Suzy B Software 2/Suzy B Software CD-ROM 2 (1994).iso/nasa/cia/cia.txt

Text File | 1995-05-02 | 30KB | 567 lines

                                 Acknowledgements

     Some of the material written below may not apply to the specific
software or services that are mentioned here.  We hope that you will all
understand that this article was originally presented to an astronomy club
in the Metropolitan Toronto area.  If you wish to post any area specific
information that would pertain to your region it is invited and most
welcome.  Any revisions or new information about the software is also
encouraged.

     This pamphlet was a supplement to the Toronto RASC Member's Night
meeting of January 11, 1991.  I wish to thank the following persons who made
presentations, and contributed written material:  Dr. James Bacon, Bill
Crutwell, Mike Daly, Bob Kirouac, Paul Markov, Ted Molczan, Stephen Phillips
and Terry Smith.  A special note of thanks to Ted Molczan who served as
editor for this handout.  We also wish to thank the Toronto Centre of the
Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, which funded the cost of printing, and
the McLaughlin Planetarium, which provided the auditorium and AV facilities
for this special meeting.  A very special note of thanks should also go out
to the hearty people who braved the worst storm of last winter to attend
this presentation.

                                                        David Aylsworth.


                              Computers In Astronomy

     From the beginnings of astronomy as a science until the mid-twentieth
century, it was possible for amateurs with the right background in
mathematics and physics, and access to a telescope, to maintain their level
of knowledge and research at a par with their professional counterparts.
The advent of the computer created an ever widening chasm the amateur could
not easily breach.

     The computers of the early 1950's were huge, very expensive and
difficult to program.  As a result, they were only to be found at
universities and other professional research facilities -- totally out of
the reach of amateurs.  In the early 1970's technological advances brought
about the first home computers.  They were slow, could hold only very small
programs and remained rather difficult to program, so they were mainly of
interest to electronics hobbyists.

     By the early 1980's the cost and performance of personal computers had
improved sufficiently for them to be recognized as serious computing tools,
and many thousands were purchased for home use.  The door was now open for
amateurs to pursue their hobby in new and exciting ways.  The breach between
professional and amateur began to close!  Now it was possible for amateurs
to reduce data and model physical systems with a speed and precision that
was heretofore unknown.

     Initially, it was necessary for amateurs to do their own programming,
which required a background in computer and physical sciences.  Before long,
however, some of the more skilled programmers began to market their
programs, which made amateur astronomical computing accessible to anyone
with a computer.  Today, the popular astronomy magazines carry numerous ads
for a wide variety of astronomical software, ranging from planetarium
programs to image enhancement software for CCD's (charge coupled devices).

     Most of the software that is available commercially produces a
graphical output that enables the user to view a map or image of a celestial
event.  These software packages are available for most of the major computer
operating environments.  Some of these programs are geared to producing
"pretty images" with little concern to the specific accuracy of a
represented image.  Others are more oriented to the generation of detailed
ephemerides which are of more use to the observational amateur astronomer
than the armchair astronomer.

     There are those who are applying computers to more advanced
applications such as prediction and modelling, or data acquisition and
reduction who might not be well served by the commercial software that is
available and therefore must write their own programs.  These people are
best able to tailor their software to their special needs.

     For those who wish to attempt writing their own programs or modifying
existing software there are a variety of books available that give the
aspiring programmer some direction into this area.  Also, Sky and Telescope
magazine runs a monthly column called "Astronomical Computing" where the
reader is treated to a program that investigates some field of astronomy.
Another periodical, Celestial Computing by David Eagle, devotes itself to
investigations in celestial mechanics.  It is geared to those who are more
mathematically adventurous, but does include complete software on diskettes,
for those who are not.

     Computer bulletin boards are another valuable source of software for
those with computers that are equipped with a modem.  Bulletin boards also
offer the ability to participate in conferences on all aspects of
astronomy.  Hopefully, the overview that we have presented will give all of
you some appreciation for the role that computers are playing in astronomy
as it pertains to amateurs.


