Contents

The following Help Topics are available:

Menus

Toolbar

Navigating Within First Light

First Light Quick Helps

Troubleshooting Guide

Glossary

Technical Support

Acknowledgements...

For Help on Help, Press F1


Menus

Click on any of the following for more information...

File

View

Planets

Stars, etc.

Info

Extras

Tools

Preferences

Expert

Help


Toolbar

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See Also...  Using Clock Controls

First Light’s Toolbar allows for easier and quicker access to commonly selected menu items.  The Toolbar is grouped by common functionality.

Constellations and the Solar-system

First Light Clock Controls

Quickview Modes

Deep Sky Objects Controls

Zoom Control

Reset


Quick Guide to First Light
 First Light Quick Helps

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See Also...  Navigating Within First Light

Clicking on any of the following for First Light Quick Helps!

Flying By The Planets

Adding A Custom Location

Adding Your Own Data 2

Making Your Own Movies

Setting Your Location

Setting Your Preferences

Using the Navigator

Using Hover mode

Creating Movies with Hover Mode

Using the Clock Control Bar


Troubleshooting Guide

The following are troubleshooting tips to some common First Light problems...

Color changes...

•	When in 8-bit mode (256-color settings), colors may change when using 24-bit planet rendering.

Movies/Animation problems...

•	If you’re using non-standard Windows screensaver software, turn it off before attempting to make movies/animations.  Non-standard Windows screensavers are not accessed from the Control Panel.  Known packages:  Berkley Systems [After Dark] and Delrina.

•	If your movies/animations will not play, make sure that you have Video for Windows installed on your system.

Planet Rendering problems (texture mapping)...

•	If you are using a Windows settings that exceeds 256-color mode (i.e. 24-bit), 24-bit planet rendering will not appear.

Speeding Up First Light...

•	Check to see if your system is equipped with a math co-processor.  Because First Light performs several calculations, having a math co-processor will speed up the program significantly.

•	Faster processor speed will result in faster performance.


Technical Support

When contacting technical support, please have the following information on-hand and ready:

•	Product version number (found under the Help menu, About First Light)

•	Type of system (i.e. 386, 486, etc.,)

•	DOS and Windows version you are running

•	Print out of your CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT

•	Exact error message(s)

•	Utilities concurrently running

If you have technical questions that are not covered in your manual or in the Help, please contact our technical support staff at any of the numbers below:

Virtual Reality Labs Direct Phone:  (805) 545-8515

VRLI FAX Line:  (805) 781-2259

Customers may also contact our technical support staff at the following E-Mail addresses:

VRLI Product Support BBS:  (805) 781-2257 {8-N-1}

America Online:  Send E-Mail to screen name VRLI, use keyword VRLI to reach our Company Support area.

Compuserve:  Send E-Mail to 75300,3706, type GO VRLI to reach our Company Support area.

Genie:  Send E-Mail to VRLI

Internet:  Address E-Mail to vrli@aol.com


 Glossary

A-D

E-H

I-L

M-P

Q-T

U-Z


File
 File Menu

The FILE menu allows you to access common system functions.


View
View Menu

The VIEW menu allows you to set various preferences for viewing the sky.


Planets
 Planets Menu

The PLANETS menu allows you to set various preferences for viewing and finding the planets.


Stars, etc.
 Stars, etc. Menu

The STARS menu allows you to center and examine objects outside of our solar-system.


Info
 Info Menu

The INFO menu allows you to access numerous sources of astronomical information.


Extras
 Extras Menu

The EXTRAS menu supplies you with various advanced features.


Tools
Tools Menu

The TOOLS menu presents you with a variety of miscellaneous tools to aid in your exploration of the Universe.


Preferences
Preferences Menu

The PREFERENCES menu allows you to set various First Light elements such as color settings, object display, etc.,


Expert
 Expert Menu

The EXPERT menu allows you to set the customization and more advanced features of First Light.


Help

The HELP menu allows you to access First Light’s Help.


Printer Setup

Selecting Printer Setup opens a standard Windows print dialog box.  This dialog box can be used to change some of the common print features (i.e. default printer, page size, orientation, etc.,).

HINT!


Set Page Title

The Set page title option allow you to title your star chart printouts.


Print

Selecting Print will print out star charts.  The default print settings will print black stars against a white sky.  This saves you ink/toner and time.  To change default print settings, select the Printer Setup option.


Expert Mode
Expert Menus

By toggling Expert Menus on, you will have access to First Light’s advanced menu selections:  Extras, Tools, Preferences and Expert.  Your new menu selections will be displayed to the right of First Light’s standard menus.


Startup Preferences

Startup preferences allows you to save basic preferences for your First Light sessions.  Each item may be toggled on or off.  All selected items will automatically start at the beginning of each of your First Light sessions.


Settings

Settings allows you to load and/or save various First Light session settings.

Load Profile

Load Event

Save

Save Startup

Save Quickview

Save Cleanup

HINT!


Exit

Exit will close First Light.


Save

Save allows you to save a settings file.  This settings file may be loaded using the Load-Use System Time or the Load-Use Stored Time menu options.


Save Startup

The Save Startup menu option allows you to save your startup preferences for First Light (i.e. viewing direction, location, features enabled, etc.,).


Save Quickview

Save Quickview allows you to save your Quickview settings.


Save Reset
Save Cleanup

Save Cleanup allows you to save your preferred default settings.  You can revert to these saved settings at any time by selecting either the Reset button from First Light’s icon Toolbar or Cleanup from the View menu.


Tutorials

By selecting the Tutorials option, First Light will present you with several astronomy lessons as well as tips for using First Light.


Quickview

Quickview allows you to quickly set up your sky display in local mode, oriented toward any one of nine directions:  Up, North, North-East, East, South-East, South, South-West, West, North-West.

Selecting Quickview will also enable options saved under Save Quickview.  This saves you the time it would otherwise take to turn on everything separately.

NOTE!  It is not necessary to exit from Quickview; select First Light features as usual.


The Sky Tonight

The Sky Tonight feature will show you an overview of the your own sky.  The Sky Tonight display makes an attempt to show most of the sky in one window (using the programs current date and time settings).  The Sun, Moon and planets are all displayed if they would appear from your location, along with a simulated horizon for perspective.


Summary

Summary will display a chart of information on the planets, Sun and Moon.  Summary includes current locations (right ascension and declination), visibility, distance(astronomical units), rise/set times and the time it takes for light to travel from the current viewpoint to the object (minutes).

NOTE!  Highlighted objects (marked with an asterisk) indicates that the object is currently above your local horizon.


Mode

First Light uses two main display modes: Local and Equatorial.

Local Mode

Equatorial Mode


Navigator

See Also...  Using the Navigator

The Navigator allows you to get a visual overview of where you are and/or what you are currently looking at, helping you to visualize your position in space more clearly.  The Navigator also gives you instant access to the some of most useful First Light functions.


Remove clutter
Cleanup

Selecting Cleanup will reset First Light’s sky display to use previously saved preferences (Save Cleanup).


Viewpoint

Viewpoint  allows  you to choose your viewpoint to any of the following settings:

Return to Earth

Lookdown

Fixed

From A Planet

NOTE!  Some features for Earth-based viewpoints will be non-accessible as they do not apply when off Earth.


Zoom

Zoom allows you to set the magnification (field-of-view) at varying distances for your sky display.

Wide Angle

Normal

Closeup

Telescope

Degrees

HINT!


When and Where...

When and Where allows you to set the date and location of your viewing site (limited to Earth-bound sites only).


Center

Selecting Center will allow you several options for finding and centering solar-system objects.

Major Planets

Comets and Things

Look Behind

Zenith


Load

Load allows you to load various objects onto the sky display.  You may load objects such as comets, asteroids and spacecraft.

Select Unload to remove single objects from the sky display.

Select Unload All to remove all previously loaded objects from the sky display.

NOTE!   Spacecraft loaded before their launch or after planetary encounter date will not appear in First Light’s sky display.


Flyby
Flyby Mode

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See Also...

Repositioning In Flyby/Hover Mode

Flying By the Planets

The Flyby mode allows you to recreate and more closely investigate NASA’s historical Pioneer and Voyager planetary flybys of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.

The Flyby feature will automatically center your viewpoint towards the target planet.  The Voyager I path will be marked by blue and red dots.  The blue dots trace the pathway before closest approach, the red dots trace the pathway after approach.  Each dot measures half an hour of motion.  The entire trail begins one day before closest approach and ends one day after.

NOTE!  Flyby and Hover mode cannot be used together.  Flyby mode automatically turns off constellation names, outlines and planetary orbit lines in order to remove clutter.  They may be turned back on at any time.


Hover
Hover mode

______________________________________

See Also...

Repositioning In Flyby/Hover Mode

Creating Movies with Hover Mode

The Hover mode allows you to move you off Earth to “visit” any of the planets.

NOTE!  Flyby and Hover mode cannot be used together.  Hover mode automatically turns off constellation names, outlines and planetary orbit lines in order to remove clutter.  They may be turned back on at any time.


Names

Names  toggles the planet names on or off.


Stars Center
Center

The Center option presents you with several different modes for centering celestial objects.

Constellations

Galaxies and Things

Custom

By Name

Stars

Zenith


Stars Constellation
Constellations

Selecting Constellations gives you control of constellation display options.

Borders

Names

Outlines


Galaxies, etc.

