Comprehensive status bar for the sky window, showing LCT, GMT, LST, Gregorian date, Julian date, and Altazimuth of the projection's center, updated in real-time and now permitting full use of Stella's unique array of single-key shortcuts - those previously inhibited by the clock toolbar.


[T] FOR FORTHCOMING RELEASE

~Track current object.

Simply stated, this function will attempt to keep your object of interest at the centre of Stella's display when in Temporal mode. A small red 'T' will flash in the bottom left corner to remind you that tracking is active.

Especially useful if the magnification is high, when otherwise stars might 'hop' out of view during a window update.





[ctrl][t] ||Settings|Window|List

~Observing list

Stella 2000's observing list facility allows you to compile a list of objects, along with their Equatorial coordinates and magnitudes, for eventual use at the telescope. The list may be used onscreen as is - with a notebook computer, for example - or a hardcopy can be output and taken to the observing site.

If your telescope's equatorial mounting is equipped with setting circles, as most are, you will be able to aim the instrument at the desired object fairly accurately with the Right Ascension and Declination figures alone, as given by the observing list.

To build a list of objects for observation, use either of the Find functions (name or designation) to locate the desired object, or simply click with the left button in the sky window to select a target. Once the selection has been made (the readout panels in the top left of the sky window will show which object is currently selected), clicking the button labelled [add selection] from the Observing List window will append the current object to the list.

You may toggle the RA/Dec format between h:m:s or decimal degrees by clicking once in the relevant column header. Your click will take effect for the next object added. So make your desired changes here before you embark on a new list

Stella 2000.




[u] REGISTERED VERSION ONLY

~Advance Stella's clock by 1 sidereal day.

Automated by the [PAGE DOWN] function.

The reason for wishing to advance by this unit may not be immediately apparent. A sidereal day is slightly less than a solar day, being approximately 23h 56m. It is the time taken by the STARS to return to their exact positions of the night before. You thus have a way of holding the stellar backdrop steady while you watch the bodies within our Solar System shift against it.

The fleetest mover is of course the Moon, due to proximity, followed by the Sun and the inner planets, whose 'dance' can be very instructive to watch. The outer planets shift at a much more sedate pace.

For faster animation, a wide angle of view is necessary, preferably one encompassing the entire celestial sphere. A zoom factor well into negative figures is in order. Speed up still further reducing the visible number of stars with [-]. Between 0 and 100 should be ample for this effect, depending on processor speed, since it is not the stars themselves which interest us here.

Set the ecliptic line with [E] to better trace the path followed by the Sun, Moon, and planets with the passage of time. (but do note that setting lines of any sort will slow the animation down somewhat)

Return to your starting date by hitting the timebar's red [>>>] button and then clicking [reset].

Adastra Plus.




[ctrl][v] ||View|View bar

~View functions toolbar

This is a floating toolbar with docking capabilities (right or bottom of sky window). The view bar incorporates the most common movement/orientation functions also accessible via menu or keypress, such as compass direction and zoom, and introduces 4 panning functions unique to itself. These 4 arrow buttons will allow you to look up, down, left, or right, thus appearing to pan across the sky display.

Please note that these 'camera' pans are not equivalent to the actions of the traverse/elevation tools. Therefore the projection will not be centered to your line of sight, as with the tools, so beware of distortion at the periphery of the chosen projection. To avoid it, select the Stereographic, which distorts relative constellation area but not shape.

The Viewbar may be dragged anywhere on the screen and movement is not restricted to the sky window alone. When detached from its side- and bottom- docking points, it becomes a floating tool whose dimensions may be modified by means of the resizing arrows. To return to dock quickly, double-click in the tool window's caption area.

The Viewbar may be docked to any point along the right or bottom of the sky window. The dock - but not the position along the dock - will be saved automatically.

NB. Please try to avoid the use of the panning functions when auto-centering is active.

Adastra.




[w] ||Viewpoint|Direction|West

~Face west and update all star positions.

This will orientate you instantly to one of the four cardinal compass directions. Your view's elevation is not affected.

