Field Help for WhatsUp
Time Fields
- GMT Deviation: The
number of hours your local time deviates from GMT. This field is set automatically from
your Computer at initialization as well as when the <Now> button is
pressed.
- Date: Local Date in mm/dd/yyyy format.
This is set to current local date at initialization or when the
<Now> button is pressed. The
user can change the date for planning a future session
- Session Start Time: Local time in 24:60:60 format. This is
set to the local time at initialization or when the <Now> button is
pressed. The user can change the
time for planning purposes.
Remember, if you manually set the time to past midnight (0) for
your evening’s planning, you will need to
increment the date to be accurate for the current evening.
- Session Length: How long
you want the objects listed to be within your specified parameters. The larger the value for Session Length,
the fewer objects will be listed in the results. This is because all objects listed must
be within the altitude and azimuth ranges at the beginning of the session
and at the end of the session.
Object Type Selections
- Galaxy: Controls the
display of all objects with the word “galaxy” in the Type field
- Nebula: Controls the
display of all objects with the word “nebula” (except Planetary Nebula) in
the Type field
- Planetary Nebula:
Controls the display of all objects with the word “planetary” in the Type
field
- Globular Cluster:
Controls the display of all objects with the word “globular” in the Type
field
- Open Cluster: Controls
the display of all objects with the word “open” in the Type field
Characteristic Filters
- Min Brightness:
Specified minimum brightness in Magnitude units. Will only display Objects brighter than
this field (smaller numbers are brighter).
- Size: Minimum and
Maximum allowed size in arcminutes. Will only display Objects with a size
(maximum dimension) within this range.
- Min Elevation: Minimum allowable Elevation/Altitude in
Degrees. Will only display Objects
Higher in the sky than this field.
- Az Range
(Inclusive/Exclusive): This field is used to specify the area
of the sky specified in degrees of Azimuth (0/360=N, 180=S, 270=W,
90=E). The Inclusive/Exclusive
checkbox allows you to specify whether to Include
all objects in the specified range or to Exclude Objects in the specified
range. Min must be smaller than max
at all times.
This is a more complex field which deserves a few examples.
I want to only image objects in the East to avoid a Meridian
Flip:
Min=0, Max=180, Inclusive/Exclusive checked (inclusive).
I want to only image objects in the South since there is a light
dome in the North:
Min=90, Max=270, Inclusive/Exclusive checked (inclusive) .
I want to only image objects in the North since there are trees
to my South:
Min=90, Max=270, Inclusive/Exclusive unchecked (exclusive) .
There is a large tree generally North
which covers a 60 degree swath from 10 to 310 az.
Min=10, Max=310, Inclusive/Exclusive unchecked (exclusive).
The Graphic in the lower-left corner gives you confirmation that
you have the correct combination of values.
Selectable
Buttons
- Set Your Location : See Section “Setting you current Location”
- Now: Sets the GMT
Deviation, Date and Time fields from your computer’s
clock
- Refresh List: Updates the Results List. This button is normally not needed since
the list automatically refreshes when any values have changed
- Save Defaults: Saves the values of the fields specified
below which will be automatically loaded when you start WhatsUp in the
future or hit the <Load Defaults> button or menu item.
- Latitude
- Longitude
- Session Length
- Min Elevation
- Min Azimuth
- Max Azimuth
- Inclusive/Exclusive Checkbox
state
- Min Magnitude
- Min Size
- Max Size
- Object Selections
- Object file Name (if you
choose a different one from the one included with WhatsUp)
- Load Defaults: Loads the
last saved default values above into their respective fields.
Menu Items
- File
- Load Objects File – Allows the user to
select a different file containing the target objects. (Comma delimited format
. See Objects File Format for a description of the fields). This selection will become permanent if
Save Defaults is selected.
- Save Results to File – Saves the contents
of the current results into a text file (tab delimited). This file can be opened with most
spreadsheet software (Excel…) for further manipulation.
- Load Defaults - Loads the last saved default values into
their respective fields.
- Save Defaults - Saves the values of the fields (see
Save Defaults button description) which will be automatically loaded when
you start WhatsUp in the future or hit the <Load Defaults> button
or Menu item.
- Exit – Exit Whatsup
- Edit
- Copy Results to Clipboard – Saves the contents
of the current results into the windows clipboard (tab delimited). The results can then be pasted into a word processor or spreadsheet software (Excel…) for
further manipulation. Ctrl-C key
sequence is a shortcut for this menu item.
- Help
- Help – Shows a link to the WhatsUp web page which
has detailed hep for the program
- About – Current Name and Version
Setting your Current
Location
- Latitude – The Latitude
you will be observing from in Decimal Degrees (xx.xxx,
positive = N).
- Longitude – The
Longitude from which you will be observing in Decimal (xxx.xxx,
positive = E)
- Update Button –
Transfers the Values in the Latitude and Longitude Fields to the Main Page
(Note: In order to save the newly
selected value as the default when you bring up WhatsUp, you need to Save Defaults on the Main Page.
- Cancel Button – Exits
the Setting Location Window without Saving.