Galaxies, etc. allows you to toggle on or off the NGC and Messier objects display.  The NGC and Messier options will display selections from the two most common catalogs of deep-sky objects.

Legend opens up a small window displaying reference symbols for deep sky objects.


Stars Names
Names

Names  toggles the constellation names on or off.

Gold names highlight the constellations of the Zodiac.

NOTE!  When using a zoom value smaller than 35 degrees, names are displayed in a larger font with a dimmer color.


Info Calendar
Calendar

The Calendar feature will give you a monthly calendar displaying upcoming astronomical events, historical anniversaries and the phases of the moon.

Calendar features:

•	By single-clicking your left mouse button on any date, First Light will present you with rise/set times for the sun and moon, moon phase, applicable special events and an option to use the currently selected date.

•	Click on the red left (back)/right (forward) arrow buttons to page backward or forward from month to month.

•	Clicking the Now button will reset the Calendar back to the current date.

•	The highlighted window displays rise/set times for the sun and moon, daily event details, and the moon phase.

•	Events are highlighted in red (most interesting), blue (interesting) and black (ho hum).


Daily Activity
Nightly Grabbag

Nightly Grabbag will give you a new activity, project or astronomy tidbit every day.


Next Event

Next Event will alert you of any major upcoming events.


Constellations

Constellations will list out the name, abbreviation and meaning (of name) for the 89 major constellations.

NOTE!  Names such as "The Big Dipper" are not included since these names are not really constellations, rather, they form part of an existing constellation.  Such groupings are called "asterisms".  Some of the common ones may be found in the custom search list.


Info Planets
Planets

Planets displays information basics on our nine planets.  The Planets information table includes the following:

Distance, Day, Year, Eccentricity, Inclination, Diameter, Albedo and Gravity.


Info Stars
Stars

Stars displays basic stellar data and tables.


Eclipses

Eclipses displays a list of solar and lunar eclipses over the next several years.  The Eclipse information table includes the following:

Eclipse Date , Duration (or start)  Type and Eclipse Location


Meteor Showers

Meteor Showers opens up a list of the year's major meteor showers.  The Meteor Showers information table includes the following:

Shower, Meteor Date , Rate (per hour) and Peak.


Tables

Tables gives you access to the following information tables:

Constellations

Eclipses

Meteor Showers

Planets

Stars


Add to Center List

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See Also...  Adding Objects to the Center List

The Add To Center List menu option allows you to add new objects to the Custom centering list.


Chart

Chart gives you a view of the entire sky.  Object display items may be toggled on or off.  Star colors correspond with the Magnitude Legend (under the Extras menu).  Deep Sky Objects (Messier, NGC) colors correspond with the DSO Legend (under the Stars, etc., Galaxies, etc. option).

HINT!


Earth`s shadow

Earth's Shadow will display a red double-circle indicating the location of the Earth's shadow at the distance of the moon. The outer ring is the area of partial shadow, and the inner ring is total shadow.

HINT!


Landscape

___________________________________

See Also...

Positioning in Landscape Mode

Zooming In and Zooming Out

Landscape will turn on an artificial horizon to simulate mountains in the distance. When enabled, your vertical positions are limited to a range of plus or minus 20 degrees in altitude. You may adjust the landscape profile to match your own location. It is recommended that you use a zoom value of 20 degrees or more.

NOTE! The Landscape feature can only be enabled while in Local mode.


Magnitude Legend

Magnitude Legend will open up a simple display showing a legend for the stellar magnitude.


Markers

Selecting Markers will present you with a list of various marcation display devices.  Each item can simply be toggled on or off.

Crosshair

Ecliptic

Equator

Horizon

Grid

Local Altitude


Redraw

Redraw will refresh the screen.


Star Trails

______________________________

See Also...  Simulating Star Trails

By selecting Star Trails, First Light will produce streaks (“star trails”) similar to the results of taking stellar time exposures with a camera.


System

The System option supports any miscellaneous features not directly related to actually viewing the sky. Currently, the only supported feature is Close All Windows.  Close All Windows will close all open windows at one time.


Twinkle

Twinkle will turn on a twinkling effect to simulate atmospheric interference.


Aim

__________________________________

See Also...  Repositioning Your View

The Aim display will give you a full-sky chart showing the area currently in view.

The green circle is centered at your current look angle.


Browse

Browse allows you to access First Light’s image browser or movie browser.


Clock

The Clock menu allows you to access the controls for the display time.

Settings

Freeze

"+1 day" and "-1 day"

Now

Sunrise/Sunset


Flashcard

Flashcard is a tool designed to help you learn to identify the constellations.  By selecting Flashcard, First Light will turn off all of star identifiers and center you at random locations.  Use Flashcard to test your knowledge of the constellations.


Moon

The Moon menu offers a couple of extra lunar tools...

Map

Phases


Nearby Stars

__________________________

See Also...  Changing Your View

Nearby stars opens up a small display showing a three-dimensional view of the most stars out to 100 light years from the Sun.


Tools Planets
Planets

The Planets menu offers a couple of extra planetary tools...

Planet Guide

Rise/Set Plot


Animation Preferences

The Animation Preferences menu gives you control over several First Light animation features:

Object Droplines

Date Trails

Line Trails

Dot Trails


Colors

The Colors option allows you to choose three possible colors settings:

Bright:  Brightens up the stars.  Useful for low contrast monitors or brightly lit rooms.

Colors:  Changes star shades from grey-scale to various colors.  This makes it easier to identify individual star magnitudes (See Magnitude Legend for color-magnitude correspondence).

Normal:  Sets the star display to use the default color settings.


Distance Units

Distance Units allows you to select either km or miles as distance units of measurement.


Sound Effects

The Sound Effects option toggles First Light sounds on or off.


Pref Show
Show

Show allows you to toggle on or off objects (Planets, Other) you wish to be displayed.

The Magnitude Limiter allows you to set minimum magnitude display.


Pref Status Bar
Status Bar

Status Bar will toggle on or off the Status Bar (found at the bottom of the display screen).  The Status Bar displays information including current settings for date, time, local sidereal time, right ascension, declination and field of view.


Pref Toolbar
Toolbar

The Toolbar option toggles on or off the Toolbar display.


Pref Viewpoint
Viewpoint

Viewpoint will open a dialog box allowing you to set certain preferences when using an off-Earth modes (Hover, Flyby).


Create A New Orbit

Create A New Orbit allows you to add new objects such as comets or asteroids to First Light as they are discovered.

To load custom orbits:

1.	Go to the Planets menu, select Load.

2.	Click on the drop-down list button for a list of available objects.  New objects will be added to the end of the list.


Lock View

The Lock View option allows you to lock your view on any solar system object. This is useful when you want to follow a specific object over a period of time without having to re-center things each time.

Select will let you choose which object to lock your view on.  Release must be selected in order to re-center.

Release will de-select an object lock.


Movies

The Movies option allows you to either browse your current selection of movies, or you may Create your own.


Observing

The Observing option presents you with tools that will aid in planning your viewing sessions.

Ephemeris

Planning Guide

Reticle


Planet Rendering

The Planet Rendering option allows you to choose the following planet drawing modes.

Draggable

Sharp Shadows

Show Clouds

Show Feature Names

24-Bit Rendering

NOTE!  Planet rendering options apply only to planets rendered in Hover or Flyby mode.  You must be operating in 256-color to access this feature.


Precession

By selecting Precession, you may choose from three precession modes:

Auto

Stars

Outlines


Show Custom Data

Show Custom Data toggles on or off objects you have previously entered to First Light’s database. (See Adding Your Own Data)


Expert Stars
Stars

By selecting Stars, you may access the following additional star information.

Data

More Stars

Proper Motion


Show

Show Planets

Show Other

Show Magnitudes


Text Box
Text Field

The Text Field is where you may enter data such as numbers, file names, etc.,


OK

By clicking OK, First Light will confirm and execute commands you have chosen.


Cancel

By clicking Cancel, First Light will abort this operation.


Use km

By selecting Use km, First Light will use km as distance measurement units rather than the default (miles).


Major Planets

Major Planets allows you to center each of the planets as well as the sun and the moon.  Keeping this tool enabled gives you fastest access to any of the planets.


Center Constellations

Center Constellations allows you to select and center any constellation.  Click on the drop-down list button (found to the immediate right) for a list of available choices.


Lines/Names

Lines/names simply allows you to toggle on or off constellation outlines and

names.


Date/Time

Clicking the Date/time button will access the When and Where dialog box.  This will allow you to set the date, time and location of your viewing site.


Find

Find allows you to locate any item in First Light’s database by name. This is most useful for centering deep-sky objects.


Earth
Earth Mode

________________________________

See Also...  Positioning in Earth Mode

The Earth option sets your view of the sky from the vantage point of the Earth, but your viewpoint is not bound to any particular location.  You will be looking out from the center of the 3D globe, similar to equatorial mode.

•	The red object in the center is the "view-cone" showing how much of the sky can be observed.

•	The sky is measured in right ascension with markers at every 6 hours along the border.


Space
Space Mode

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See Also...  Positioning in Space mode

The Space option sets your view of the sky out away from the earth into the solar-system, similar to off-earth mode.

•	The circles are the orbits of the various planets, the bright dots on the circles are the planets themselves, and the yellow dot is of course the sun.

•	Viewpoint location is marked by the green dot. That is the place in the solar-system where the eye is located that views the scene depicted in the main window.