West is on the right when Stella starts up.

Adastra.





[ctrl][w] ||Settings|Window|Picture window

~Picture window for JPEG images

To complement Stella's Reports feature, this facility has been introduced to load full scale graphics in JPEG image format. With the Picture window onscreen, left-clicking an object in the sky such as a planet, comet, or DSO will display its image automatically, provided a corresponding graphics file for that object is present in Stella's "Images" folder on your hard disk.

A sampling of JPEG graphics has been included with the shareware and registered versions of this Coeli product, consisting of the nine planets, Sun, and Moon. Beautiful photographs by the Voyager probes and Hubble Space Telescope, to name but two sources, are available all over the World Wide Web and on many CD ROM collections. To be able to display these from within this Coeli product, all you need is to keep two points in mind, the second of which is optional:

1) If not a JPEG file to begin with, ensure the image is first converted to JPG format using an art program such as Paint Shop Pro or LView before copying it into Stella's "Images" folder.

2) In order to enable Stella to load the correct image in response to a click in the sky window, the graphic file needs first to be renamed to that of the object as displayed by Stella. Suppose the object you want shown automatically happens to be M31, then just make sure that the corresponding JPEG file is renamed to 'M31.jpg', and placed in Stella's "Images" sub-folder.

Right-clicking in the Picture window will bring up a file dialog box, permitting you to load any JPEG of any name from anywhere on your hard disk, with your "Images" folder as the place of departure.

Adastra Plus.





[x] ||Field|Unzoom

~Unzoom. Reduce magnification.

Unzooming widens your field of view. If you keep zooming out, you will eventually have the entire sky (both hemispheres) projected before you. This is of course highly unrealistic, worse than looking through the wrong end of a telescope, but extremely useful for finding your way around the heavens quickly.

Auto-resolution will continue to ensure the correct ratio of stars to view-field, so this can be a nice way of reducing the sky to its essentials.

Adastra.




[y] ||Clock|Forward|Year

~Advance Stella's clock by (x) years.

Stella can situate you in time as easily as in space. This key moves you forward by (x) years.

Using the numeric keys or the time-bar's spin control, (x) can be set anywhere from 1 to 10 years, thus permitting large leaps in single steps.

Adastra.




[Y] ||Clock|Back|Year

~Retard Stella's clock by (x) years.

Stella can situate you in time as easily as in space. This key moves you backward by (x) years.

Using the numeric keys or the spin control on the timebar, (x) can be set anywhere from 1 to 10 years, thus permitting large leaps in single steps.

Adastra.




[z] ||Field|Zoom

~Zoom. Increase magnification.

Zooming narrows your field of view. It achieves what a good telescope can: the brighter stars are brighter still and a myriad appear that weren't discernible before. auto-resolution balances their number and their relative brilliance.

The manual warns you not to overdo zooms / unzooms and it bears repeating here. For your convenience and instruction, no great limit has been set on Stella's magnification, so there is also plenty of room for abuse. We cannot be held responsible for the latter's unforeseeable results.

~Zooming with the popup menu.

It is worth explaining that wherever the mouse crosshair happens to be when the popup menu is called will be the new central point for any zoom/centre/unzoom operation executed with its aid. So in effect the technique is very similar to zooming with the keys, namely first placing the cursor at the desired spot; the only difference being that, when zooming with the menu, you simply press the <right> button first instead of the left.

Stella's clock is automatically paused after zooming closely on a star field. This prevents the focussed area suddenly jumping out of view at the next position update. When you zoom back out to less than 6x magnification, real-time updates will automatically resume.

Adastra.




[Z] ||Viewpoint|Elevation|Zenith


~Zenith view.

The view presented when Stella starts up. In the centre are the stars directly above your head. The 360 degrees of your horizon lie on the 'bright circumference', delineated in teal if you have set your horizon line with the [_] key. On the outer or green circumference lie the unrisen (and perhaps unrising) stars of the opposing hemisphere.

