How to Xephem
=============
Configuration file:
/usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/XEphem
old was in: /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/app-defaults/XEphem
Resources directory:
/usr/local/lib/XEphem/
/usr/local/lib/XEphem/catalogs/
as of 2000 Jan 8, moved to:
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/Xephem/catalogs
Location file:
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/Xephem/auxil/xephem_sites
old was in: /usr/local/lib/XEphem/auxil/xephem_sites
In
/usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/XEphem
change solar system display to center on 270 degrees:
XEphem*SolarSystem.HLongScale.value: 270
Update ephemerides (also, go to !!!, Updated Ephemerides section)
Tools in: /usr/share/doc/xephem/tools/
For comets, put
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/ps/Ephemerides/Comets/Soft03Cmt.txt
into
/usr/local/lib/XEphem/catalogs/comets-98sep01.edb
Now, location moved to
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/Xephem/catalogs/comets-98sep01.edb
ISS (International Space Station)
---------------------------------
go to:
http://www2.gsoc.dlr.de/scripts/satvis/PassSummary.asp?lat=+042.3022&lng=-73.31028&loc=Lenox%2C+MA&TZ=EST&satid=25544
then go to `Orbit' page and copy lines from bottom of page with orbit diagrams
to (first line has name: ISS; if missing, add it):
old location:
/usr/local/lib/XEphem/catalogs/bar
new location:
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/Xephem/catalogs/bar
then run:
./tle2edb.pl bar > ISS-2000jan08.edb
For Mir,
-------
go to
http://www2.gsoc.dlr.de/scripts/satvis/satinfo.asp?SatID=16609
then go to `Orbit' page and copy lines from bottom of page with orbit diagrams
to (first line has name: MIR; if missing, add it; indent one space;
add RET to end):
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/Xephem/catalogs/
then run:
./tle2edb.pl foo > MIR-2000jan08.edb
output to:
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/Xephem/catalogs/MIR-2000jan08.edb
Xephem home page:
-----------------
http://www.ClearSkyInstitute.com/xephem/xephem.html
Catalogs page:
http://iraf.noao.edu/contrib/xephem/catalogs
/anonymous@iraf.noao.edu:/contrib/xephem/catalogs
Probably want the Tycho and spacecraft catalogs. See below.
Local location file:
/usr/local/lib/XEphem/auxil/xephem_sites
now:
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/Xephem/auxil/xephem_sites
Lenox, Massachusetts ; 42 24 13 N ; 73 15 10 W ; 314 ; EST5EDT
Local XEphem.ad file:
/usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/XEphem
Using Debian 2.2pre of 17 Dec 1999
# apt-get install xephem
The following extra packages will be installed:
lesstif1 plan xacc xmgr
The following NEW packages will be installed:
lesstif1 xephem
Setting up xephem (3.2.3-1) ...
# cd /usr/local/src/xephem-3.2.3/GUI/xephem
# cp -R auxil /usr/local/lib/XEphem
# cp -R catalogs /usr/local/lib/XEphem
# cp -R fifos /usr/local/lib/XEphem
# cp -R fits /usr/local/lib/XEphem
# cp XEphem.ad /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/XEphem
Install via building sources: Xephem 3.2.3, 1999 Dec 30 Failed
No longer have xmkmf so
cd /usr/local/src/xephem-3.2.3/libastro
cp Makefile.smple Makefile
make -k
cd ../GUI/xephem
cp Makefile.smple Makefile
[uncomment GNU/Linux section]
make -k
X11/Xlib.h: No such file or directory and others.
Install of: Xephem 3.2.3, 1999 Oct 29
wget http://www.clearskyinstitute.com/xephem/xephem/xephem-3.2.3.tar.gz
1,870,205
Compiled without reported error; took about five minutes.
If you get a message "X Resources out of date" you have installed
XEphem before and must locate and remove the old resource file.
So,
cd /usr/local/src/xephem-3.2.3/GUI/xephem/
cp XEphem.ad /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/XEphem
then merged old values in.
