PLANET “name”
Enter PLANET and then the name of the desired planet in quotes. AutoStar II provides
the user with a description of the selected planet from its database.
For example:
PLANET “Pluto”
MOON
This command accesses information about the Moon from the AutoStar II database.
SATELLITE “name”
Enter SATELLITE and then the name of the desired satellite in quotes. AutoStar II
displays information about the satellite from its database.
For example:
SATELLITE:
“Intl Space Stn”
ASTEROID “name”
Enter ASTEROID and then the name of the desired asteroid in quotes. AutoStar II
displays information about the asteroid from its database.
For example:
ASTEROID:
“Ceres”
COMET “name”
Enter COMET and then the name of the desired comet in quotes. AutoStar II displays
information about the comet from its database.
For example:
COMET: “Halley”
LUNAR ECLIPSE
If LUNAR ECLIPSE is part of the tour, AutoStar II checks its database every time the
tour is activated to see if a lunar eclipse is visible that evening. If no eclipse is visible,
this option is skipped and the tour proceeds on to the next object.
METEOR SHOWER
If METEOR SHOWER is part of the tour, AutoStar II checks its database every time
the tour is activated to see if a meteor shower is visible that evening. If no meteor
shower is visible, this option is skipped and the tour proceeds on to the next object.
DEEP SKY “name”
Enter DEEP SKY followed by the name of the desired object in quotes.
For example
:
DEEP SKY “Small Magellanic Cloud”
CONSTELLATION “name”
Enter CONSTELLATION followed by the name of the desired constellation in quotes.
For example:
CONSTELLATION “Leo Major”
STAR “name”
Enter STAR followed by the name of the desired star in quotes.
For example:
STAR
“Vega”
LANDMARK az alt “title” “description”
Enter the azimuth (az) for the desired object in the following format: xxxdxxmxxs.
For
example:
123d27m00s. Then enter the altitude of the desired object in the following
format: xxdxxmxxs. Then enter the title string and description string in quotes.
For
example:
LANDMARK 123d27m00s 57d20m20s “Landmark 1” “North corner of apartment
building”
PICK ONE / PICK END
These two statements are used to surround a list of items that AutoStar II can choose
from during a tour. AutoStar II begins at the top of the PICK ONE list and displays the
first object from the list that is above the horizon and ignores the rest.
This statement is useful for developing tours that can be presented year-round. For
each object type you wish to use to illustrate in your tour, pick 10 to 12 examples
spaced across the range of right ascension. Bracket them by the PICK ONE / PICK
END statements. One current example displays for the user.
For example:
AUTO SELECT TEXT “Globular Cluster” “Globular clusters are huge balls of stars”.
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