•	The line going down from or up to the green dot shows the relative distance the eyepoint is from the plane of the solar-system (the ecliptic).ecliptic

•	The green line is the point is above the plane, the red line is the point below the plane.

•	The blue line is pointing to the starting point for the right-ascension measurements, known as the "first point of aries". This is simply an arbitrary point whose location is the "origin" of the equatorial coordinate system.


Home

The Home option sets your view of the sky to look out from your home location, using local time.will position your view to a local mode.  Home displays only half a globe, due to the fact that the other half goes below your horizon and is therefore not visible.

NOTE!  Because your viewpoint is placed outside the globe, the direction points will appear to be opposite what you are used to.


Status Display

Status Display will display more precisely your location in space and any information such as zoom value, look angle, date, time, etc.,


"You Are Here" Display

This is the “You Are Here” display.  The 3D display will vary depending on the location of the viewpoint and the view mode.


Time

The Time field displays the currently selected time.

To change the time:

Click anywhere in the text field and enter changes manually, or you may use the up/down arrows to the immediate right of the Time text field.


DST

DST (Daylight Savings Time) can be toggled off or on.


Date

The Date field displays the currently selected date.

To change the date:

Click anywhere in the text field and enter changes manually, or you may use the up/down arrows to the immediate right of the Date text field.


BC

Selecting BC will display skies as they appeared before Christ.  BC may be toggled off or on.


Time Zone

The Time Zone value is the number of hours needed to convert from local time (Standard Time) to Universal Time.

Example:  Time Zone value is 8.0.  Add 8 hours to your local time to get Universal Time.

NOTE!  First Light attempts to calculate the proper time zone based on your location.  Zonal boundaries, however, are very irregular.  Reference a map if the positioning of sky elements seem off, and set the value accordingly.


Julian Date

Julian Date is the absolute date used to pinpoint astronomical events, and is the number of days from January 1, 4713 BC.


UTC

Abbreviation for Universal Time Coordinates.


Latitude

Latitude displays the latitudinal coordinate of your currently selected location.  You may change coordinates either by entering values manually, or by using the up/down arrows (found to the immediate right).


Longitude

Longitude displays the longitudinal coordinate of your currently selected location.  You may change coordinates either by entering values manually, or by using the up/down arrows (found to the immediate right).


Now

The Now button will reset the date and time to use the system time.


Save

Saves saves your current location data to disk for use the next time the program is started.


Try

Try will refresh the display using the newly selected settings without closing the dialog box.


Location

______________________________

See Also...  Setting Your Location

Clicking on Location will open up a world map allowing you to easily set your viewing location to let you set your viewing location.


Comets and Things

Comets and Things allows you to center non-planetary objects such as comets, asteroids, and spacecraft.


Look Behind

Look Behind shows you what is behind you.

HINT!


Zenith

The Zenith option centers the part of the sky directly overhead, from you current location.


Planet Centering
Centering

The Center option presents you with several options used for finding and centering solar-system objects.


Drop-down List
Drop-down List Button

By clicking on the drop-down list button, you will be presented with a list of your available choices.


Center Other
Other

The Other button allows you to center custom objects that you have entered previously.


Hover Object
Object

Object allows you to select the planet you would like to view.  Click the drop-down list button (found to the immediate right) for a list of available choices.


Hover Distance
Distance

Distance allows you to set the distance from the planet (how far away you are from the planet).  Distance is in terms of the planet’s radius.  Click the drop-down list button (found to the immediate right) for a list of available choices.

Example:  Distance is 50.  Object is Earth.  Your real distance would be 50 X 4000 miles, or 200,000 miles away.


Object Shape
Shape

Shape allows you to specify whether the orbit is circular or elliptical.  Click on the drop-down list button (found to the immediate right) for a list of available choices.

Circular

Elliptical

Highly Elliptical


Object Rate
Rate

Rate allows you select how quickly screen updates take place.  Click on the drop-down list button (found to the immediate right) for a list of available choices.

•	Fast:  Updates your orbital position and screen refresh every 5 seconds

•	Medium:  Updates your orbital position and screen refresh every 10 seconds

•	Slow:  Updates your orbital position and screen refresh every 30 seconds.


Object Step
Step

Step allows you to select how many degrees around the orbit your viewpoint will move between each screen update.  Click on the drop-down list button (found to the immediate right) for a list of available choices.

•	Small:  1 degree per update

•	Medium:  2 degrees per update

•	Large:  5 degrees per update


Landing Sites

Landing Sites toggles on or off any landing sites markers for the selected object.


Attach

By toggling Attach, you may lock your viewpoint onto the selected object.  This allows you to move along with the planet.


Hover Features
Features

Features toggles on or off any features markers for the selected object..


Phases

Moon Phases is a simple graph which displays the entire moon's phases over the entire year.

A phase of 0 or 1 is the New Moon, while a phase of .5 is Full.

The numbers along the top of the chart are the day of New Moon (useful for observing really dark skies).

The red value is the current phase, given in the amount the Moon has traveled along its orbit.


Planet Guide

Planet Guide will show you only the planets which are visible from your current location at the current time. Planet Guide is similar to but more simplistic than The Sky Tonight display.


Rise/Set Plot

The Rise/Set Plot menu will present you with a chart which shows the visibility of each planet over the course of the next day, from noon to noon (at your current location).

•	Blue bars indicate times of visibility.

•	The vertical red line designates the current display time.

•	The yellow bars show sunrise and sunset.


Aim Outlines
Outlines

Outlines toggles on or off the constellation outlines display.


Aim Equatorial
Equatorial

Selecting Equatorial will change the display to show the sky chart in equatorial mode.


Aim Local
Local

Selecting Local will change the display to show the sky chart in local mode.


Aim Aim
Aim

By pressing the Aim button, the sky display and sky chart will refresh to use any manually entered values in either the Azimuth or Altitude fields.


RA (right ascension)

You may enter right ascension Aim coordinates manually, or by clicking on the up/down arrows (found to the immediate right of this field).  h: hours, m: minute


Decl (declination)

You may enter declination Declination Aim coordinates manually, or by clicking on the up/down arrows (found to the immediate right of this field).  d:  degrees, m:  minutes


Aim Sky Chart
Sky Chart

The Sky Chart displays the area currently in view in context of the entire sky.  The green circle is centered at your current viewpoint.


Hide

Hide will turn off all constellation identifiers.


Flash

Flash will turn off all identifiers and move you to a new location.


Nearby Labels
Labels

Labels will turn on the scientific names of the major stars.


Nearby Names
Names

Names will turn on the proper names of some of the more common objects.


Nearby No Labels
No Labels

No Labels will simply turn off the scientific names display.


Nearby Lines
Lines

Lines will display lines pointing to some of the stars so that you can get a clearer sense of their distance compared to others.


Nearby Info
Info

By clicking the Info button, you will be presented with a list supplying you with the names and distance (in light years) of nearby stars.


Nearby Star Display
Star Display

The Star Display shows a three dimensional view of most of the stars out to 100 light years from the Sun.


Moon Phase Graph
Phase Graph

The Phase Graph shows all of the Moon’s phases over the entire year.  The numbers along the top are the day of the New Moon.

The current phase is displayed in red.


Moon Phase Display Window
Phase Display Window

The Phase Display Window shows the current phase of the Moon.


Show Planets
Planets

The Planets option will present you with a list of planet checkboxes that may toggled off or on.  Planets allows you to choose planets that you wish to be displayed.

Try will refresh the display using the newly selected settings without closing the dialog box


Show Other
Other

The Other option will present you with a list of checkboxes that may be toggled off or on.  Other allows you to choose objects (stars, nebulae, galaxies, clusters) that you wish to be displayed.

Try will refresh the display using the newly selected settings without closing the dialog box


Show Magnitudes
Magnitudes

By selecting Magnitudes, you will be presented with the Magnitude dialog box.


Show Magnitude Eye
Eye

Eye will display only the stars visible to the naked eye.


Show Magnitude All
All

Selecting All will reset the sky display to show all stars.


Movies Create
Create

__________________________________

See Also...

Making Your Own Movies

Creating Movies with Hover Mode

By selecting Create, you will be prompted with First Light’s animation tool.  Create allows you to make your own First Light movies.


Observing Ephemeris
Ephemeris

______________________

See Also...  Using Ephemeris

Ephemeris will print out a location table for a desired object over a period of time.


Observing Planning Guide
Planning Guide

_____________________________

See Also...  Using the Planning Guide

The Planning Guide will create a list of objects that may be visible for a given date.  Useful for planning an observing session.


Observing Reticle
Reticle

Reticle is an aid for measuring angular distances in the sky by displaying a set of concentric

circles around a point (looking much like a bullseye). The degree labels are the radius of each circle.  Reticle can be toggled on or off.

To use Reticle, simply click on a spot in the sky display.  Reticle will continue to be displayed at the chosen location until it is toggled off.

NOTE!  The Reticle display will change size to match the current zoom value.


Deep Sky Objects (DSO)

Deep Sky Objects are anything not classified as a star or solar-system object such as galaxies, star-clusters, etc..


Adding Your Own Data
Adding A Custom Location

First Light offers you many pre-set locations to choose from in the When and Where feature.  Should your location not be one of the listed pre-sets, you easily add your custom location data First Light’s data lists yourself.

Using Notepad (found in the Accessories group) is recommended, but any wordprocessor will do.