However, Xephem consistently died when I got a Sky View and then
clicked on Control --> Filter
Reverted to 3.2.2
Must try again with lesstif 0.89
/usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/
cp -p XEphem-3.2.3 XEphem
Install of: Xephem 3.2.2, 13 Oct 1999
Compiled without reported error, after loading slink's lesstif .deb packages.
But did not find /usr/local/lib/XEphem/catalogs/ ...
Install of: Xephem 3.2.2, 16 Mar 1999
--------------------------------------
cd /usr/local/src/xephem-3.2.0/libastro
xmkmf
Failed! Apparently I accidently removed xmkmf at some time in the
recent past.
/usr/X11R6/bin/xmkmf: No such file or directory
Try:
make -f Makefile.smple
that worked in the libastro/ directory with no reported errors.
Then, in
xephem-3.2.2/GUI/xephem $ make -f Makefile.smple
cc -c atlas.c -o atlas.o
atlas.c:7: P_.h: No such file or directory
atlas.c:8: astro.h: No such file or directory
Uncommented Linux section in Makefile.smple
Then, X11/Xlib.h not found.
INSTALL of: Xephem 3.2.1, 26 Feb 1999
--------------------------------------
cd /usr/local/src/xephem-3.2.1/libastro
xmkmf
make
No reported errors
cd ../GUI/xephem
xmkmf
make
No reported errors
Copy executables, etc to appropriate places.
See /usr/local/src/xephem-3.2.0/INSTALL
cp xephem /usr/local/bin
cp -R auxil /usr/local/lib/XEphem
cp -R catalogs /usr/local/lib/XEphem
cp -R fifos /usr/local/lib/XEphem
cp -R fits /usr/local/lib/XEphem
Be sure to put Lenox info into
/usr/local/lib/XEphem/auxil/xephem_sites
It will get written over by copying of other auxil files.
You may need to modify the resources file:
/usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/XEphem
You can diff it with:
/usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/XEphem-98nov14
It is best to leave it as is (save a copy).
Also, be sure that the version number at the bottom of
/usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/XEphem
is correct; eg: XEphem.Version: 3.2.1
otherwise you may get an `X Resources out of date' error.
Tycho catalog
20,047,185 bytes
spacecraft.edb
12,778 bytes
From:
/anonymous@iraf.noao.edu:/contrib/xephem/catalogs/tycho.xe
to:
/usr/local/lib/XEphem/catalogs
cd /usr/local/lib/XEphem/catalogs
wget ftp://iraf.noao.edu/contrib/xephem/catalogs/spacecraft.edb
wget ftp://iraf.noao.edu/contrib/xephem/catalogs/tycho.xe
Edit the XEphem X resource in /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/XEphem:
XEphem*FieldStars*Tycho.set: True
Note that you may not turn on both the PPM and Tycho catalogs at the
same time.
Also see http://astro.estec.esa.nl/Hipparcos
also available:
ftp://iraf.noao.edu/contrib/xephem/catalogs/ppm.xe
8,903,134 bytes
OLD
===
Build of Xephem 3.2, 5 Sept 1998:
---------------------------------
source: /usr/local/src/xephem-3.2/GUI/xephem/
/usr/local/bin/xephem
/usr/local/lib/XEphem/auxil/
/usr/local/lib/XEphem/catalogs/
the XEphem.ad file is copied to:
/usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/XEphem
and modified by Bob from original still in:
/usr/local/src/xephem-3.2/GUI/xephem/XEphem.ad
ppm catalog comes from /ftp@gastro23.physics.uiowa.edu:/pub/xephem/ppm.xe
8,903,134 bytes
put in /usr/local/lib/XEphem/catalogs/
Build of xephem-3.1 of Mon, 1998 Apr 6
---------------------------------------
i486-decpc-linux-gnu, X toolkit
$ cd /usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/libastro
$ xmkmf
imake -DUseInstalled -I/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/config
$ make
no reported errors
$ cd ../GUI/xephem
/usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/GUI/xephem
$ xmkmf
imake -DUseInstalled -I/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/config
$ make
no reported errors
$ ./xephem
X Resources out of date. Must be for 3.1
Modify XEphem.ad
Add Lenox, MA info to
/usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/GUI/xephem/auxil/xephem_sites
Copy various files to catalogs directory.