The least realistic, due to the horizon's extreme curvature, but the best all round picture of the heavens, and the one used by all real planispheres.

A zenith view offers the least overall distortion of your visible sky area, and hence the most compromise, although the latter is distributed evenly. The two projections best tailored to a zenith viewpoint are the equidistant and equal-area (the default projection).

If you advance the hour continuously on Stella's clock, the zenith view most effectively shows you the stars as they wheel about the celestial poles, Polaris and Ursa Minor in the north, Octans in the south.

Adastra.




['] ||Settings|Effects|Sky|Mirror|

~Mirror image on / off.

Default setting: off

Reverses the display in the x-axis, showing the sky as if in a mirror. A convenience for telescopic observers.

Adastra.




[@] ||Settings|Effects|Atmospheric|

~Atmospheric effects on / off.

Default setting: off

By 'atmospheric effects' we mean specifically the two phenomena atmospheric refraction and atmospheric extinction.

In practical terms, atmospheric refraction causes discrepancies between the position of the stars as viewed in the relative vacuum of space and that of the same stars as viewed through the distorting 'lens' of our atmosphere. The difference at the horizon, depending on temperature and atmospheric pressure and thus also on height above sea-level, can sometimes amount to several minutes of arc. Atmospheric refraction becomes negligible as we raise our eyes toward the zenith.

With atmospheric extinction, Earth's atmosphere causes a star's apparent magnitude (brightness) to diminish in proportion, again, to its proximity to the horizon. On Stella's textual readout the amount of reduction in brightness ( a positive figure ) follows the magnitude value when atmospheric effects are switched on. This effect can be very pronounced. Antares viewed from Finland is a different creature altogether from the Antares seen from Andalusia!

The reason you can ignore the first atmospheric effect for most practical purposes is that relatively few of us, unless we sail the high seas, climb mountains, or fly, are granted an unimpeded view of a flat horizon, where refraction is most pronounced.

Stella 2000.




[_] ||Lines|Horizon|Set

~Show/hide the horizon line.

Default setting: shown

The dark green 'unrisen' stars do a good job of delineating a contrast between those below and those above the horizon, but for extra emphasis, this colour-configurable horizon line is available.

It will slow zooms / unzooms / calculations down minimally. One of those functions which it is advisable to disable if you require peak responsiveness on sub-Pentium machines. Not particularly CRT-friendly, either.

A compass-point legend is available to accompany this display: just select ||Lines|Horizon|Legend| from the sky window's right-click menu to toggle the legend on or off.

Adastra.





[/] ||Grids|Horizon Alt/Az|Set

~Horizon grid (altitude/azimuth)

Default setting: off

Not just a question of aesthetics, a grid can also be instructive in revealing the underlying properties of the selected projection model ( degree of distortion etc) and for basic orientation.

An altitude/azimuth grid remains fixed while the stars appear to move behind it. Unlike Equatorial co-ordinates, Horizon co-ordinates (Altitude and Azimuth) are time- and place- specific. They are, in fact, the Equatorial co-ordinates (see below under [=]) transformed and projected onto a sphere centred at the observer's location for a given moment in time.

Adastra.




[\] ||Lines|Constel|Set on/off

~Constellation lines.

Default setting: off

The staple fare of popular star atlases and Daily Telegraph style 'night sky guides', constellation lines appear to be an essential ingredient in most planetaria. 'Joining the dots' may occasionally help a neophyte, but more often confuses the issue, many if not most of the accepted patterns bearing little true resemblance to the objects they are meant to represent. It is probably far preferable for the aspirant observer to allow the star groups to settle into their own patterns, the better remembered because self-invented.

Stella's [f]ind constellation facility will 'spotlight' a group of stars against a neutralised star background, arguably a more efficacious means of discerning the extent of a constellation and its overall form.

Adastra.




[|] ||Lines|Constel|Names

~Constellation labels on/off.

Default setting: off

In order to avoid screen clutter, IAU abbreviations only will be displayed until sufficient magnification is reached via the [z]oom key. Thereafter, both abbreviations and the full constellation expansion will be given.