1.	Open Notepad.  Go to the File menu, select Open.

2.	Navigate to the applicable file located in the following directory path:

F_LIGHT\data2\user\

3.	Select the appropriate continent file for your location.  All location files are named with a .dat extention.  Example:  Choose filename “af_loc.dat” to set your location in Africa, or “na_loc.dat” for North America.

4.	Once the file has been opened, you will see a list of pre-set locations.  Scroll to the bottom of the list.  Each location has the following format:

    35:18     120:40     8   San Luis Obispo

The first number is your latitude (in degrees and minutes).

The second number is your longitude (in degrees and minutes)

The third number is your time zone.

Last is the name of your location.

Western longitudes have positive values for locations (North America, South America, Pacific). Eastern longitudes have negative values for locations (most of Europe, Africa, Asia).

5.	When you are finished adding your custom location, go to the File menu and select Save.

NOTE!  Do not save the file in a “special” format specific to your word processor.  The location file must be saved as a generic text file, otherwise First Light will not be able to read the information.


Flying By the Planets

_______________________________

See Also...

Zooming In and Out

Repositioning In Flyby/Hover Mode

Flyby Mode

First Light’s Flyby feature to recreate Voyager missions to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune!

1.	Go to the Solar System menu, select Flyby.

2.	Select (check) Attach Viewpoint.  (optional)

3.	Select the desired Voyager mission or planet your wish to view.

4.	Click on the Movie button.

5.	Set your viewing preferences such as position, field of view, object display, zoom level, etc.,

6.	Select the desired rate, size and appropriate checkboxes (Show Data, No Rotation, 24-bit Planets).

7.	Click on the New button.  Type in a name you wish to call your animation.

8.	Click on Start to begin your animation.

9.	At the very top of First Light’s window, you will see frame count display.  Hit your spacebar when you have reached the desired number of frames.  Spacebar will stop your animation.

10.	You can add further frames to the same animation by starting and stopping as before.

11.	Click on the Close button to view your animation (movie).

NOTE!  When creating movies, the entire First Light sky display window MUST be in view.  First Light animations are output in standard Video for Windows format.


Making Your Own Movies

_________________________________

See Also...

Create

Aiming Your Viewpoint

First Light’s Create feature allows you to create your own celestial animations (movies).  The following steps will give you a basic grasp and feel for making your own movies.

1.	Go to the EXPERT menu, select Movies.  From Movies, select Create.  You will be prompted with First Light’s animation tool.

2.	Select the desired rate, size and appropriate checkboxes (Show Data, No Rotation, 24-bit Planets).

3.	Click on the New button.  Type in a name you wish to call your animation.

4.	Set your viewing preferences such as position, field of view, object display, zoom level, etc.,

5.	Click on Start to begin your animation.

6.	At the very top of First Light’s window, you will see frame count display.  Hit your spacebar when you have reached the desired number of frames.  Spacebar will stop your animation.

7.	You can add further frames to the same file by starting and stopping as before.

8.	Click on the Close button to view your animation (movie).

NOTE!  When creating movies, the entire First Light sky display window MUST be in view.  First Light animations are output in standard Video for Windows format.


Selecting Objects

You can bring up information on any displayed object on the screen by merely clicking on it with

the left mouse button. For stars you'll see information about their distance, magnitude, whether

their a double-star or not, etc. Information on planets include distance, location, rise/set times, and

so on. Similar for deep-sky objects.


Eccentricity

A measure of an orbit's shape going from 0 to 1.0. A value of 0 is perfectly round, a

value of 1.0 means that it is "open", and the object will pass by the planet only once (most cometary orbits are like this). A value in between 0 and 1.0 will make the orbit an elllipse, a flattened circle.


Altitude

The altitude is the distance above your horizon in degrees. An object at 0 degrees is exactly on the horizon, and an object at 90 degrees is directly overhead.


Azimuth

The position of an object relative to North. An object at an azimuth of 0 degrees is

directly North, 90 degrees it will be East, 180 degrees, South, and 270 degrees, West.


Epoch Date

The date that either the data was taken or of the closest approach to the sun, called the "perihelion epoch". (a,c)  Sometimes called "T".


Perihelion Longitude

This is the longitude of the perihelion, the closest approach to the Sun. Given in degrees.


Longitude of Ascending Node

This is the longitude of the point at which the orbit ascends from below the plane of the solar-system (the ecliptic) to above the plane. Given in degrees.


Period

The time required to complete one full orbit, not used for non-periodic objects.


Inclination

Tilt of an object’s orbit in relation to the sun.  The angle at which the orbit is tilted to the plane of the ecliptic, between 0 and 180 degrees.


Mean Anomaly

The angle used to describe the current position of the object. Typically

used only for asteroids.


Argument of Perihelion

This is sometimes used in lieu of the perihelion longitude.  Derived from taking the perihelion longitude minus the longitude of ascending node.  Commonly used only for asteroids.


Size

The size of the orbit is determined by one of three possible values:

•	Semi-major axis:  ("a") A direct measurement of the size in astronomical units, generally used for periodic comets.

•	Mean daily motion:   ("n") An average motion in degrees/day the object moves.

•	Perihelion:  ("q") The distance of the closest approach to the sun in astronomical units and is used for parabolic orbits.


Comet

May be described as a “dirty iceball” usually with very eccentric orbits.  When close to the Sun, the ice will evaporate and leave lengthy tails streamers or tails. Comets are thought to contain some of the most pristine material leftover from the formation of the solar system.


Asteroid

A chunk of rock left over from the formation of the solar-system which can range in

size from only a few dozen feet to over 600 miles. Over 3500 are now known.


Guide Star Catalog

A catalog of all stars down to 16th magnitude used by Hubble Space Telescope researchers to guide the telescope during long photographic exposures. A star near the object of interest is chosen as a reference point that the telescope locks on to. up to 16 million total stars down to 16th magnitude (dimmer that what most amateur telescopes can even see).


Precession

Slow wobbling of the Earth's axis much like a child's top, that changes the apparent positions of the stars. Due to precession the North star will cease being the North star in a few hundred years. One "wob" takes about 25,800 years. This is why star charts are typically assigned a year or "epoch" to show which date was used for the stellar positions.


Greek ID

A star's Greek identifier is a greek letter followed by the constellation name it may be found in. The brightest stars are higher up in the alphabet so those that are "alpha" are usually the brightest in the constellation. Since the letters are limited, few stars actually have formal Greek names.


Gas Giants

The name given to the planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune due to their

size and the fact that they are primarily made of gas with no real surface to speak of.


Magnitude

Brightness of a star, the smaller the number the brighter the object. The brightest

star next to the Sun is Sirius which shines at a magnitude of -1.46 while the Sun itself shines at a whopping -26.3. The unaided eye can see down to a magnitude of about 6.5.


Look Angle

Look Angle is the area of your current view.


Light Year

The distance it takes light to travel in a single year, about 5.86 TRILLION miles. The nearest star, Alpha Centauri, is a mere 4.34 light years away. Compare this to our Sun which is only 8 light minutes away.


Universal Time

The standard way time is stated for scientific and technical purposes, and is based on the time at 0 degrees longitude (Western Europe).


Occultation

When the Moon occults, or eclipses a star or other planet.


Totality

The time during a solar eclipse when the Moon completely covers the Sun. This usually lasts for only a few minutes at best.


Meteor Shower

Term for when the Earth passes through a “swarm” of meteors.


Astronomical Unit

A convenient distance unit astronomers use instead of miles to state solar- system distances.  One (1) astronomical unit (AU) is equal to the average distance between the Sun and the Earth (93 million miles).


Meteor

A tiny particle which moves freely around the Sun.  Because most meteors are smaller than a grain of sand, they are not normally visible when in space.  What we see of the meteor is not the particle itself, rather the effects it produces as it enter’s the Earth’s atmosphere.


Right Ascension

The sky's "longitude", measured in hours, minutes and seconds, each hour being 15 degrees. Right ascension, or RA, is teamed with declination to show where and object is located in the sky. RA goes from 0 to 24 hours.


Declination

The sky's "latitude" measured in degrees. Declination is teamed with right ascension to show where and object is located in the sky.  Declination goes from -90 degrees to +90 degrees where the northern star, Polaris, is located.


Ecliptic

The plane of the solar-system defined by the Earth's orbit. Most planets stay very close to this plane, only Pluto goes way above or below.


Heliocentric Coordinates

Heliocentric ("Sun centered") coordinates is where an object is in relation to the Sun. Your position in space can be given in latitude and longitude.  By adding the distance from the Sun, you derive a set of Heliocentric coordinates.


Latitude

As with the Earth, latitude goes from -90 to +90 degrees. At 0 degrees you are exactly on the plane of the Earth's orbit. That is, by definition, the Earth is itself at 0 degrees latitude.


Longitude

The longitude goes from 0 to 359 degrees relative to the First Point of Aries.


E-H

Eccentricity

Ecliptic

Epoch Date

Gas Giants

Greek ID

Guide Star Catalog

Heliocentric Coordinates


I-L

Inclination

Latitude

Light Year

Longitude

Longitude of Ascending Node

Look Angle


M-P

Magnitude

Mean Anomaly

Meteor

Meteor Shower

Occultation

Perihelion

Perihelion Longitude

Period

Plane of the Ecliptic

Precession


Q-T

Right Ascension

Size

Totality


U-Z

Universal Time


A-D

Altitude

Argument of Perihelion

Asteroid

Astronomical Unit

Azimuth

Comet

Declination

Deep Sky Object


HINT!