$ xrdb -merge XEphem.ad
$ ./xephem
Segmentation fault (core dumped)
Also, I reverted to the original XEphem.ad file, touched it, ran xrdb again
and got another Segmentation fault (core dumped)
Dwnloaded
/anonymous@iraf.noao.edu:/contrib/xephem/xephem_3.1/executables_3.1/xephem-3.1.linux.gz
and installed in
/usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/GUI/xephem/
Seems to work.
How to build Work_In_Progress version
-------------------------------------
http://iraf.noao.edu/~ecdowney/xephem.html
Copy source from:
/anonymous@iraf.noao.edu:/contrib/xephem/WIP
Rename old files and directories.
Rename new from xephem_3.1 to xephem-3.1
Modify
/usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/GUI/xephem/XEphem.ad
using ediff from old version
Add Lenox, MA info to
/usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/GUI/xephem/auxil/xephem_sites
Link ppm catalog
cd /usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/GUI/xephem/catalogs
ln -s /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xephem/auxil/ppm.xe ppm.xe
Copy latest MIR file from old edb to new catalogs directory.
also comets, UGC, and bs files, and others.
cd /usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/GUI/xephem/catalogs
cp mir-98mar13.edb /usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/GUI/xephem/catalogs
cp comets-98mar12.edb /usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/GUI/xephem/catalogs
cp UGC.edb /usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/GUI/xephem/catalogs
cp bs.edb /usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/GUI/xephem/catalogs
cp spacecraft.edb /usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/GUI/xephem/catalogs
cp unusual-98mar12.html /usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/GUI/xephem/catalogs
cp what-works /usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/GUI/xephem/catalogs
--------------------------------------------------
cd /usr/local/src/xephem-3.1
xmkmf
date; make -k; date
Make took 13.5 minutes
Failed on account: ld: cannot open -lXm: No such file or directory
After much experimenting, I downgraded `lesstif' from version 0.79 to
version 0.76.
# dpkg -i /Debian-1.3.1/stable/binary-i386/libs/lesstif_0.76-1.deb
Selecting previously deselected package lesstif.
dpkg - warning: downgrading lesstif from 0.79-1 to 0.76-1.
(Reading database ... 28097 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to replace lesstif 0.79-1 (using .../libs/lesstif_0.76-1.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement lesstif ...
Setting up lesstif (0.76-1) ...
Then xephem completed building without reported error.
On attempting to run however:
$ ./xephem
Warning:
Name: LLFr
Class: XmFrame
Parent refused resize request. Second XtMakeGeometryRequest() failed
Parent is MainForm (XmForm)
Warning:
Name: MainRC
Class: XmRowColumn
Child NewCir had specified geometry w 138 h 16401
A slightly truncated main window appeared, with lines and colors
somewhat wrong. It displayed Jupiter OK, but did not know where the
edb files were and died with a core dump when I tried to type the
directory name into the selection window.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Without Motif or Lesstif, you cannot build own copy. But you can
download the executable and tar files from:
/anonymous@iraf.noao.edu:/contrib/xephem/WIP
898461 Sep 8 05:30 xephem_WIP.linux.static.gz
1678810 Sep 8 05:25 xephem_WIP.tar.gz
I copied them to /usr/local/src/ After renaming old xephem_3.1
directory to new name, I untarred xephem_WIP.tar.gz into xephem_3.1,
and then renamed that directory as:
/usr/local/src/xephem-3.1
Then
cp xephem_WIP.linux.static xephem-3.1/xephem-sep8
Edit XEphem.ad to suit self.
I used ediff between
/usr/local/src/xephem_aug19_3.1/XEphem.ad
and
/usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/XEphem.ad
Add information about Stockbridge to
/usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/auxil/xephem_sites
Stockbridge, Massachusetts ; 042 18 08 N ; 073 18 37 W ; 300.0
Link ppm catalog
cd /usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/auxil
ln -s /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xephem/auxil/ppm.xe ppm.xe
Check
/usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/edb/mir.edb
for proper name, eg Mir-360 or Mir-1
and copy latest mir file to edb directory.
at end of file, see how to get both Starchart and Xephem
------
For regular, released version:
see also: /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xephem/auxil/xephem.hlp
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xephem/edb
/usr/doc/xephem/
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/app-defaults/XEphem
!!!