Adastra.





[,] ||Clock|Back|Hour

~Retard Stella's clock by (x) hours.

Stella can situate you in time as easily as in space. This key moves you backward in time by (x) hours.

Using the numeric keys or the spin control on the timebar (x) can be set anywhere from 1 to 10 hours, thus permitting large leaps in single steps.

Adastra.




[.] ||Clock|Forward|Hour

~Advance Stella's clock by (x) hours.

Stella can situate you in time as easily as it does in space. This key moves you forward in time by (x) hours.

Using the numeric keys or the time-bar's spin control, (x) can be set anywhere from 1 to 10 hours, thus permitting large leaps in single steps.

Adastra.




[<] ||Clock|Back|Day

~Retard Stella's clock by (x) days.

Stella can situate you in time as easily as it does in space. This key moves you back (x) days.

Using the numeric keys or the spin control on the timebar, (x) can be set anywhere from 1 to 10 days, thus permitting longer leaps in single steps.

Adastra.




[>] ||Clock|Forward|Day

~Advance Stella's clock by (x) days.

Stella can situate you in time as easily as in space. This key moves you forward (x) days.

Using the numeric keys or the time-bar's spin control, (x) can be set anywhere from 1 to 10 days, thus permitting longer leaps in single steps.





[[] or
[;] ||Clock|Back|Minute

~Retard Stella's clock by (x) minutes.

Stella can situate you in time as easily as in space. This key moves you back (x) minutes.

Using the numeric keys or the spin control on the timebar, (x) can be set anywhere from 1 to 10 minutes, thus permitting longer 'single step' advances.





[]] or
[:] ||Clock|Forward|Minute

~Advance Stella's clock by (x) minutes.

Stella can situate you in time as easily as in space. This key moves you forward (x) minutes.

Using the numeric keys or the spin control on the timebar, (x) can be set anywhere from 1 to 10 minutes, thus permitting longer 'single step' advances.





[=] ||Grids|Equatorial RA/Dec|Set

~Equatorial (RA/Dec) grid.

Not just a question of aesthetics, a grid can also be instructive in revealing the underlying properties of the selected projection model (degree of distortion etc) and for basic orientation.

If you prefer a grid visible, the Equatorial is probably the best one to set, since it both moves with the stars and nicely reflects - through its tilt - any change in viewpoint or orientation.

Equatorial co-ordinates consist of Right Ascension (RA) and Declination (Dec).

If you visualise the constellations projected onto a translucent sphere whose centre is the centre of the Earth, then Right Ascension becomes the celestial equivalent of terrestrial longitude (0-360 degrees or 0-24 hours, E-W), and Declination of latitude (+90 to -90 degrees, N-S).

Star catalogue entries are normally given as Equatorial coordinates, since these are independent of time and place. Only the phenomena of luni-solar precession and the body's proper motion will cause these 'absolute' co-ordinates to change significantly, and then only over comparatively long spans of time.

Adastra.




[ctrl][e] ||Viewpoint|Elevation|Set
[ctrl][d] ||Viewpoint|Direction|Set

~Elevation and traverse tool

[ctrl][e] activates the elevation slider, which is then manipulated with the mouse or [arrow keys].

With its help your line of sight may be adjusted to within a degree in the vertical plane. The elevation marker takes the form of a 'sighting rectangle' through which pass the stars as you move it up or down. Use this tool to help you centre the projection precisely on a given region or heavenly body in conjunction with the traverse tool.

[ctrl][d] activates the traverse slider, which is then manipulated with the mouse or [arrow keys].

With its help your line of sight may be adjusted to within a degree in the horizontal plane. With a zenith view, this marker will most resemble the hand of a clock: the sighting rectangle (elevation 90) in the middle of your visible sky while the 'hand' sweeps the 360 degrees of your horizon.

From viewpoints intermediate between zenith and horizon, the 'hand' becomes a vector capped by the sighting rectangle: the greater its extent, the higher your sights are raised. With a horizon view, only the sighting rectangle will be visible, since your elevation is zero.

