The KStars Handbook

The KStars Handbook

Jason Harris <kstars@30doradus.org>

Core Developer: Heiko Evermann

Core Developer: Thomas Kabelmann

Core Developer: Pablo de Vicente

Core Developer: Carsten Niehaus

Core Developer: Mark Holloman


Revision 0.9.1

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".

KStars is a graphical desktop planetarium. It plots the positions of stars, constellations, star clusters, nebulae, galaxies and planets in the night sky for any date, from any location on Earth. The display can be panned and zoomed, and it can even identify and track objects as they move across the sky. KStars is highly configurable, you can control what objects are displayed, and with what colors. Images of any part of the sky can be downloaded from online databases. Our plan is to make KStars an interactive tool for learning about astronomy and the night sky.


Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. A Quick Tour of KStars
Where am I?
What Time Is It?
Have a Look Around!
Objects in the Sky
The Popup Menu
Finding Objects
Customizing the Display
3. Configuring KStars
4. Command Reference
Menu Commands
File Menu
Time Menu
Focus Menu
View Menu
Settings Menu
Tools Menu
Help Menu
Popup Menu
Keyboard Commands
Mouse Commands
5. The AstroInfo Project
AstroInfo: Table of Contents
Celestial Coordinate Systems
The Equatorial Coordinate System
The Horizontal Coordinate System
The Ecliptic Coordinate System
The Galactic Coordinate System
The Celestial Poles
The Celestial Sphere
The Ecliptic
The Equinoxes
Geographic Coordinates
Great Circles
The Horizon
Hour Angle
The Local Meridian
Precession
The Zenith
Julian Day
Leap Years
Sidereal Time
Time Zones
Universal Time
Blackbody Radiation
Dark Matter
Parallax
Retrograde Motion
Elliptical Galaxies
Magnitude Scale
Stars: An Introductory FAQ
Star Colors and Temperatures
6. Questions and Answers
7. Credits and License
A. Installation
How to obtain KStars
Requirements
Compilation and Installation
Configuration
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