                                 Software Reviews

     Regardless of the amateur's application, there is a large selection of
software available.  Whether its from a commercial source or downloaded from
a Shareware bulletin board the value of these programs is something that
only the end user can assess fairly.  We will try not to be too critical in
our assessment of the software presented here, except where warranted by the
poor quality of the product itself.  We leave it to the end users to
determine the individual merits of the products.

Sky Globe

     As an example of some of the low end astronomy programs that are
available from the Shareware library, I selected Sky Globe.  It is a package
that can be both useful and fun as well as educational.  Its simplicity is
one of the most attractive things about it.  With only a few keystrokes it
is possible to see the night sky, complete with stars, planets and Messier
objects.

     For $15.00 US you can't go too wrong.  This little gem will allow you
to see the sky from many northern or southern hemisphere locations.  All of
this is possible on the most elementary of IBM compatibles, and it can be
run right off one low density floppy disk.  Altogether it is a tidy little
program.

Deep Space 3D

     This software is very easy to use and would be a welcome addition to
the repertoire of any observer.  It is fast and gives clear, well
proportioned maps in five projections.  Among the best features of DS3D is
the comet listings.  This will generate a comet apparition quickly and give
you a hard copy or computer file of the ephemeris, as well as plotting the
path on a map.  You can save specific maps as files and call them up
whenever you like.

     Having the ability to scale the maps in any of the five projections is
an advantage.  Selecting an area of the sky for viewing can be done by
designating a specific constellation or a centre point for the area you wish
to be displayed.  The printed maps are great tools that can easily be used
at the eyepiece.  As the "3D" part of the name suggests there is also a
facility to show star images in 3D with a viewer that you get when you
register and pay the $59.00 US fee.

     You can also update the comet files and add objects by entering the
orbital elements that are printed in Sky and Telescope.  The projections of
the comets on the screen and in printouts will also show the direction of
the tails and the relative angular separation from the sun.  All in all,
this is one of the easiest programs to install and operate.  There is an
extensive help file that is easy to access and it gives clear and direct
instructions on how to get the most out of the software.

     For the uninitiated this can also be a useful tool for learning the
sky.  Though it does not show any deep sky objects is does show the planets
(all nine of them).  If the novice also wants to have some fun he or she may
want to follow some of the suggestions offered in the help files to get a
sense of the movement of objects in our solar system.  My rating of DS3D is
"best of show"!  Useful, easy to use and fun.

Superstar Version 3.15

     When I first saw the ad in Sky & Telescope, I thought that it would be
great to have a planetarium program that showed all of the SAO catalog and
the entire collection of NGC and IC objects.  It seemed at the time that
having everything under one roof, so to speak, would be ideal.  Little did I
know that things are not always what they seem.

     As shipped, the version of Superstar that I received was not complete.
The installation utility that was supposed to put everything in operational
order on my hard drive did not do it.  After several days of pondering the
problem of the one missing file that was stopping up the works, I found it,
errantly stored in another archive file.  After putting this file in place
the program ran flawlessly until the first time I entered spurious data.  It
locked up the entire system and refused let me exit the system.  This is a
problem which still occurs to this day.

     The features that were touted by the ad, were for the most part in
place and were everything that had been promised and more.  On a monochrome
monitor, Superstar looks like just another astronomy program and has its
problems with some of the planetary images.  Problems which exist up to the
most recent update.  With an EGA or VGA monitor the software does begin to
shine.  The stellar images are crisp and with the bright star catalogues
screen generation is fast.  When going to the SAO catalog the speed of
generation lengthens in direct proportion to the magnitude setting that is
chosen.  As another note on speed, this program was developed on a 386 class
of computer and though it will run on an XT, only those with patience and a
math coprocessor would want to do so for long.  A minimum hardware
requirement of a 286 with a coprocessor would be prudent to attempt the more
advanced features of this program.

