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|
<tip category="KStars|General">
<html>
<p>You can locate objects in the sky by their name.
Use Ctrl+F, the "Focus->Find Object" menu item, or the "Find"
Toolbar button.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|General">
<html>
<p>To change your Geographic Location,
use Ctrl+G, the "Settings->Set Geographic Location..." menu item,
or the "globe" Toolbar button.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|General">
<html>
<p>You can Track an object, so it will always be centered
in the display.<br/>
Use Ctrl+T, the "Focus->Track Object" menu item, or the "lock"
Toolbar button. You can also simply center the object by
double-clicking on it or selecting "Center and Track" from the
object's popup menu.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|General">
<html>
<p>The KStars Handbook includes the AstroInfo Project, a series
of informative articles about Astronomy.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|General">
<html>
<p>There are three on-screen "Info Boxes" which show data related to the
time/date, your geographic location, and the current central position on the
sky (the focus). You can drag these boxes with the mouse, and "shade" them
by double-clicking them to show more (or less) information. You can hide
them altogether in the Settings->Info Boxes menu.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|General">
<html>
<p>KStars has a full-screen mode; you can toggle this mode using the
"fullscreen" toolbar button, or by pressing Ctrl+Shift+F.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Navigation">
<html>
<p>The N,S,E,W keys will point the display at the North,
South, East and West points on the Horizon. The Z key will point the
display at the Zenith.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Navigation">
<html>
<p>The 0-9 keys will center the display on one of the major solar system
bodies. 0 centers on the Sun, 3 centers on the Moon; the rest are the eight
planets, in order of their distance from the Sun.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Navigation">
<html>
<p>Click and Drag with the mouse to slew the skymap to a new position on
the sky.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Navigation">
<html>
<p>Double-click with the mouse to center the display on the location
of the mouse cursor. If you double-click on an object, KStars will
automatically begin tracking it.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Navigation">
<html>
<p>The status bar displays the current sky coordinates of the mouse cursor,
in both Equatorial and Horizontal coordinate systems.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Navigation">
<html>
<p>The display can be zoomed in or out by spinning your mouse's scroll wheel,
or by dragging the mouse up or down with the middle mouse button pressed. You
can also use the +/- keys, or the "Zoom In"/"Zoom Out" items in the toolbar and
in the View menu. The Zoom Level can be set manually using the "Zoom to Angular
Size" item in the View menu (Shift+Ctrl+Z), and you can set it graphically by
holding down the Ctrl button while dragging the mouse to define a rectangle for
the new window boundaries.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Navigation">
<html>
<p>You can manually set the coordinates of the central Focus point.
Press Ctrl+M, or use the "Focus->Set Focus Manually..." menu item, and enter
the desired coordinates in the popup window.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Navigation">
<html>
<p>To switch between Equatorial and Horizontal coordinate
systems, use the "View->Coordinates" menu item, or press the spacebar.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Time">
<html>
<p>To set the Time and Date, type Ctrl+S, use the "Time->Set Time" menu item,
or press the "time" toolbar button. Note that dates in KStars can be very
remote; you can use any year between -50,000 and +50,000.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Time">
<html>
<p>You can use Ctrl+E or the "Time->Set Time to Now" menu item to synchronize
the simulation clock with your CPU clock.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Time">
<html>
<p>The Spin Box in the Toolbar allows you to adjust the time step
used by the KStars clock; setting it to "1.0 sec" provides "real time".
Note: negative values make time run backwards.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Time">
<html>
<p>You can stop and start the clock with the "Play/Pause" button
in the Toolbar, or with the "Time->Stop/Start Clock" menu item.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Time">
<html>
<p>You can advance the simulation clock forward or backward by a single
time step by pressing the ">" or "<" keys.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Objects">
<html>
<p>When you click your mouse in the map, the object in the sky nearest
the mouse cursor is identified in the status bar.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Objects">
<html>
<p>When you hold the mouse cursor still for a moment, the nearest object
will be identified by a temporary name label that automatically fades
out when you move the mouse again.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Objects">
<html>
<p>Right-click with the mouse to open a popup menu of detailed options
for a particular object, including links to images and information on
the Internet.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Objects">
<html>
<p>The deep-sky objects with a special color (the default is Red)
have extra URL links available in their popup menu.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Objects">
<html>
<p>By default, stars in KStars are displayed with realistic colors.
A star's color depends on its temperature; cooler stars are red,
while hotter stars are blue.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Objects">
<html>
<p>If you want the very latest orbital information for asteroids and
comets (including recently-discovered objects), check the "Download
Data" tool ("File|Download Data" or Ctrl+D) frequently for updated
ephemerides.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Objects">
<html>
<p>The Details window provides a large amount of information on any
object in the sky, including coordinates, rise/set times, internet
links, and your own custom notes. Access the Details window through
the popup menu, or by clicking on an object and then pressing "D".
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Objects">
<html>
<p>You can attach a name label to any object in the sky. Toggle the
label in the popup menu, or by clicking on the object and then
pressing "L".