When printing sky charts from First Light, you may want to do an inverse print to get the more traditional black sky.

Printing in landscape mode results in larger images.


Toggle

You "toggle" an item by selecting and de-selecting an option (just think of a light switch).  A First Light menu item that is toggled ON will be marked by a check.  When the item is toggled OFF, the check will no longer be displayed.  Toggling also applies to buttons, boxes, etc.,


Load-Use System Time
Load Profile

This option will load everything from your saved settings file except for the date and time.


Load-Use Stored Time
Load Event

This option will load your saved settings file, including the internal date and time of when it was saved.


Reset

Selecting Reset will reset the display back to default settings.


Up

The UP option displays the entire sky as seen from the selected location with a 180 degree field of view (simulating a "fish-eye" lens).  Due to the wide field of view, constellations near the edge will be distorted. The display is drawn as if you were facing North and looking up.


Planetarium

Planetarium will close The Sky Tonight display and open up First Light’s main screen.


Local Mode

In Local mode, the sky is displayed as seen from the time and location given in the When and Where dialog.


Equatorial Mode

In Equatorial mode (default), the sky is displayed as if there were no Earth underneath to distort your perspective. This removes any ambiguities that your own location introduces.

NOTE!  Equatorial mode is slightly faster than Local mode due to fewer calculations.


HINT!

Use Quickview to enter Local mode.  This saves you the time of setting up your screen.


Lookdown

You may select one of three different Lookdown modes:  Each selection will place your viewpoint directly above the sun, looking down on top of the solar-system at varying distances.

•	Inner-planets allows you to view all of the planets from Mercury to Mars.

•	Middle-planets allows you to view all of the planets from Mercury to Saturn.

•	Outer-planets allows you to view all of the planets from Mercury to Pluto.


Return to Earth

Return to Earth will move your viewpoint from out in the solar-system back to our home planet (Earth).


Fixed

Fixed will let you position your viewpoint to a specific location using heliocentric coordinates.


From A Planet

From A Planet allows you to view the solar system from a planet other than Earth.


HINT!

•	Values between 45 and 60 degrees are the most natural to the unaided eye.

•	A pair of binoculars will have a field of about 5 degrees.

•	A low power telescope will be 1 degree or less.

•	A value of 0.5 degree will be small enough for the Moon to fill an eyepiece.


Custom

Custom will open a list of objects that you have previously entered along with some popular default objects.


By Name

By Name allows you to center an object by entering its name in the provided dialog box.


Stars

Stars opens a special dialog box that will locate a star based on 1 of 3 possible identifiers.

To locate a star:

•	Select one of the three identifiers.

•	Enter the star name in the text field.

•	Click OK.


Stars Galaxies and Things
Galaxies and Things

Galaxies and Things allows you to center objects including galaxies, comets, etc.,  Click on the drop-down list button (found to the immediate right) for a list of available choices.


Borders

Borders toggles on or off the internationally recognized constellation boundaries.


Outlines

Outlines toggles on or off the constellation outlines.


NGC

NGC objects are objects listed in the New General Catalog ("NGC") of deep-sky objects (Galaxies, Nebula, etc.).  This catalog contains over 9000 objects. First Light displays the 1500 most important entries.


Messier

Messier is a catalog of 110 of the most spectacular deep-sky objects (Galaxies, nebula, etc.)

compiled by Charles Messier in 1781.


Diameter

The thickness or width (distance) of a circle or sphere.


Albedo

Ratio of the amount of light reflected from an object, to the amount of light which falls upon the object from an outside source.  The surface of the Moon has an average albedo of only 7 percent.


Gravity

Force of attraction that exists between matter and the universe.


Date

A listing of the date on which the eclipse will be taking place.


Duration (or start)

For total or annular solar eclipses, the time is the duration of maximum totality and is highly dependent on your location on the Earth.

For lunar eclipses, the time is the start of the eclipse in Universal time.  To convert to local time, use the "time zone" value you have set in the When and Where panel.


Type

Total and annular eclipses are when the moon passes between the earth and the sun.

•	Total eclipse:  When the moon completely covers the sun.

•	Annular eclipse:  If the moon is at its furthest point of its orbit it will be too small to cover the sun completely, causing a firey ring around its edge.

•	Lunar eclipses:  When the earth passes between the sun and the moon.

•	Partial eclipses:  When only part of the object is covered.


Location

Location lists the location at where the eclipse can be seen from.


Shower

Shower lists the name of the meteor shower to take place.


Date

Date lists the date when meteor shower is to take place.


Rate

Rate is in per hour measurements.  Velocity of average meteor.


Peak

Peak lists the time at which the meteor shower is at it most active.


HINT!

In you can't find the shadow, try the following:

•	Center the Sun

•	Select Planets, then choose Look Behind to flip your view.


Crosshair

Crosshair turns on a small cross which marks the middle of the screen.


Ecliptic

Ecliptic turns on a line which outlines the plane of the solar system.  This plane encompasses the region of the sky where the planets will be found.


Equator

Equator turns on the celestial equator.  This line marks 0 degrees declination.


Horizon

Horizon will mark your local horizon. You will notice that while in Equatorial mode, this will be tilted based on your latitude.  Horizon will change depending on the time of day, due to the Earth's rotation.


Grid

Grid overlays a right ascension/declination grid on top of the stars, much like the grid in an atlas.


Local Altitude

Local Altitude draws a line indicating the altitude above the horizon. This is active only in Local mode.


Clock Settings

Settings opens up the clock control bar that allows you to set the increments used for changing the time via the toolbar buttons.


Clock Freeze

Freeze stops automatic clock updates set by auto or real-time.

Auto will cause the entire display to automatically update as fast as possible at the selected increment.

Real-time will automatically update the sky display at normal time increments.


"+1 day" and "-1 day"

"+1 day" and "-1 day" are simple ways to update the clock in single day increments.


Clock Now

Now resets the clock to use system time.


Clock Sunrise/Sunset

Sunrise/Sunset will set the clock accordingly, handy when in local mode and you want to check out what is going to be visible just as the Sun goes down or comes up.


Object Droplines

Object Droplines turns on lines from the object to the plane of the ecliptic.  Green lines indicate that the object is above the plane.  Red lines indicate that the object is below the plane.


Date Trails

Date Trails leaves a trail of dates for each point, enabling you to create accurate charts of fast moving objects such as comets or asteroids.


Line Trails

Line Trails draws an outline of an object's pathway.


Dot Trails

Dot Trails draws a dotted outline of an object's pathway.


Local Sidereal Time

Local Sidereal Time is absolute time based on a star, rather than the sun.


Sharp Shadows

Sharp Shadows will sharpen the edge of the planet's terminator.


Terminator

The terminator of a planet is the twilight line that separates the day side from the night side.


Draggable

The Draggable option will enable real-time planet rendering during re-positioning.  Depending on your processor speed, real-time planet update can be much slower than the default wire-frame positioning.

NOTE!  The Draggable feature can only be enabled when operating in 256-color mode.


Show Clouds

Show Clouds turns on or off the cloud cover of Earth and Venus.


Show Feature Names

Show Feature Names turns on or off major features on several of the planets will become highlighted.  Click on any feature name to receive further information.


24-Bit Rendering

The 24-Bit Rendering option enables 24-bit planet rendering.  Though it results in the most detailed and impressive output, 24-bit rendering has the slowest rendering time.

HINT!


Auto Precession
Auto

Auto precession mode will automatically enable precession calculations if the date is changed by more than 200 years.


Stars Precession
Stars

Stars precession mode will automatically enable precession calculations on the stars only.


Lines Precession
Outlines

Outlines precession mode will automatically enable precession calculations on the constellation outlines only.


Stars Data
Data

Data will stamp the individual data fields next to each star.


More Stars

More Stars accesses the Hubble Space Telescope Guide Star Catalog.  Due to the huge number of stars, this feature can only be used when the zoom setting is 5 degrees or less.


Proper Motion

Proper motion illustrates how the stars move in relation to each other. Proper motion allows you to observe star movement that otherwise would be impossible to detect over an average lifetime.

•	Lines are drawn through each star in the direction it is headed.

•	Each line represents 50,000 years worth of movement, from 25,000 years before the current date to 25,000 years after.

•	The red dot marks the endpoint.


Position in Earth Mode
Position in Space Mode

•	Dragging with the right-mouse-button down will position the angle at which you view the display.

•	You may also move your actual eyepoint around using the left mouse-button.

•	While holding the button down and moving the mouse left-to-right, you will see the eyepoint rotate the sun.

•	Moving the mouse up and down will cause it to likewise move up or down. You may move the eyepoint further or closer to the sun by holding down both mouse buttons then moving the mouse up and down.


Setting Your Location

Setting your location within First Light may be done in three ways:

1.	Go to the View menu, select When and Where, click on the Location button.

2.	The location (map) window allows you to set your location visually by using a world map. You may set your position by simply clicking the left mouse button directly on the map. The flashing red circle highlights your current location.

3.	By selecting one of the location buttons, you may select pre-set city locations from the drop-down lists.

4.	If your location cannot be found in the presets, you may set your location manually by entering longitude and latitude coordinates.  Numerics may also be changed by the up/down arrows found to the immediate right of each latitude and longitude text field.