     The manual provided with my copy of Superstar was from an older edition
and doesn't reflect the features of the program correctly.  The wording of
the manual is ambiguous and unclear.  All in all, an object lesson in why
the author of the software should never write the manual too.  After a few
phone calls to California, to clarify some of my questions about the
software, I found that the program was indeed a treasure to work with.  The
supplementary SAO catalog with the proper motions was worth the money.
Regular updates of the software have appeared, and author David Wright
responds to calls or letters, showing that he is interested in giving
support to those who have purchased the product.

     With numerical integration, a healthy database of variable stars,
comets, and asteroids this software is well equipped to give the user months
and months of projects that will fill to overflowing those cloudy days and
nights that prevent other kinds of astronomy to take place.  In addition to
this you can add scanned images to the database, generate light curves,
simulate occultations, transits and trace the motions of planets, asteroids,
or comets on time scales ranging from minutes to years.  Superstar v 3.15
has been well worth the $350 cost, and in spite of the difficulties I would
recommend it to anyone interested in the serious pursuit of more advanced
aspects of astronomy.

Voyager

     The first time I visited the McLaughlin Planetarium, I brought home a
star finder to help identify stars in the night sky.  At first glance,
Voyager might seem to be a computerized descendant of that simple finder,
but its really more closely related to the planetarium than it is to that
cardboard disk.

     Members with access to a Macintosh computer (with one meg of RAM) are
in for a treat with this program.  Voyager allows you to display the sky as
it would appear at any time or date, from any location on the Earth.  The
display includes 14,000 objects including 9100 stars magnitude 8 or better
(from the Yale Bright Star Catalog), the planets, the larger asteroids,
about 3000 deep sky objects magnitude 16 or better (all visible in an 8"
scope), 88 constellations and many asterisms, the Messier objects, 160
variable and 1600 binary stars.  All with a resolution of one minute of time
and angle. Refraction near the horizon is compensated for.  Precession is
calculated automatically or manually for dates 1000 BC to 4000 AD.

     Further, the observers location doesn't have to be on the Earth at
all.  You can view from the moon, the Sun, or any planet or any point in
space within 100 astronomical units.  You can go to a point above Jupiter
and watch its moons rotate from above, or ride one of the Trojan asteroids
around in its orbit.  You can view the solar neighbourhood from 50 light
years away and rotate the display in the X or Y axis. This feature allows
the viewer to experience the three dimensional relationship between the Sun
and its neighbours.

     Pointing at any object will open a dialog box detailing relevant
information like rise and set times, RA & Dec, size, radial velocity,
magnitude, stellar type, and so on.  Objects can be found and displayed by
typing the name.  "M51" or "Whirlpool" will find the Supergiant spiral NGC
5194 and centre it on the screen.  New objects, Comet Levy for instance, can
be added to the database by entering the orbital elements.

     Comets grow tails as they enter the inner solar system!  The
constellations can be shown or not, with or without names.  You can zoom in
on objects to get a closer view; as close as one minute across the screen.
You can print the display on an ImageWriter or LaserWriter at any time.  Or
you can save the display as a MacPaint document that you can edit.  The
display can be rotated in real time or in steps from one minute to four
years.  An ephemeris of the positions of selected planets can be generated.
Eclipses, conjunctions, and occultations can be predicted for any pair of
objects.  Planetary magnitudes and angular sizes for a given year can be
displayed on a graph and printed.  The planetary positions for a particular
date can be tabulated showing RA, Dec, rise, transit & set times.

     At a recent computer trade show, Voyager was interfaced to a large
Schmidt reflector.  When an object on the screen was clicked on, the
telescope moved to the coordinates of the target.  With the proper hardware
interface the Voyager database could serve as the foundation of an automated
observatory.

     If you're interested in astronomy, or if you want to interest someone
else in astronomy, this is the program.  For approximately $160 Cdn it will
never replace the experience of shivering in the dark under a sky full of
stars, nor will it match the sheer wonder of a real planetarium, but, it
delivers an incredible amount of astronomical information.  The only thing
missing is the clouds.  If there's anything else you could possibly want, it
probably does that too.