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Tools">
<html>
<p>The KStars Astrocalculator (Ctrl+C) gives you direct access to many
of the calculations that KStars does behind-the-scenes.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Tools">
<html>
<p>The AAVSO Light Curve Generator tool (Ctrl+V) connects to a server at the
American Association of Variable Star Observers, and constructs a
lightcurve for any of the 6000+ variable stars that they monitor
on a daily basis.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Tools">
<html>
<p>The Altitude vs. Time tool (Ctrl+A) will plot altitude curves for any group
of objects that you select. This is a great tool for planning
observing sessions.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Tools">
<html>
<p>With the What's Up Tonight? tool (Ctrl+U), you can tell at a glance what
objects will be visible from your location on a given night.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Tools">
<html>
<p>The Observing List tool (Ctrl+L) gives you easy access to a selected group
of objects. Add objects to the list through the popup menu, or by
clicking on the object, and pressing "O".
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Tools">
<html>
<p>The ScriptBuilder tool allows you to construct complex DCOP
scripts using a simple GUI. The scripts can be played back later
from the command line, or from within KStars.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Tools">
<html>
<p>The Solar System Viewer tool (Ctrl+Y) shows an overhead view of the solar
system, showing the positions of the major planets for the current
simulation date.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Tools">
<html>
<p>The Jupiter Moons tool (Ctrl+J) shows the relative positions of Jupiter's
four largest moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto), as seen from
Earth, and as a function of time.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Tools">
<html>
<p>You can export the sky image to a file using the "Save Sky Image"
item in the File menu, or by pressing Ctrl+I. In addition, you can
run KStars from a command prompt with the "--dump" argument to save a
sky image to disk without even opening the program window. This can
be used to generate dynamic wallpaper for your TDE desktop.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Customize">
<html>
<p>To add your own custom Object Catalogs, select
"Add Catalog" from the Catalogs tab in the KStars Configuration window.
See the Handbook for instructions on formatting your catalog file.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Customize">
<html>
<p>To add your own custom image/information URLs to
any object, select "Add Link..." from the object's popup menu.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Customize">
<html>
<p>You can adjust dozens of display options by clicking the
"configure" Toolbar button, or selecting the "Settings->Configure KStars..."
menu item.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Customize">
<html>
<p>The on-screen Info Boxes can be hidden or shown using the
"Settings->Info Boxes" menu.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Customize">
<html>
<p>The Toolbars can be hidden or shown using the "Settings->Toolbars" menu.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Customize">
<html>
<p>You can hide either the Ra/Dec or Az/Alt coordinate fields in the statusbar,
or hide the stausbar completely, using the Settings|Statusbar menu.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Customize">
<html>
<p>You can easily switch between predefined color schemes by selecting
the scheme from the "Settings->Color Schemes" menu.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Customize">
<html>
<p>You can define your own Geographic Locations. Fill in the
required fields in the "Change Location" Dialog and then press the
"Add to List" button. Your Locations will be available in all
future sessions.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Customize">
<html>
<p>You can define your own Color Schemes. Adjust the colors
in the Configuration Window's "Colors" Tab, and then press the "Save
Current Colors" button. Your Color Scheme will appear in the list in
all future sessions.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Customize">
<html>
<p>You can construct your own field-of-view (FOV) symbols, using the
FOV Editor under the Tools menu. You can set the angular size, the
shape, and the color of your new symbols.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Customize">
<html>
<p>The Advanced tab of the KStars Configuration window allows you to fine-tune
the behavior of KStars. You can specify whether to correct for atmospheric
refraction, and whether to use animated slewing. You can also specify which
objects are hidden while the display is in motion.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Trivia">
<html>
<p>KStars displays 126,000 stars, 13,000 deep-sky objects, 88 constellations,
all planets, the Sun, the Moon, thousands of comets and asteroids, and the
Milky Way.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Trivia">
<html>
<p>The line in the sky that the Sun and all the Planets seem to follow
is called the Ecliptic.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Trivia">
<html>
<p>Object positions in KStars include the effects of precession, nutation,
aberration, atmospheric refraction, and light travel time (for planets).
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Trivia">
<html>
<p>The nearest star to the Sun is Rigel Kentaurus (alpha Centauri).
The brightest star in the sky is Sirius (alpha Canis Majoris).
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Trivia">
<html>
<p>The large group of galaxies between Leo, Virgo and Coma Berenices
is called the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Trivia">
<html>
<p>The large group of clusters and nebulae near the south celestial pole
are objects in the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is a dwarf galaxy in
orbit around the Milky Way.
</p>
</html>
</tip>
<tip category="KStars|Trivia">
<html>
<p>The Messier Catalog is a list of 110 of the brightest non-stellar objects
in the sky. It includes such famous objects as the Orion Nebula (M 42), the
Andromeda Galaxy (M 31), and the Pleiades (M 45).
</p>
</html>
</tip>
|
