AstroTray's ongoing calculations will eventually get around to returning every star to its correct position.
The Report function in QuikSky Enhanced will get you what the left button gets plus ancillary data - things of interest include the following:
- A full expansion of the rather cryptic Bayer nomenclature. Eg. Omicron Ursae Majoris for 'o UMA'. A great help if you are new to astronomical conventions.
- The full Latin name for the constellation, followed, if applicable, by the English translation. Bare catalogue numbers, although they may lie slap in the centre of, say, Orion, will have no constellation associated with them. This will probably be cosmetically remedied in future AstroTrays.
- The brightness (apparent magnitude) and luminosity (absolute magnitude), based on the Yale Catalogue parallax value. If the star is among the 100 brightest, this will also be indicated.
- The star's approximate distance in light-years (LY) or parsecs (Pc), again computed from parallax figures in the relevant catalog. You may assume the lower numbers are about as accurate as we can get, but please take anything over about 500 LY with a pinch of salt - they may be reliable, they may be not. Don't say we didn't warn you! There doubtless exist more accurate stellar parallax figures in dedicated statistical catalogs, but AstroTray hasn't access to these. All values are computed from Yale / Hipparcos / SAO catalog data.
- At the bottom, you will be shown some terrestrially-based information, the most important of which will be the rising, setting, and transit times for the currently focussed star, its altitude, azimuth, right ascension, and declination.
Useful extensions to the information tables now include proper motion, parallax, spectra, remarks where available, sunrise/sunset, dawn/dusk/hours of darkness, solar and lunar apparent and equatorial coordinates, astronomical twilight, as well as the phase of the moon.
Ordering QuikSky Enhanced
AstroTray is free, but an Enhanced Edition called QuikSky - including over 5000 stars in ultra-realistic color from the Harvard Revised Catalogue of 1991, along with customizable report facilities - is available for just $19 U.S..
Payment may be in the form of a personal cheque (made out to R. Hughes), major credit card, International Money Order, or even the equivalent (check/cash) at present rates in your own hard currency.
Ordering by CREDIT CARD is by far the fastest way to obtain your registered copy of AstroTray. Turnaround times are typically between 12 and 24 hours. You may order online or by phone/fax anytime and from anywhere in the world.
Order by CREDIT CARD via ShareIt
ShareIt! takes worldwide orders for AstroTray online by Visa, MasterCard, EuroCard, American Express, or Diners Club. To order, just click on the following line:
http://www.shareit.com/programs/102223.htm
and follow the signposts, or telephone
1-800-903-4152 ( Toll-free USA)
+49-221-2407278 ( International )
or fax
+49-221-2407279
THE AUTHOR OF ASTROTRAY CANNOT BE REACHED AT THESE NUMBERS - THEY ARE FOR ORDERS ONLY!
ShareIt! also takes orders by post at:
ShareIt!
element 5 AG
Habsburgerring 3
50674 Koeln
Germany
If you are located in the USA, you can also pay by sending a check or cash to the following address:
ShareIt! Inc.
PO Box 844
Greensburg, PA 15601-0844
USA
(Please send only checks drawn on US-American banks to this address.)
When ordering from ShareIt! please quote program/product ID
102223 - QuikSky Enhanced
Ordering by check, Money Order, or hard currency
To order by check, cash, or International Money Order, simply enclose your remittance for 12 GBP / $29 U.S. (or the latter's equivalent in your own hard currency, which includes our bank's 5.50 GBP commission), along with covering letter or registration form, and send it direct to Swimming Elk Software at
Swimming Elk Software
Manskiventie 1031
16790 Manskivi
Finland
Any questions about the status of the order, refunds, registration options, product details, technical support, volume discounts, dealer pricing, site licenses, non-credit card orders, etc, must be directed to
Swimming Elk Software
Manskiventie 1031
16790 Manskivi
Finland
or via the Internet to
contact@coeli.com
or through CIS at
106217,2576
To ensure you get the latest version of AstroTray, our agents will notify us the day of your order and we will ship the product directly to you by our Express Internet service. Optionally, please send your registration/customization form to us here at Swimming Elk Software either electronically or through the post.
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Grateful acknowledgements to Hartmut Frommert of SEDS for permission to incorporate his fine Messier thumbnail images into AstroTray.
All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
The program package Coeli ~ AstroTray and all its documentation copyright (c) Swimming Elk Software 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998.