Manual PCEpheWin
After start of the program the following window will be displayed.
From this window all actions are taken.
You can get informations and hints by clicking the respective fields in this document.
Field Name at orbital elements
This combobox is used to select the desired object for calculating an ephemeris.
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Field T at orbital elements
This field is used for entering the time of pericenter passage. It has to be entered in the following format: YYYY-MM-DD.ddddd.
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Field q at orbital elements
This field is used for entering the pericenter distance from the sun. It has to be entered in astronomical units (au).
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Field e at orbital elements
This field is used for entering the eccentricity of the orbit. It describes the shape of the orbit and is always a positive value. 0 indicates a circular orbit. A value greater 0 and smaller the 1 is used for an ellipse. A value of 1 is used for an parabolic orbit. Values greater then 1 indicates an hyperbolic orbit.
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Field a at orbital elements
This field is used for entering the semimajor axis of the orbit. It has to be entered in astronomical units (au) and only accessable at an eccentricity > 0 and < 1.
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Field capital Omega at orbital elements
This field is used for entering the longitude of the ascending node of the orbit. It has to be entered in degree.
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Field small Omega at orbital elements
This field is used for entering the argument of pericenter of the orbit. It has to be entered in degree.
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Field i at orbital elements
This field is used for entering the inclination of the orbit. It has to be entered in degree.
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Field Aequinox at orbital elements
This field is used for entering the reference aequinox of the orbit. It has to be entered as a year (e.g. 2000.0).
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Field M[1,1] at orbital elements
This field is used for entering the magnitude[1,1] of the object. This is the brightness of the object having a distance of 1 au from the earth and the sun.
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Field n at orbital elements
This field is used for entering the brightness evaluation factor of the object. A value of 2 is used for reflection only. A typical value for comets is 4 to 6.
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Field Remarks at orbital elements
This field is used for entering some comment.
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Button New at orbital elements
A click on this button creates a new dummy set of orbital elements. You now have to enter the reals values for a new object.
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Button Delete at orbital elements
A click on this button deletes the recent selected orbital elements. You have to confirm this action.
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Button Save at orbital elements
A click on this button saves all orbital elements on disk.
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Field Name at observing location
This combobox is used for selecting the observing location for calculating the ephemeris.
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Field Latitude at observing location
This field is used for entering the latitude of the observing location.
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Field Longitude at observing location
This field is used for entering the longitude of the observing location.
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Button New at observing location
A click on this button creates a new dummy observing location. You now have to enter the reals values for this location.
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Button Delete at observing location
A click on this button deletes the recent selected observing location. You have to confirm this action.
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Button Save at observing location
A click on this button saves all observing locations on disk.
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Field Start date/Start time at Parameter
This fields are used for entering the start date and time of the ephemeris to be calculated. The time is to be given in the selected time zone.
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Field Stop date/Stop time at Parameter
This fields are used for entering the stop date and time of the ephemeris to be calculated. The time is to be given in the selected time zone.
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Field Step rate at Parameter
This fields are used for entering the step rate (days and hours) of the ephemeris to be calculated.
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Field Time zone at Parameter
This combobox is used for selecting the time zone of the ephemeris to be calculated.
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Field Today at Parameter
This Button sets the fields start date and stop date to the actual date.
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Fields Show deep sky passages and Radius at Parameter
Here you can select the calculation of passages of deep sky objects. In this case you have to enter a radius for calculation in degree.
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Field Altitude of the sun for night at Parameter
This value is used for defining the altitude of the sun below the horizon indicating the "night". No fractional values are possible here.
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Fields Ephemeris of all comets and Limit at Parameter
Here you can select the calculation of an ephemeris of all objects at the given start date and start time. In this case you have to enter a limiting magnitude for calculation.
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Field Show objects only visible at location at Parameter
This option is only accessable for calculating an ephemeris of all comets. Only objects to be observable from the selected observing location are to be shown.
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Button Calculate ephemeris
Starts the calculation of an ephemeris using the selected options. The ephemeris is shown in a new window.
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Button Print ephemeris
Starts the calculation of an ephemeris using the selected options. The ephemeris will be printed.
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Button Save ephemeris
Starts the calculation of an ephemeris using the selected options. The ephemeris will be stored into a textfile you have to select.
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Button Exit program
After clicking this button all windows will be closed, all orbital elements and observing sites will be saved on disk and the program will be quit.
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Fields Calculate conjunctions, Radius and Limit at Parameter
Here you can select the calculation of conjuncions in the selected time period. In this case you have to enter a radius in degree and a limiting magnitude for calculation.
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