                       Computers, Astronomy and James Bacon

      I use my computer to plan my Messier object observing sessions. The
major software used here is the INTERACTIVE COMPUTER EPHEMERIS (ICE)
produced by the United States Naval Observatory (USNO).  I use this program
to find all the evenings in a given month when the two hour period beginning
at the end of astronomical twilight is moon free.  I also use it to find all
the mornings when the two hour period ending at the beginning of
astronomical twilight is moon free.  ICE is also used to find the sidereal
time at the beginning of the two hour period, telling me which Messier
objects are on the meridian.  During the recent apparition of Mars, ICE was
used to find the central meridian of Mars.

     I also use my computer to plan my planetary observing throughout the
year. ICE and VISIBLE UNIVERSE are used to find the times when each planet
is 10 or more degrees above the horizon during the period between the end of
nautical twilight in the evening and the beginning of nautical twilight in
the morning.  These times, which I call "window" times, are given for 30 day
intervals in Target, the newsletter which I publish and Perceptor
distributes.  Knowing when the window for Jupiter is "open" is useful in
planning observations of the Great Red Spot or eclipses of the Galilean
satellites.  The Oct-Nov/90 issue of Target explains how this is done.
Target is produced using FIRST PUBLISHER, and an example of it can be found
on the last page of this handout.  I hope it will be useful to you!


                           CCD's for Amateur Astronomers

     Amateur astronomers who have a personal computer can benefit from the
use of CCD's.  CCD's are extremely sensitive to light, enabling images of
very faint objects.  CCD images can be enhanced through the use of computer
software, something that can not be done with film negatives.  The relative
ease of use that is possible some of this technology brings digital image
processing within the capabilities of the amateur.

     Good quality CCD's for the amateur market remain rather expensive.
Beware of low priced equipment, which may produce poor results.  I use the
following equipment.  A Meade 10 inch Schmidt Cassegrain, Lynxx PC Plus CCD,
Sanyo Computer (IBM PC compatible), Aamazing VGA Monitor (1024 lines x 768
pixels), Roland Raven Dot Matrix Printer and Catenary Systems' Zip image
processor.


                          Computer Bulletin Board Systems

     Computer bulletin board systems (BBS's) are yet another way to get
involved in astronomy.  To access BBS's you require a computer (any type)
and a modem. The modem is a small piece of electronic hardware that allows
your computer to talk to other computers through a common telephone line.
Modems are now relatively inexpensive and are readily available at
acceptable baud rates (the baud rate is the speed at which information is
transmitted across the phone line).

     There are many BBS's available in Toronto covering a wide variety of
topics. Here are three of the BBS's that will be of interest to amateur
astronomers:

The Health Professional's BBS

     The name of this BBS covers only one aspect of its content.  Besides a
health conference there are six others: Astronomy, amateur radio, education
and science, desktop publishing, computers, and environment.

     There are over 60 bulletins in the astronomy conference alone,
including a list of Toronto Centre meetings, the Exchange, astrophotography
and telescope making workshops, observing tips, space shuttle, and Hubble
Space Telescope bulletins.

     There are well over 50 public domain astronomy programs and files
(mostly MS-DOS, some MAC) that will plot star charts, do various
astronomical calculations, catalogue all the NGC objects, and more. All of
these files are available for downloading to users (see below for certain
restrictions).

     But most important is the message area of the Astronomy conference;
there are hundreds of messages covering every aspect of astronomy mostly
left by Toronto Centre members.  Note that there are several Toronto Centre
Executives and Councillors using this BBS who are willing to answer any
questions you might have about the Toronto Centre or astronomy in general.

     The BBS phone number is [phone], and it operates 24 h/d.  The
maximum speed is 2400 baud, and the modem settings are 8N1.  There are two
user levels.  Level 15 is free of charge and provides 20 minutes per day of
time, but does not permit downloading files.  Level 35 is available for a
one-time donation of $15, and provides 70 min/day of time, and unlimited
downloading.

The Canadian Space Society BBS

     The Canadian Space Society BBS is a public forum for space and
astronomy enthusiasts, with over one hundred active users from across North
America.