Updated Ephemerides
-------------------
You can get a list of comet ephemerides suitable for Xephem from:
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/ps/Ephemerides/Comets/SoftwareComets.html
You can get the Xephem format elements themselves from:
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/ps/Ephemerides/Comets/Soft03Cmt.txt
Check date of last modification using `i'
Then write file to name such as
/usr/local/lib/XEphem/catalogs/comets-99jan16.edb
For unusual asteroids in Xephem format:
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/Ephemerides/Unusual/Soft03Unusual.txt
Put epherides into: /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xephem/edb/
or
[better] /usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/GUI/xephem/catalogs
convert two line satellite ephemeris xephem format, use
/usr/doc/xephem/tools/tle2edb.awk
For Mir:
with information from: http://titania.osf.hq.nasa.gov/mir/Welcome.html
or http://titania.osf.hq.nasa.gov/mir/mirvis.html
Mir Two Line Orbital Elements (TLEs)
-----------------------------
Two Line Orbital Elements for Mir, from NASA
Two Line Orbital Elements for Mir, from DLR (short page)
Space Station Mir info, including Two Line Orbital Elements (long)
Copy first three lines of TLE to tle-filename (first line has name),
then run:
awk -f /usr/doc/xephem/tools/tle2edb.awk tle-filename >xephem-format-file.edb
For example:
/usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/GUI/xephem/catalogs $ awk -f /usr/doc/xephem/tools/tle2edb.awk foo > mir-98jun26.edb
or
cd /usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/GUI/xephem/catalogs
tle2edb.awk foo > mir-98apr6.edb
Write new format to file name such as:
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xephem/GUI/xephem/catalogs/mir-97jun29.edb
For example
cd /usr/local/src/xephem-3.1/GUI/xephem/catalogs
awk -f /usr/doc/xephem/tools/tle2edb.awk foo > mir-98apr6.edb
or
tle2edb.awk foo > mir-98apr6.edb
-------------------------------------------------------------
this is: http://iraf.noao.edu/~ecdowney/xephem.html
Welcome to xephem, Version 3.0
This document last substantively changed 5 April 1997.
XEphem is a completely free interactive astronomy program for X Windows
systems with Motif.
o View a 1024x768 color promotional .gif file that shows at a glance some
of what xephem can do.
o Take a compete tour of xephem's capabilities.
Skip to...
o How to retrieve version 3.0.
o What's new in version 3.0.
o Try the latest Works-in-Progress version.
o A compendium of database files for xephem
o General Hints for xephem users.
o Contacting the author.
Other Links...
o Here is xephemb, a stand-alone non-X batch version of xephem. Starting
with this code might make it easier for those of you who would like to
incorporate the xephem ephemerides engine into your own projects.
o
o Here is an animated .gif file of comet Hale-Bopp's trajectory through the
solar system from March 1 through June 7, 1997.
o
o Here is an animated .gif file showing the trajectories of Pioneer 10 and
Voyagers 1 and 2 through the solar system over the next ten years.
o
o In this directory is the latest works-in-progress kit. The HISTORY_WIP
file lists the changes since the last public release. Here is a sample of
the new Sky view using the horsehead nebula (Barnard 33).
o
o Here is a great contributed xephem logo.
o
o If you are looking for an X Windows FITS viewer with far more
capabilities than what xephem can do, try camera.
o
o If you are looking for an astronomy program for Windows 3.1 or 95, may I
personally recommend SkyMap.
o
o Or if you are nostalgic and just want a small program with numbers and no
graphics that can be built for any 24x80 text screen, including DOS, then
you can still get ephem, the ancestor of xephem.