When you use the traverse tool, you are 'turning in place' to face whichever sector of the horizon you have chosen.

Along with the moving line and sighting rectangle will appear changing readouts of the degree of elevation or traverse (azimuth) currently set. In the case of traverse, the compass direction will also be indicated (S,SSW,SW,W through N, and back to S again).

Each tool is used separately, and the display should be redrawn to the new viewpoint between each 'swing' by clicking the 'set' button on the slider panel. Clicking the close (X) button will hide the panel and cancel any settings made with the tools.

||Settings|Projection|Auto-center achieves the above more quickly but in a way which may at first prove disorienting, and there is of course no fine control over the resultant facing. It is therefore always as well to have the horizon legend displayed while using this method.

The slider panel may be dragged to any convenient position in the sky window. Drag efficiency is improved by switching off grids, names, and lines.

Adastra Plus.





[ctrl][p] ||Settings|Effects|Gravitational|Precession

~Precession on/off

Default setting: off

Adastra Plus.




[F12]

~Recalculate all positions

This should be done whenever the sky display loses integrity in some way, or you have completed a series of zooms, changed the projection, or altered your viewpoint, merely as a precaution against possible plotting inaccuracies.

Stella's star co-ordinates are being recalculated continually as a matter of course, but at times this mechanism is allowed to slip out of step with certain functions for the sake of responsiveness. The two operations most likely to put the calculations out of sync are [zoom] and [change viewpoint]. Unzooming and centering are quite safe in this regard.

You may, of course, simply prefer to let Stella catch up. Updates occur automatically every minute or so.






[backspace] FOR FORTHCOMING RELEASE

~Return to your previous viewpoint (Undo).

This 'undo' feature is limited to your terrestrial orientation. Its primary purpose is to back out of presses ofthe following: [ l,n,s,e,w,H,Z ], all keys which drastically alter your viewpoint in some way. You are thus permitted to check another facing while retaining present settings.

It may be usefully employed as a toggle for comparing two widely differing skies. From your current position, press [l] to bring up the location browser and select, say, somewhere in Antarctica. You will instantly acquire a view of the Antarctic heavens, but pressing [backspace] will return you to your PRECISE previous observation point. This is best carried out with a fairly wide field, preferably the entire visible sky.

Note that this key will not undo zooms and may temporarily 'confuse' the location browser.





[home] FOR FORTHCOMING RELEASE

~Return to your original time and location.

Settings will be as they were when Stella started, including facing, elevation, magnification, and projection. In fact, everything - apart from the time and possibly the date - will be as it was when Stella first loaded.

Best used to return 'home' quickly after extended travels in the Location Browser, lengthy journeys in time, or when simply a little confused.

If you have not yet registered Stella, please note that this key will not return you 'home' as set via the command line, but to Greenwich, England, which is always the pre-programmed setting unless you have a personal copy.

This will also cancel your current zoom, colour, and location settings, so make sure you have stored them with [F7] if they are important to you.





[INSERT] FOR FORTHCOMING RELEASE

~Increase blue levels in the colour palette.

All monitors differ in their general colour cast, some more appropriate for astronomical displays than others. If you initially find the general effect unsatisfactory, this function may improve matters. The only advice is try it and see.





[DELETE] FOR FORTHCOMING RELEASE

~Decrease blue levels in the colour palette.

See above.





||Clock|Animate|

~Auto animate

Default increment: 5 minutes.

Auto-animation saves you repeatedly pressing the [time advance] keys to watch the movement of the stars and planets with the passage of time. The clock will be repeatedly advanced by the unit last accessed via the keyboard [1-9] or via the timebar's central spin control.

There are 3 animation modes available: x-minutes, solar day, and sidereal day. The latter is activated by means of the [sidereal] checkbox on the timebar (disabled in shareware release).