5.	Once you’ve set your location, click on the Show button to update the map and sky display.


HINT!

Use Look Behind for bouncing directly from North to South or for finding the Earth's shadow (center the Sun, then select Look Behind).


Circular

(type popup definition text here)


Elliptical

The orbit is roughly “egg shaped”.  The elliptical setting has an eccentricity of 0.4.


Highly Elliptical

The elliptical orbit is more exaggerated, lauching your view far into space and putting more distance between you and the planet.  The Highly Elliptical setting has an eccentricity of 0.7.


Orbit

Orbits are typically quite complicated and must by defined by a number different values.  The understanding of these values is not really necessary, as the published tables available will usually have all of the information that you need.  Also, not all of the fields will be used. Asteroids use a slightly different set of data than a comet would.  Besides the date you will need a total of 6 numbers. The codes after each field will show typically which are used for what kind of object. "c" is for comet


Show Magnitudes Limiter
Magnitude Limiter

The Magnitude Limiter allows you to set the minimum magnitude you wish to display.  Magnitude value may be entered manually in the text field or by using the up/down arrows.


Arrows
Direction Arrows

Clicking the right arrow will change time back by half hour increments.

Clicking the left arrow will change time forward by half hour increments.


HD Number

Star numbers that correspond with the Henry Draper catalog.


SAO Number

Star numbers that correspond with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory catalog.


Hover Show
Show

By clicking on the Show button, First Light will apply and display new Hover mode settings.


Hover Center
Automatic Centering

First Light will automatically center your viewpoint on the object selected.


Location Buttons

By selecting a continent location button, your position will automatically be centered on the map.  The OBS button will present you with a list of observatory locations.


Location Map

The location map diplays your current position (indicated by the red circle).


Location Show
Show

Clicking the Show button will update First Light’s sky display to use any changes manually entered in the latitude and/or longitude text fields above.


Movie

The Movie button will allow you to access First Light’s animation tool dialog box.


Star & Galaxies Names
Names

The Names option allows you to toggle the names of stars and/or galaxies off and on.


Flashcard Show
Show

Clicking the Show button will display all constellation identification (lines, names, position).


Map

The Moon Map is a simple lunar map highlighting major features and spacecraft landing sites.


Using The Mouse
Navigating Within First Light

Your mouse will be heavily used to navigate around First Light's universe.  With simple clicks and drags, several common features become available...

Aiming Your Viewpoint

Zooming In and Out

Repositioning In Flyby/Hover Mode

Point, Click and Identify


HINT! SETTINGS
HINT!

Use Settings to save your position, time and date for a special event, such as an eclipse.  These events may then be loaded at a later time.


Positioning in Space Mode
Positioning in Earth Mode

•	To move view cone, hold down left mouse button and drag view cone to desired position.

•	To move globe, hold down right mouse button and drag globe to desired position.


Addition Objects to the Center List
Adding Objects to the Center List

To Add Objects:

1.	Center the object of your interest.

2.	Set the zoom value (optional)

3.	Type the desired name in the text box field.

To Load Added Objects:

1.	Go to the Stars, Etc., menu, select Center, select Custom.

2.	On Center dialog box, click the drop-down list button (found to the immediate right) for a list of available objects.  New objects are added to the end of the list.

3.	Once you’ve selected your object, click OK.


Positioning in Landscape Mode

To position in Landscape mode:

1.	Hold down the left mouse button and drag up or down.

2.	Dragging upward will give you more landscape and less sky.

3.	Dragging downward will give you less landscape and more sky.


Simulating Star Trails

To simulate star trails:

1.	Go into Local mode.

2.	Select the Star Trails menu option.

3.	Advance time either automatically or manually using the Clock Controls.


Repositioning Your View

To reposition your view:

Hold down the right mouse button and drag the mouse/view circle to the desired position.

Or

Change the RA and declination fields and click on the Aim button.


Changing Your View

To change your view:  Hold the right mouse button down and drag mouse around the star display.

To zoom in or out:  Hold down the left mouse button and move the mouse back and forth.


Repositioning Your View (Sky Chart)
Repositioning Your View

To reposition your view:

•	Hold down the right mouse button and drag the circle to the desired position, or;

•	RA  and Decl values may be manually entered in the text fields, or;

•	RA  and Decl values may be entered by using the up/down arrows (found to the immediate right of the text fields).


Using Ephemeris

To use Ephemeris:

· Select the object of interest via the select button.

· Set the desired range of dates

· Set the desired increment.

· Select Print to send the tables to a printer.


Using the Planning Guide

To use the Planning Guide:

· Enter the desired date and the desired range of times for observation.

· Select the class of objects.

· Select the minimum desired magnitude.

· Select Print to send the list to a printer.


Create Anim Show Data
Show Data

By selecting Show Data, First Light will display data such as date, time and position.


Create Anim No Rotation
No Rotation

No Rotation turns planet rotation on or off.

NOTE!  Using large time increments will cause large jumps between each planet rotation in your animation. If you want to show smooth planetary rotations, keep the time increments down to less than an hour.


Create Anim 24-bit Planets
24-bit Planets

By selecting 24-bit Planets, First Light will generate full color rendered images.

NOTE!  24-bit mode results in cleaner, more detailed output, however, rendering time can be very slow (depending on your processor speed).


Create anim Rate
Rate

Rate will set playback rate in frames-per-second.

NOTE!   Video For Windows will drop frames if your machine cannot handle the selected rate.  This will give your animation a jerky appearance, in which case you can either use a slower rate or a smaller size.


create anim Size
Size

Size allows you to set the screen size (resolution) of the movie.  First Light will display a highlighted border of the selected screen size.

NOTE!  Larger screen sizes result in slower movie playback.  Larger screen sizes also require more memory for playback.


create anim Add
Add

Clicking the Add button will add the current screen to your open animation.


create anim Open
Create

The Create button allows you to enter a file name for your animation (movie).


create anim Start
Start

Clicking on Start will start the animation (movie) and close the animation (movie) dialog box.  The frame count is displayed on First Light’s titlebar (very top of the window).  Press “e” to stop the animation.


create anim close
Done

Clicking on Done will close the animation (movie) dialog box.


emphem month
Date Fields

The Date Fields allows you to set the range (to and from) you wish to observe for the selected object.  Dates may be changed manually by clicking and typing in the text fields or by using the up/down arrows (found to the immediate right of each field).


emphem Select
Select

Select allows you to choose the object of interest that you wish to observe.


emphem Print
Print

Print will send your location table to a selected printer.


emphem Save
Save

Save allows you to save your location table to disk for future use.  Location tables are saved in text file format.


pg Date
Date

Date allows you to enter the date on which you wish to observe the selected object.


pg Start
Start Time

Start Time allows you to set the time at which your observing session will start.  Time may be changed manually by clicking and typing directly in the text field, or by using the up/down arrows (found to the immediate right of the text field).


pg End Test
End Text

End Text allows you to set the time at which your observing session will end.  Time may be changed manually by clicking and typing directly in the text field, or by using the up/down arrows (found to the immediate right of the text field.


pg Minimum Magnitude
Minimum Magnitude

Minimum Magnitude allows you to set the minimum magnitude for your observation session.


pg Solar System
Object Classes

Selected Object Classes will be included in the Planning Guide list.


pg Save
Save

Save will save your Planning Guide list to disk.  The Planning Guide will be saved in text file format.


pg Print
Print

Print will send your Planning Guide list to a selected printer.


emphem inc
Increment (d)

Increment allows you to set the increment (in days) for your observation session.  Increment may be changed manually by clicking and typing directly in the text field, or by using the up/down arrows (found to the immediate right of the text field).


norb Label
Label

Type in the name of the new object in this text field.


norb Color
Color

Color allows you to select an orbital trace color.


norb Epoch Date
Epoch Date

The date that either the data was taken or of the closest approach to the sun, called the “perihelion epoch”.


norb Load
Load

Load allows you to load previously entered/existing objects.


norb Show
Show

Shows orbital trace without saving it.


norb Refresh
Refresh

Refresh will return the screen to its default state.


norb Save
Save

Save will save all your newly entered orbit information.


norb Size Degrees
Size Degrees


Point, Click and Identify

Simply by clicking on an object with the left mouse button, you can access a variety of information. Different objects have different information displays.

The Sun & the Moon

The Planets

The Stars

Deep Sky Objects Box

Planetary Moons


The Sun
Sun and Moon Information

By single-clicking on either the Sun or the Moon (left mouse button), First Light presents you with information and additional choices pertaining to the chosen object.


The Planets

By single-clicking on any planet (left mouse button), First Light presents you with information and additional choices pertaining to the chosen object.


The Stars

By single-clicking on any star (left mouse button), First Light presents you with information and additional choices pertaining to the chosen object.


Setting Your Preferences

First Light allows you to customize the following settings:  Quickview, Cleanup and Startup.

1.	Set your viewing preferences such as position, field of view, objects, names and lines display, zoom level, etc.,

2.	Go to the File menu, select Save Profile For...

3.	Select either Quickview, Reset or Startup.

4.	Repeat above steps for other settings.

First Light will automatically load saved preferences for Quickview, Cleanup or Startup when these options are selected.


Center Sun

Clicking this icon will center the Sun.


Center Moon

Clicking this icon will center the Moon.


Using the Navigator

The Navigator is one of First Light’s most powerful tools.  Once the basic concepts of its features are understood, using the Navigator is fast, simple and efficient.  The Navigator is accessed from the View menu.