[IMAGE(xephem_count.xbm)] unique hosts have retrieved this page since 12
February 1997.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to get the xephem source kit and sample executables:
Building xephem requires at least X11R4 and OSF/Motif 1.1. XEphem has been
built on many UNIX systems as well as VMS. The complete distribution kit of
source code and sample databases is available at these locations:
o ftp://iraf.noao.edu/contrib/xephem/xephem_3.0/xephem_3.0.tar.gz
o ftp://gastro23.physics.uiowa.edu/pub/xephem/xephem_3.0.tar.gz
o ftp://iphcip1.physik.uni-mainz.de/pub/xephem/xephem_3.0.tar.gz
For those of you without Motif development tools, or who just want to avoid a
little effort, a collection of contributed executable binaries is at the
following locations.
o ftp://iraf.noao.edu/contrib/xephem/xephem_3.0/executables_3.0
o ftp://iphcip1.physik.uni-mainz.de/pub/xephem/executables_3.0
If you get one of these you will still need to fetch the complete xephem
source kit in order to obtain the many additional supporting files. This is
described in the executables README.
Mr. Mark Goldberg has even ported xephem to OS/2. He reminds us it needs
XFree86 for OS/2. If you have any questions regarding the OS/2 port itself,
please contact Mark directly. Thanks Mark!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follows is a list of highlights new in xephem version 3.0:
o Skyview:
o
o Retrieve Digital Sky Survey images directly from STScI and ESO.
o FITS and DSS images registered and overlayed with graphics
symbology.
o Rectangular format.
o Round and square eyepiece overlays.
o Improved overall appearance.
o All ephemerides for the major planets and moon now match the Astronomical
Almanac.
o Simpler explicit control over geocentric vs. topocentric and astrometric
vs. apparent place.
o Moonview now displays umbra and penumbra boundaries during lunar
eclipses.
o Improved rise and set accuracy, and better adherence to "same day" rule.
o Improved lunar libration accuracy.
o GSC stars may now also be retrieved from ESO.
o Widget Help tips everywhere.
o Several new expediencies for controlling user OBJX,Y,Z in Data table.
o New Main window layout.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
General Hints for xephem users:
o I have trouble running xephem under Solaris.
The following tips may help:
o Check that you are not running with a Static visual. This will be
the case if your X server is being started with the command line
argument of staticvis. You can also check, by running xdpyinfo, to
see that the default visual for the default screen is at least
PseudoColor.
o If you find there are no numbers on the vertical scrollbars in the
Sky and Earth views, Sun contract customers may retrieve patch
102226-19 (or later) from sunsolve.sun.com. This is a Solaris
2.4-specific patch that replaces /usr/dt/lib/libXm.so.3 and fixes a
large number of other problems.
o I have trouble building xephem under AIX.
The key is to use their ANSI compiler, called xlc. Here is how the macros
should look in Makefile.smple, at least for AIX 4.1.3:
# AIX
# Needs ANSI C to get timezones right
CC = xlc
CLDFLAGS =
CFLAGS = $(CLDFLAGS) -O2
LDFLAGS = $(CLDFLAGS)
LIBS = -lXm -lXt -lX11 -lm
o
o I have trouble building xephem under Digital UNIX (OSF/1).
The key here is the same as for AIX, above: use the ANSI C compiler. This
means using the -std1 compiler switch (by default, the cc compiler uses
-std0 which is just K&R C).
o
o I see many "translation errors" warnings when xephem is first started:
This can be caused by not having the correct version of the file
XKeysymDB or not having it in the correct place (typically
/usr/lib/X11). One idea is to try this XKeysymDB file and define the
environment variable XKEYSYMDB to point to where ever you put it.
o
o TZ Name is blank and TZ Offset is 00:00:00:
XEphem only tries to support timezone information on systems which
support ANSI C; in particular whose C compilers #define __STDC__. If
yours is not such a system, you might try setting the TZName and TZone X
resources explicitly. For example:
XEphem.TZName: CDT
XEphem.TZone: 5:0:0
If you use this method, you should not also set any time resource to
Now. See the comments within XEphem.ad for further discussion. Also see
the next hint for general methods of setting X resources.