In general, the animation mode will be determined by the last time-increment used, in the absence of which it will default to 5 minutes. For example, if you had just finished a sequence of day-advances, selecting Animate from the Clock submenu would result in animation proceeding by units of 1 solar day. To return to x-minute advances, you would have to perform a manual advance by x-minutes by means of the keyboard or the time bar before selecting Animate again.

All menus and actions are accessible during the animation sequence, which you may even leave running in the background for the duration if such activities amuse.

Most instructive (and fun!) when auto-advancing by sidereal and solar days, where the 'dance' of the Sun, Moon, and planets becomes very apparent against the backdrop of the stars.

When you activate auto-animation, all grids, the celestial equator line, and the ecliptic, will be switched off, and the number of stars reduced to nominal. You can of course switch all these on again while the animation is in progress, but this action would somewhat negate the purpose of disabling them in the first place, namely that of promoting smooth movement.

For the best frame rate when auto-animating, keep your zoom-index in the negative, ensuring at the same time that the Report and Live Ephem windows are closed. To really see the planets whizz by, you could banish the stars altogether by decreasing the limiting magnitude yet more. A final trick is to reduce window-size.

Conversely, if your system is a very fast one, you may need to do all you can to slow down the animation! Try increasing the number of stars displayed with [+], and, if in x-minute mode, reduce the time increment factor using keys [1..9] or via the time bar's central spin control. Perhaps the best way to put the brakes on is to enter full screen mode with [ctrl][S]

Animation may be started and stopped in two ways: with the timebar visible, click the button with the red [>>>] to toggle the effect; or simply select ||Clock|Animate| from the right-click menu.

NOTA BENE: the clock is not automatically reset to current time when animation stops. You will have to select |Clock|Reset| from the right-click menu to return to the present moment as simulated by Stella.

Adastra.




[F1] ||Settings|Window|Guide

~Online Guide

Comprehensive guidance on the most effective use of the program is provided in an easy-to-navigate textual format, complete with index, search facility, and its own popup menu.

Adastra.




[F2] ||Viewpoint|Projection|Equidistant

~Azimuthal Equidistant Projection.

A fine overall compromise, points along any straight line radiating from the projection's centre will preserve their relative positions. In other words, angular separations will reflect reality.

Stella 2000.




[F3] ||Viewpoint|Projection|Equal Area|

~Azimuthal Equal-area Projection.

The default celestial projection across the Coeli product spectrum.

Whether this beats the equidistant is a matter of taste. Certainly the compactness of the equal-area does much to commend it. Aesthetically, it probably has the edge. Switch to horizon view and negative magnification and you'll gain a fine impression of the 'arch of the sky'.

At zenith view there is little to choose between this and the equidistant. All constellations will preserve their relative sky area, but will be more compressed and elongated at the periphery.

Adastra.





[F4] ||Viewpoint|Projection|Stereographic

~Azimuthal Stereographic Projection.

Constellations will retain recognisable shapes even on the extreme periphery, but the further from the projection's centre a constellation lies, the more inordinately will its dimensions be exaggerated. Akin to looking down a tunnel which has astronomical murals: pictures to the immediate right, left, and above our heads seem large regardless of their true dimensions, while those ahead toward the tunnel's aperture approach compactness through perspective. The tunnel's end - the 'point at infinity' in painter's terms - is the projection's centre.

The stereographic is useful if you plan to set a horizon view and then concentrate on a particular area. Centralisation via the traverse tool is not quite so critical.

Stella 2000.





[F5] ||Viewpoint|Projection|Orthographic

~Orthographic Projection.

In Stella 2000, twin hemispheres are shown.

A classical 'globe'. Stella's orthographic is most appropriate for simultaneously displaying the antipodal sky. For example, if you dwell in the north, the 'globe' on the left will show the constellations of the southern celestial hemisphere (unrisen, in green) and vice versa. In fact, Stella's orthographic will simultaneously display the obverse of whatever viewpoint you have chosen: what you can't observe from your time and location will always be visible on the left hand face of the sphere. In this way, you can avoid the extreme distortion caused by the equidistant and equal-area projections to constellations which never rise at your position.