     The message section is the main area of activity on the BBS. There, you
will often find discussions of the important space related issues of the
day, and reports on current events, such as space shuttle missions.  CSS BBS
users are often much faster than the mass media in reporting news!

     The file section contains regular reports on the status of the various
deep space probes, such as Magellan, Galileo and Ulysses.  Also, there are
Hubble Space Telescope reports, weekly NASA news reports, and periodic
reports on activities at Cape Canaveral.

     One of the most popular activities supported by the BBS, is satellite
observation, due to the efforts of Toronto Centre member Ted Molczan and
fellow hobbyists.  There are weekly uploads of orbital elements for hundreds
of satellites, including the Soviet space station Mir.  Also, several
programs are available which enable users to make their own predictions of
satellite passes.

     The CSS BBS is a free service, operating 24 h/d, at [phone].
The maximum speed is 2400 baud, and the modem settings are 8N1.

Networked Bulletin Board Systems

     The networking of bulletin board systems provides the BBS users with
the ability to communicate with other BBS users over a wide geographic
area.  Many networks, accessible through Rose Media, Canada Remote Systems
and other BBS's cover most of the world.  Both Rose and CRS connect to
multiple networks.  Some, such as NorthAmerinet or Hyperlink, are made up of
commercial and hobbyist BBS's that want to provide their members with access
to larger numbers of users.  They share the cost of sending messages around
the world, resulting in low-cost messaging and the ability of one user to
tap an extensive resource.  If you have a question about an obscure aspect
of astronomy, the odds are good that someone on one of the networks can
answer it.

     Other special purpose networks are beginning to be made available to
the general public.  Among them in Usenet, now available through both Rose
and CRS.  This is a network of computer systems used in government, industry
and the academic world.  This network allows you to get up-to-date messages
about, say, the activities being performed by NASA in the space program.
You can directly contact many persons who make their living from astronomy.
In browsing their Sci.Astro newsgroup, it is not uncommon to see messages
from the top of Kitt Peak, the Canada France Hawaii Telescope on Mauna Kea
or RASC members like Rolf Meier (Ottawa Centre) or Ted Molczan (Toronto
Centre).  This makes for fascinating reading for the amateur astronomer; the
messages are fact (and rumour) filled and more timely and complete than the
reports in the press.  If you do get access to this network, do not abuse
the privilege.  Its object is business and research, not recreation.

Rose Media BBS

     Rose Media has the distinction of being the largest capacity BBS in
North America, with 15 gigabytes of software and data on line.  This is a
general interest BBS, so expect to find many utilities that will help you
get the most from your computer.  There is also a large selection of
astronomical and space oriented software and data.  Most of the software on
the BBS is Shareware, which means that it can be downloaded and used without
charge, however users are strongly encouraged to send a small contribution
to the author.

     Rose Media is a commercial BBS.  The $70 annual fee (plus GST) provides
70 minutes per day of time, and 1.5 megabytes per day of file downloading.
The phone number is [phone], and there are 50 lines.  The maximum
speed is 14400 baud, and the modem settings are 8N1.

Canada Remote Systems (CRS)

     CRS is one of the largest computer bulletin board systems in the
world.  Its several thousand members can access gigabytes of computer
programs and data files and communicate with other members through almost
1800 different conferences and newsgroups.  These conferences are connected
to several international networks, putting the membership in touch with all
of North America and much of the rest of the world.

     Of particular note to astronomy and space enthusiasts are the numerous
conferences related specifically to their interests.  Among them are:

Conference Number        Name                      Network

188                      Astronomy                 Intelec
384                      Space                     Hyperlink
547                      Astronomy                 Relaynet
857                      Sci.Astro                 Usenet
886                      Sci.Space                 Usenet
887                      Sci.Space.Shuttle         Usenet
1643                     Space                     Interlink
1651                     Astronomy                 Interlink

In addition, there are many astronomy related programs and data files
available.