o XEphem runs ok but is all just black and white:
XEphem, like all X Windows programs, makes extensive use of resources. If
xephem can not find any resources, it resorts to a very conservative set
of fallback resources built into the program. In particular, it sets up
all colors for a monochrome display. The xephem source code release kit
includes a sample resource file, XEphem.ad, which defines colors for
xephem and makes other somewhat more exotic choices.
o
o XEphem runs ok but changes I make to the XEphem.ad resource file are not
taking effect:
As with all X programs in general, there are several ways to make this
file available to xephem. One sure way is to load it into your X server
before you start xephem, as follows:
% xrdb -merge XEphem.ad
A better way is to copy XEphem.ad some place renamed to XEphem, edit it
as desired, and point at it with with the environment variable
XUSERFILESEARCHPATH. The format of this variable is similar to the PATH
variable, that is, a set of directories separated by colons. However, in
this case you must also follow the pathname with /%N. For example, if you
want to keep the XEphem resource file in your home directory, the
following csh command will set the variable correctly:
setenv XUSERFILESEARCHPATH $HOME/%N
The same effect from the Bourne shell (or its many relatives) would be:
XUSERFILESEARCHPATH=$HOME/%N; export XUSERFILESEARCHPATH
Also, if you run xephem from a directory other than its build directory,
you will need to change the pathnames within the resource file which
refer to the many supporting files used by xephem. The paths for these
files must be with respect to the directory you are in when you execute
xephem. Please read the INSTALL text file which comes with the source kit
for a complete list of all files which must be properly located.
o
o I can not bring the Main window forward so it is on top of the other
xephem windows:
Whether or not you can do this is a matter of X windows stacking order
policy. This responsibility is delegated to your window manager; it is
not up to xephem. For example, mwm and fvwm will enforce this restriction
on stacking order, but twm does not.
On the other hand, this is so because xephem uses Motif's Dialog shells
for all subordinate windows (which are subclassed from Transient
shells). Had xephem used Toplevel shells instead, then no window manager
would dare interfere with stacking order. However, using Toplevel shells
raises issues related to close notifications and iconification which, in
the opinion of the author, are even more troublesome than the issue of
stacking order.
o
o I am getting unusual Dawn/Dusk times:
The three fields (Dawn, Dusk and Night Length) always apply to the local
current day. Difficulties arise when these events occur within 4 minutes
of local "midnight" with respect to the time zone defined by TZ
Offset. In particular, if these fields are not behaving as you would
expect, check that TZ Offset is set commensurate with the current
Longitude.
I am considering an option which will guess the timezone based on
longitude. Please let me know if you think this would be a useful
feature. My address is ecdowney@noao.edu.
o
o The time changed by one hour after I just changed the date:
This occurs if automatic savings time tracking is turned on and the new
date is for a period which differs in regards to whether savings time is
in effect. It is a feature .. but you may disable savings time tracking
from either the TZ Name or TZ Offset fields in the Main menu.
o
o Setting an alternate timezone from the XEphem resources doesn't work.
One way is to turn off the automatic timezone tracking feature. You can
do this from either the TZ Name or TZ Offset fields in the Main
menu. Then restore the timezone information from the resource file by
using the Reset option under the File pulldown menu in Main.
Another approach is to set the timezone in your TZ environment variable
before you start xephem. For example, to set to CET, which is one hour
ahead of UT do one of these commands (depending on your shell):
export TZ=CET-1 (sh)
setenv TZ CET-1 (csh)
The POSIX general form for this is:
stdoffset[dst[offset]]
It also works on some systems to set TZ to the name of the timezone file,
for example on SunOS, /etc/localtime or the likes of
/usr/share/zoneinfo/Europe/Amsterdam.
One of these ways should allow you to stay with "XEphem.JD: Now" in your
resource file.
o My Backspace and Delete keys do not work correctly.
This is likely a problem with your general X Windows setup rather than
with xephem itself. Use the X utility program xmodmap to check into your
situation. For example, on many Linux systems, the problem can be solved
by running the following commands before running xephem (it will likely
fix similar problems with other X programs as well):
% xmodmap -e "keycode 22 = BackSpace"
% xmodmap -e "keycode 107 = Delete"
o
o I can not use the PgUp or PgDown keys to browse the Help dialog.