The Navigator is comprised of four separate feature areas:

•	“You Are Here” display

•	View Modes

•	Status Display window

•	Button Panel

Click anywhere on the above picture for more feature information...

The “You Are Here” display basically shows you a pictorial representation of where you are in space.  The display varies according to the selected View Modes: Earth, Space, Home.  Each of the View Modes serve different view positioning functions, are manipulated differently, and offer unique “You Are Here” visuals.  The following text will attempt to give you a better understanding of each mode’s functions, how each works and a brief tutorial for “hands-on” experience...

EARTH MODE display elements:

•	View Cone [the red cone, pointing at the center of the globe]

•	Sky Globe [representing all visible space]

•	Celestial Objects [sun, moon, planets]

•	Hour marks [6 hour increments found along the Sky Globe]

To understand what you’re looking at, visualize this:

You are at the center of the globe (the pointy end of the view cone).  The “flat” end of the view cone is the area you are viewing.  The entire sky (along with the planets, moon and sun) has been conveniently mapped to the globe for your viewing...

TRY THIS!

1.	Go to the View menu, select Zoom, select Degrees and set your zoom to 180 degrees.

2.	Go to the View menu, select Navigator and select the Earth view mode.

3.	Notice how wide your view area (“flat” end of the cone) appears.

4.	Placing your mouse pointer over the “You Are Here” display, hold down your left mouse button and drag the view cone around.  By doing this, you are repositioning your view.

5.	Release your left mouse button.  Notice that the sky display changes to match your new view.

6.	Now go to the View menu, select Zoom, select Degrees and set your zoom to 60 degrees.

Notice how much smaller your view area (“flat” end of the cone) appears.

7.	Release your left mouse button.  Notice that the sky display changes to match your new view.

8.	Now hold both the left and right mouse buttons down.  Move your mouse forward and backward.  Notice how the view cone widens and narrows.  By doing this, you are increasing (backward) and decreasing (forward) your field of view.

9.	Release both buttons to update your sky display.

10.	Repeat above steps to practice repositioning your view.

11.	Now place your mouse pointer over the “You Are Here” display, hold down your right mouse button and drag the globe around.  By doing this, you can get a better vantage point of exactly where you are in space in respect to the planets, moon and sun.

12.	Release your right mouse button to “lock” your vantage point into place.

The sky has been measured in right ascension with markers at 6 hour increments along the globe’s border.

SPACE MODE display elements:

•	Your eyepoint [the green “ball and stick”]

•	Plane of the Ecliptic indicator [the extending red line]

•	Celestial Objects (planets, comets, etc.,) [the various colored “dots”]

•	Orbital Lines [the concentric circles radiating from the yellow centered “dot”]

To understand what you’re looking at, visualize this:

You are the green “ball,” hovering around the Sun.  Your view is locked onto the Sun. You can go above and below it.  You get really close to or move far away from it.  Regardless of what you do, the Sun will always remain at the center of your view...

TRY THIS!

1.	Go to the View menu, select Zoom, select Degrees and set your zoom to 30 degrees.

2.	Go to the View menu, select Navigator and select the Space view mode.  Notice the green “ball” (you), the orbital lines and the ecliptic (the red line extending from the sun).

3.	Placing your mouse pointer over the “You Are Here” display, hold down your left mouse button and move your mouse up and down.  Notice how the verticle line becomes longer and shorter.  By doing this, you are getting further away from/closer to from the plane of the ecliptic.  You may also notice that the green ball (and attached lines) turning red when dragged past the ecliptic.  This indicates that you are now below the ecliptic.  When below the plane, you are looking up at the sun.  When above, you are looking down on the sun.

4.	Release your left mouse button.  Notice that the sky display changes to match your new view.

5.	Now, place your left mouse button over the “You Are Here” display, hold down your left mouse button and move side to side.  Notice how the diagonal and horizontal lines become longer and shorter.  By doing this, you are getting further away from/closer to the Sun.

6.	Release your left mouse button.  Notice that the sky display changes to match your new view.

7.	Now hold both the left and right mouse buttons down.  Move your mouse forward and backward.  Notice how the view cone widens and narrows.  By doing this, you are increasing (backward) and decreasing (forward) your field of view.

8.	Release both buttons to update your sky display.

9.	Repeat above steps to practice repositioning your view.

10.	Now, place your mouse pointer over the “You Are Here” display, hold down your right mouse button and drag the ecliptic and orbital lines around.  By doing this, you can get a better vantage point of exactly where you are in space in respect to the planets, moon and sun.

11.	Release your right mouse button to “lock” your vantage point into place.

HOME MODE display elements:

•	View Cone [the red cone, pointing at the center of the globe]

•	Sky Globe [representing all visible space]

•	Celestial Objects [sun, moon, planets]

•	Direction Markers [N, E, S, W, found along the Sky Globe]

To understand what you’re looking at, visualize this:

You are at the center of the half-globe (the pointy end of the view cone).  The “flat” end of the view cone is the area you are viewing.  The entire sky (along with the planets, moon and sun), as it would appear from your home location,  has been conveniently mapped to the half-globe for your viewing.  You are outside the globe, looking in...

NOTE!  Home displays only half a globe, due to the fact that the other half goes below your horizon and is therefore not visible.  Also, because your viewpoint is placed outside the globe, the direction points will appear to be opposite what you are used to.

TRY THIS!

1.	Go to the View menu, select Zoom, select Degrees and set your zoom to 180 degrees.

2.	Go to the View menu, select Navigator and select the Home view mode.

3.	Notice how wide your view area (“flat” end of the cone) appears.

4.	Placing your mouse pointer over the “You Are Here” display, hold down your left mouse button and drag the view cone around.  By doing this, you are repositioning your view.

5.	Release your left mouse button.  Notice that the sky display changes to match your new view.

6.	Now go to the View menu, select Zoom, select Degrees and set your zoom to 60 degrees.

Notice how much smaller your view area (“flat” end of the cone) appears.

7.	Release your left mouse button.  Notice that the sky display changes to match your new view.

8.	Now hold both the left and right mouse buttons down.  Move your mouse forward and backward.  Notice how the view cone widens and narrows.  By doing this, you are increasing (backward) and decreasing (forward) your field of view.

9.	Release both buttons to update your sky display.

10.	Repeat above steps to practice repositioning your view.

11.	Now, place your mouse pointer over the “You Are Here” display, hold down your right mouse button and drag the globe around.  By doing this, you can get a better vantage point of exactly where you are in space in respect to the planets, moon and sun.

12.	Release your right mouse button to “lock” your vantage point into place.

The sky has been marked with North, East, South and West markers along the globe’s border, for your orientation purposes.


Using Hover Mode

___________________________________

See Also...

Hover Mode

Zooming In and Out

Repositioning in Flyby/Hover Mode

Creating Movies with Hover Mode

First Light’s Hover feature allows you to simply hover over orbit along with the planets, the moon and the sun.

1.	Go to the Solar System menu, select Hover, select Settings.  First Light will prompt you with the Hover dialog box.

2.	From the Hover portion of the dialog box, select the object and the distance at which you wish to hover.

3.	Set orbit attributes (shape, rate, Step ).

4.	Check landing sites, features and attach (optional).

5.	Click on the Show button to apply any selections made.

6.	Click on OK to confirm changes.  If you wish for the Hover dialog box to remain displayed, do not click on OK.

To begin orbit: Go to the Solar System menu, select Hover, select (check) Orbit.  The selected object will now begin its orbit.

To stop orbit:   Go to the Solar System menu, select Hover, select Turn Off.

To exit Hover mode:  Click your right mouse button.


Using the Clock Control Bar
Using the Clock Control

First Light’s Clock Controls allow you to control time and movement of our solar system.  The following steps will give you a general feel by briefly step you through the uses of the Clock Controls.

1.	Go to the View menu, select Lock, select Object.

2.	You will be presented with a select object dialog box.  Using the drop-down list, select Sun (other objects may be selected).  Click OK.

3.	The Sun will now be centered on your screen.  Go to the Preferences menu, select Movie Prefs, de-select (uncheck) Object tails.

4.	You will now choose the desired clock settings.  Click the Clock Control icon from the Toolbar, or go to the Tools menu, select Clock, select Settings.

5.	Set desired step increments you wish the Clock to use.  Click OK to confirm settings.

6.	By clicking any of the clock buttons, First Light will update the screen using the Clock settings that you chose.

For continuous movement:  Click on the “fast-forward” or “fast-rewind” button.  Click on the “stop” button to halt.

For single increment movement:  Click on the “forward” or “backward” button.


Off Earth

The Off-Earth icon will move your viewpoint from being earth-based, into the solar-system.


Quickview North

Quickview North allows you to quickly set up your sky display in local mode, oriented towards the North.


Quickview South

Quickview South allows you to quickly set up your sky display in local mode, oriented towards the South.


Quickview East

Quickview East allows you to quickly set up your sky display in local mode, oriented towards the East.


Quickview West

Quickview West allows you to quickly set up your sky display in local mode, oriented towards the West.


Zoom 60

Zoom 60 is one of two commonly used field-of-view settings.  Zoom 60 sets the display to 60

degrees wide, much like that of what the human eye sees.

HINT!


Zoom 120

Zoom 120 is one of two commonly used field-of-view settings.  Zoom 120 sets the display to 120 degrees wide, giving you a somewhat wider range.  Objects appear smaller but are shown in a much broader context.