     There is a demonstration phone line that can be called for a free
trial.  Set your modem for 8 bits, no parity, one stop bit and call (416)
629-9263.  They can be reached by voice at [phone].  They have a
number of membership categories.  The basic one that most would be
interested in costs $100.00 per year and includes a registered copy of
Qmail, a very useful off-line reader.

BBS Information

Health Professional's BBS       [phone]     8N1     $15 one time
Canadian Space Society BBS      [phone]     8N1     Free
Rose Media BBS                  [phone]     8N1     $70 per yr
Canada Remote Systems           [phone]     8N1     $100 per yr


                          Books for Computer Programmers

     Here are some of the books that appear in our library that will be
useful to those of you who wish to write their own computer programs.

Simple

Burgess, Eric, Celestial Basic--Astronomy on your Computer;
Sybex Inc. (1982)

Knox, Richard, Experiments in Astronomy for Amateurs;
St. Martin's Press (1976)

Lawrence, J.L., Introduction to Basic Astronomy with a PC;
Willmann-Bell, Inc. (1989)

Rogowski, Stephen J., Computers for Sea and Sky;
Creative Computing Press (1982)

Schroeder, W., Practical Astronomy;
Werner Laurie (London) (1956)

Medium

Ball, John A., Algorithms for RPN Calculators;
John Wiley & Sons (1978)

Bouiges, Serge, Calcul Astronomique pour Amateurs;
Masson (1981)

Duffett-Smith, Peter, Astronomy with your Personal Computer;
Cambridge University Press (1985)

Duffett-Smith, Peter, Practical Astronomy with your Calculator--3rd ed.;
Cambridge University Press (1988)

Jones, Aubrey, Mathematical Astronomy with a Pocket Calculator;
David & Charles (Publishers) Limited (1978)

Mills, H.R., Positional Astronomy and Astro-Navigation Made Easy-a new
approach using the Pocket Calculator;
Stanley Thornes (Publishers) Ltd. (1978)

Montenbruck, Oliver, Practical Ephemeris Calculations;
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg (1989)

Sky & Telescope, Astronomical Computing

Tattersfield, D., Orbits for Amateurs with a Microcomputer--(Volume I);
John Wiley & Sons (1984)

Tattersfield, D., Orbits for Amateurs with a Microcomputer--(Volume II);
John Wiley & Sons (1987)

Advanced

Bretagnon, Pierre, Planetary Programs and Tables from -4000 to +2800;
Willmann-Bell, Inc. (1986)

Danby, John M.A., Fundamentals of Celestial Mechanics--2nd ed.;
(Willmann-Bell, Inc. (1988)

Eagle, David, Celestial Computing: A Journal for Personal Computers and
Celestial Mechanics (published 4 times a year)

Maxey, E. Stanton, Tracking the Planets; P.130;
Kilobaud Microcomputing (March 1981)

Meeus, Jean, Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon, and Planets;
Willmann-Bell, Inc. (1983)

Meeus, Jean, Elements of Solar Eclipses, 1951-2200;
Willmann-Bell, Inc. (1989)

Van Flandern, T.C., Low-Precision Formulae for Planetary Positions;
The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, November 1979
References

Espenak, Fred, Fifty Year Canon of Solar Eclipses: 1986-2035;
Sky Publishing Corporation (1987)

Green, Robin M., Spherical Astronomy;
Cambridge University Press (1985)

Meeus, Jean, Astronomical Formulae for Calculators--2nd ed;
Willmann-Bell, Inc. (1982)

Meeus, Jean, Tables of Moon and Sun; Kesselberg Sterrenwacht (private
observatory) Kessel-Lo, Belgium (1962)

Muche, Hermann and Meeus, Jean, Canon of Solar Eclipses -2003 to
+2526--2nd ed;

Nautical Almanac Offices, Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical
Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac (1961)

Nautical Almanac Offices, Improved Lunar Ephemeris 1952-1959;
(1954)

Sidgwick, J.B., Observational Astronomy for Amateurs--4th ed.;
Pelham Books (1982)

Smart, W.M., Textbook on Spherical Astronomy--6th ed.;
Cambridge University Press (1977)