Whether a newly-mapped dialog receives keyboard focus depends on your
window manager. If yours does not automatically give the Help dialog
focus, then try clicking the left mouse button near the vertical scroll
bar once. Similarly, the Sky View scroll bars can also be operated using
the PgUp/Down keys (and the Arrow keys too) but, again, only if they have
the focus.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From the author:
Thank you for your interest in xephem. Your comments and suggestions are
welcome.
My resume.
My home observatory.
My Dobs telescope.
ecdowney@noao.edu
Newsgroups: sci.astro.amateur
Subject: Re: Astronomy Software (Star Maps)
References: <33CA89DD.40CEDE93@geocities.com> <33CBA438.611B@vcnet.com>
--text follows this line--
If you use GNU/Linux or other Unix-type operating system, I recommend
Starchart 3.2.1 and Xephem.
Starchart runs on any terminal and produces a variety of observational
tables, ephemeri, and PostScript charts -- good for finder
charts, planispheres, magazine centerfolds, and the like.
Xephem runs on X windows and does the various things people mention:
tables, maps of the moon and planets and their satellites for the date
and time (very nice for Mars, for the Great Red Spot, or when Io
crosses Jupiter!), locations of comets, asteroids, planets, sky views
at various dates, places, and scales, not to mention satellite
visibility and ground track...
For Starchart 3.2.1, source code and databases were posted to
comp.sources.unix: volume12 - volume16
(volume16 contains a version of the SAO catalog.)
For example, you can go to:
anonymous@ftp.digital.com:
/pub/usenet/comp.sources.unix/volume12
or
anonymous@ftp.wustl.edu:/usenet/comp.sources.unix
For Xephem, see
http://iraf.noao.edu/~ecdowney/xephem.html
Both these programs are freely redistributable software.
--
Robert J. Chassell bob@rattlesnake.com
25 Rattlesnake Mountain Road bob@gnu.ai.mit.edu
Stockbridge, MA 01262-0693 USA (413) 298-4725
To create a Xephem format list of the Herschel 400
Don't convert the Herschel 400 list -- too hard -- instead, copy
appropriate lines from NGC.edb list already existing, since all
Herschel 400 have NGC numbers.
Build of 5 September 1998
Build the libastro.a library first:
$ cd xephem-3.2/libastro
went quickly:
$ xmkmf
took 30 seconds:
$ date; make; date
Move up and over to the XEphem source and build it next:
$ cd ../GUI/xephem
$ xmkmf
make took 90 seconds:
$ make
2) For the very curious, try it now:
Works!
(Need to change colors, etc.)
$ ./xephem
3b) Installing XEphem for multiple users (requires root permission) (skip if
installing just for yourself):
Copy the executable where everyone can find it:
$ cp xephem /usr/local/bin # or where ever
Create a directory for system-wide read-only files to be shared by all
XEphem users and fill with the defaults included in this kit:
$ mkdir /usr/local/lib/XEphem # or where ever
$ cp -R auxil /usr/local/lib/XEphem # copy auxil dir and contents
$ cp -R catalogs /usr/local/lib/XEphem # copy catalogs dir
$ cp -R fifos /usr/local/lib/XEphem # copy fifos dir and contents
$ cp -R fits /usr/local/lib/XEphem # copy fits dir and contents
Copy the default resource file named just XEphem where ever your X
programs can find it:
$ cp XEphem.ad /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/XEphem # or where ever
4) Fetch some more catalogs, if desired:
ppm catalog comes from /ftp@gastro23.physics.uiowa.edu:/pub/xephem/ppm.xe
9 Mb
Elwood Downey
ecdowney@ClearSkyInstitute.com
========================= Miscellaneous Build hints ==========================
If xephem does not work well on your color display, or the colormap is
out of entries, xephem can be operated using mostly black and white by
running it as: xephem -fg black -bg white. Let me know if you would like
an option to use a private colormap.
If you are having trouble using the Hubble GSC CDROMs on a Sun workstation,
you can find useful tips at http://www.stsci.edu/ftp/software/cdrom.sun.