HINT!


Galaxy Button

The Galaxy button toggles on or off the most well-known Messier deep-sky objects.


HINT! zoom buttons
HINT!

Wider fields-of-view result in slower screen updates as many more items must be displayed.


Multiple Increments (Decrease)
Multiple Increment (decrease)

This button will decrease time according to the increment previously set using the Clock Control.  By single-clicking this icon, the clock will start decreasing as fast as possible.  Click the Freeze button (center) to stop the clock.


Single Increment (decrease)

This button will decrease time by 1 increment per click.

Example:  Increment is set to 5 hours. Time will decrease by 5 hours each time this button is clicked.


Freeze Button
Freeze

Stops the internal clock, thus freezing time/date related updates.


Multiple Increments (increase)
Multiple Increment (increase)

This button will increase time according to the increment previously set using the Clock Control.  By single-clicking this icon, the clock will start increasing as fast as possible.  Click the Freeze button (center) to stop the clock.


Single Increment (increase)

This button will increase time by 1 increment per click.

Example:  Increment is set to 5 hours.  Time will increase by 5 hours each time this button is clicked.


Open Clock Controls
Clock Controls

This icon will open the Clock Control dialog box.  The Clock Control allows you to achieve a "time lapse" effect, showing more clearly the motions of the planets up against the stars.


Steps clock control
Steps

Steps allows you to set the increments for time updates.  The first text field allows you to choose the number increment, the second text field allows you to choose the time increment.


Box Notes
Notes

By clicking the Notes button, First Light will present you with any “special” notes on the selected object.


Box Last
Arrow Buttons

Clicking the UP arrow will display the next star (in order of right ascension value).

Clicking the DOWN arrow will display the last star viewed.


Box Center
Center

By clicking the Center button, First Light will center the object currently selected.


Box Explore
Explore

By clicking on the Explore button, First Light will present you with an Explore dialog box containing information, images and movies.


Explore Image Display
Image Display

This window will display available images for the selected object.


Scroll Bar

The scroll bar allows you to scroll the text displayed in the information window.


Explore Information Window
Information Window

The information window will display various informational text on the selected object.


Explore Arrows
Arrows

Clicking the UP arrow will page forward through the topics.

Clicking on the DOWN arrow will page backwards through the topics.


Video for Windows

A Microsoft animation viewing utility.


Zooming In and Out

To Zoom In (magnify):  Hold down the left mouse button and drag the mouse from left to right.

To Zoom Out (minimize):  Hold down the left mouse button and drag the mouse right to left.

You will see a box outline of the area your are zooming into/out of.  Smaller zoom “boxes” result in tighter zooms, and vice-versa.


Repositioning In Flyby/Hover Mode

When in Hover or Flyby mode, the target planet is fixed in the center of the screen.  Repositioning your viewpoint can be done in real-time.

To reposition your viewpoint:

· Hold down the right mouse button and drag the mouse to reposition.

· Moving the mouse LEFT and RIGHT will rotate your view around the planet.

· Moving the mouse UP and DOWN will move your view NORTH and SOUTH.

While repositioning, the object will remain centered.


Aiming Your Viewpoint

Within First Light, the mouse may be used to change your viewing direction.

Centering:  Center a spot in the sky by merely clicking on it with the right button.

Repositioning:  Hold down the right mouse button and drag to a new sky position (real-time)


Creating Movies with Hover Mode

In addition to viewing the planets up close and personal, Hover mode also allows you to create cool animations...

1.	Go to the Solar System menu, select Hover, select Settings.  First Light will prompt you with the Hover dialog box.

2.	From the Hover portion of the dialog box, select the object and the distance at which you wish to hover.

3.	Set orbit attributes (shape, rate, Step ).

4.	Check landing sites, features and attach (optional).

5.	Click on the Show button to apply any selections made.

6.	Click on OK to confirm changes.  If you wish for the Hover dialog box to remain displayed, do not click on OK.

7.	Go to the Tools menu, select Create Movie.

8.	Select the desired rate, size and appropriate checkboxes (Show Data, No Rotation, 24-bit Planets).

9.	Click on the New button.  Type in a name you wish to call your animation.

10.	Set your viewing preferences such as position, field of view, object display, zoom level, etc.,

11.	Click on Start to begin your animation.

12.	At the very top of First Light’s window, you will see frame count display.  Hit “e” when you have reached the desired number of frames.  “e” will stop your animation.

13.	You can add further frames to the same file by starting and stopping as before.

14.	Click on the Close button to view your animation (movie).

15.	Click OK to exit animation mode.


sky Planetarium
Planetarium

Planetarium will take you back to First Light’s main sky display.


sky Sunrise
Sunrise

Sunrise will display sunrise time for the selected date.


sky Sunset
Sunset

Sunset will display sunset time for the selected date.


First Point of Aries

The point in the sky which marks a right ascension of 0.


Wide Angle

Selecting Wide Angle will set your field of view to 120 degrees.


Normal

Selecting Normal will set your field of view to 60 degrees.


Closeup

Selecting Closeup will set your field of view to 10 degrees.


Telescope

Selecting Telescope will set you field of view to 2 degrees.


Degrees

Degrees allows you to select from a pre-set list of choices for your field of view.

HINT!


Close

Clicking Close will close the dialog box.


pref Viewpoint
Viewpoint

Viewpoint allows you to set your preferences for viewpoint.


view Orbits
Orbits

Orbits toggles on or off planetary orbit outlines.


view Orbit droplines
Orbit Droplines

Orbit Droplines toggles on or off indicator marks to show orbit altitude relative to the plane of the eliptic (tilt).


Hint 24-bit
HINT!

To speed up the process of setting up with 24-bit rendering enabled, shrink the main window down.  After set up is complete, go full screen with 24-bit enabled.


Grid Size (AU)

Grid Size allows you to set one of five grid sizes (in astronomical units).  Click drop-down list button (found to the immediate right) for a list of available choices.


Save Settings On Exit

By selecting this item, First Light will automatically save any currently enabled settings upon exiting the program.  First Light will start with these settings enabled.


Quickview Uses Profile

By selecting this item, Quickview will use Save Quickview settings.  If this item is de-selected, Quickview will merely point towards the selected direction.


Splash Music

Selecting Splash Music will turn on/off the music which accompanies the introduction screen.


Heliocentric Latitude

Latitudinal coordinate for where an object is in relation to the Sun.


Heliocentric Longitude

Longitudinal coordinate for where an object is in relation to the Sun.


Solar Distance
Solar Distance (AU)

Solar Distance allows you to enter the distance from the sun (in astronomical units) to where your viewpoint is set.


Day

Day displays the day of the year that is being used.


HINT! chart
HINT!

If viewing deep sky objects (Messier, NGC) in conjunction with stars, set star colors (Preferences menu) to Normal or Bright for better object differentiation.


Perihelion

An object's orbital position when at its nearest to the Sun.


Deep Sky Objects Box
Deep Sky Objects

By single-clicking on any star (left mouse button), First Light presents you with information and additional choices pertaining to the chosen object.


Planetary Moons

By single-clicking on any star (left mouse button), First Light presents you with information and additional choices pertaining to the chosen object.


Adding Your Own Objects

If the millions of objects that First Light has to offer aren’t enough, you can always add your own!

Using Notepad (found in the Accessories group) is recommended, but any wordprocessor will do.

1.	Open Notepad.  Go to the File menu, select Open.

2.	Navigate to the applicable file located in the following directory path:

C:\F_LIGHT\data2\user\

3.	To view the entire list of available files, select All Files (*.*) from the List Files of Type: text field (found below File Name list).

4.	Select the “user_obj.dat” from the file list.

5.	Once the file has been opened, you will see a list of existing objects.  Scroll to the bottom of the list.  Each object has the following format:

id    ra    dec    clr    name

id = unique ID number

ra = right ascension (in degrees.minutes)

dec = declination (in degrees.minutes)

clr = Color designation.

name = Object’s name/label

6.	At the end of the object list, type/enter a unique ID number, right ascension, declination, color number and the object’s name/label.  Example:  30014    2030.18    52.38    65    Nova-Cygni

7.	When you are finished adding your custom object, go to the File menu and select Save.

NOTE!  Do not save the file in a “special” format specific to your word processor.  The location file must be saved as a generic text file, otherwise First Light will not be able to read the information.


Color Designation

The following are some of the colors available for customizing your objects:

65 = blue-green

66 = cyan

67 = red

68 = green

69 = blue

70 = gold

10 = light yellow

32 through 64 = white to dark gray


Zoom Button

Clicking the Zoom button will display a full screen version of the thumbnail image (found to the right).


Thumbnail Image

A miniature representation of an image/picture (when available) is displayed here.  Click the Zoom button to display the full screen version of the image.


Use Date

By clicking Use Date, First Light will use the currently selected date.


Acknowlegements...

Virtual Reality Laboratories, Inc. would like to thank the following people for their hard work on this project...

Development:

•	Mike Smithwick

Programming:

•	John Hinkley

•	Steve Worley

•	Clint Woeltjen

•	Tim Finer

•	Jim Heintz

Testing:

•	Mark Townsend

•	Albert Bodenhamer

Documentation:

•	Angela Finer

•	Christopher Bort

•	Ron Nodder

Help File:

•	Angela Finer

Project Coordinator:

•	J.A. Ames