Only low magnifications (less than zero) are of any practical use with Stella's orthographic.

If you intend zooming in on your observable sky and the compactness this projection seems to offer appeals to you, we would always recommend the azimuthal equal-area [F2] over the orthographic.

At present, lines and grids are not included in Stella's orthographic projection.

Stella 2000.




[F7] REGISTERED VERSION ONLY

~Store current settings.

All your preferences will be stored for retrieval at a later date. Use [SHIFT]+[F7] to retrieve them at any time. This function creates a permanent record, so it will work across sessions.

If you have a favourite view to which you would always like to return after other activities in Stella, or preferred settings that are not part of Stella's defaults at startup, such as personal colours or window sizes and positions, simply pressing [F7] will preserve them for instant retrieval.

Stella 2000.





[F9] ||Settings|Window|Print Sky|

~Print Sky.

Both mono and colour printing modes are available along with the two starplot styles of realistic and photoplate.

You may switch between these options via the right-click menu

||Settings|Window|Print Mode|>>
||Objects|Stars|Style|>>

The sky window's screen dimensions will determine the size of the printout, so if you require the printed map to cover the entire width of your paper, press [ctrl][s] to enter full-screen mode before printing.





[F10] ||Objects|Stars|Style|Realistic

~Realistic star mode

Stars are displayed as realistically as possible, as point-sources. This is Stella's default display mode.





[shift][F10] ||Objects|Stars|Style|Photoplate

~Photoplate star mode

Stars are displayed as if exposed photographically, ie. with diameters in proportion to their apparent magnitudes and not as point-sources.

This is the conventional method of indicating relative brightness on sketches and star maps, and it lends a more prominent appearance to hardcopy printouts.




||Data|Report|

~Report

this Coeli product makes data available to you in various forms for various purposes. The report format is designed to facilitate the export of information on the currently selected object to both the observing log and to external programs for further processing. Simply select desired text with the mouse in the normal way and use the popup menus for cutting and pasting.

Whenever you click on something in the sky, the title bar of this window will tell you what category the selected object belongs to: either Sun, Moon, Planet, Comet, DSO, HR/Hipparcos star, Hipparcos star, or SAO star.

Reports are also an effective aid when continuously displayed against the sky. Just position and size the report window to your taste and let it reflect changes to the chosen object's properties as you manipulate settings in the sky window and retard/advance the clock. Please note, however, that its presence will slow down certain operations significantly, notably animations.




~Note For Stella 2000 Users

The Sky window's right-click pop-up menu and all its submenus are mirrored under |Options| in Stella's 'top strip' Main Menu, with the single exception that check (tick) marks do not generally appear against items in the top strip. So, for preference, please use the pop-up menu whenever possible.

Functions marked FOR FORTHCOMING RELEASE are already integral to Coeli ~ Electric Planisphere - our Super VGA DOS-based astronomy package - with which we are striving to maintain full compatibility. In short, we intend incorporating these features, but the new and innovative aspects of Stella 2000 must take precedence.

As a registered user you will continue to receive updates on request for the entire lifetime of the product.

Should a mouse click or keypress listed here have no effect, or its menu entry appear greyed out, you may safely assume that it is only available in the registered version or higher up the Coeli product line. You can order instantly by pointing your web browser at

http://www.sci.fi/~elk/stelreg.htm

and following the Order link.

The few major functions not included in the shareware release are marked here REGISTERED VERSION ONLY. Please note that, on expiry of your shareware evaluation license, many operations will be accessible by keypress only. Select |Keys| under the Help menu for a complete listing of Stella's keypress shortcuts. At the very least, this will provide effective training in the most efficient manner of using Stella 2000, since menus are only the second choice for seasoned Coeli hands!

Stella 2000™, Adastra™, QuikSky™, and their documentation Copyright (c) 1997, 1998 Swimming Elk Software. All rights reserved.

The Graphics Interchange Format(c) is the Copyright property of CompuServe Incorporated. GIF(sm) is a Service Mark property of CompuServe Incorporated.

All other registered trademarks and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.