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About StarDome:
StarDome shows the positions of the stars, Sun, Moon, and planets,
starting with the view from the latitude of Chabot Space & Science Center in
Oakland, California. You may change the latitude and time to show the sky as it
would appear from other locations and times of day.
How To Read:
StarDome shows the sky as it appears to a person on Earth looking
skyward. The cardinal compass directions -- N, S, E, and W -- are shown on the
horizon, which is represented by the circular border. Notice that, when looking
toward the sky, East is to the left and West is to the right, unlike maps of the
Earth, which show the opposite perspective.
Dots of different sizes and colors
represent stars. The size of a star tells how bright it is, and the color
indicates its spectral class, or temperature. Cooler stars are redder, while
hotter stars are bluer. In most cases, the star colors shown by StarDome
will not match what you actually see in the sky because the unaided human eye
cannot detect the colors of most stars.
The Sun, Moon, and planets are shown as
dots surrounded by circles
How To Use:
Click the "Lat +" and "Lat -" buttons to change the latitude
from which you view the sky. Lat + increases the latitude, sending you north,
while Lat - sends you south. Click the "Hour +" and "Hour -"
buttons to change the time of day.
You may also change the latitude or the
time by clicking anywhere within the circle and dragging. Dragging upward or
downward changes the latitude, while dragging left or right changes the time.
You may return to Oakland's latitude and the present time by clicking
"Oakland Now."
Click the "Labels" button to
identify the Sun, Moon, planets, and the brighter stars. The first click
displays the "proper" names of the stars, mostly their Arabic names.
Click the Labels button a second time to show the stars' constellation
designations: a Greek letter (Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon), followed by
the name of the constellation. The Greek letter ranks the star for its
brightness with respect to the other stars in that constellation. Typically,
stars designated by Alpha are the brightest stars in their constellations. For
example, Alpha Canis Majoris is the brightest star in the constellation Canis
Major, the Big Dog.
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