Celestial Sphere: FAQ
What is the Celestial Sphere
The Celestial Sphere is conceptually a sphere upon which all the
celestial objects (stars, planets, nebulae, etc.) are projected. As the
observer, we are located at the center of the sphere, viewing its inner surface.
Check out this
link for a better explanation. Or here.
What browsers work with Celestial Sphere?
The applet is compatible with any browser supporting the Sun Java Plugin 1.5
(Java 5.0) and support
for the LiveConnect interface. Specifically, latest MSIE and Mozilla Firefox
are known to work. You may need to download the latest JRE.
For full functionality, please enable popups for this site.
How do I enter right ascension and declination coordinates?
Right now you can't. That feature will be added soon.
What is Java? Why do I need it to run Celestial Sphere?
Java is a programming language and virtual
machine that allows a browser to run small programs called applets directly on a
web page. Java applets run in a protected environment (affectionately known as
the "sandbox") which protects the user's system from any malicious
behaviour. Java applets can't pass on any viruses, or damage your computer in
any way.
The prime benefit of Java applets is that they aren't tied to any one
operating system. All of the most important computing platforms have a Java
virtual machine, each of which is capable of running the applet
unmodified.
What is the source of the data and algorithms used?
-
A Catalogue of Constellation Boundary Data. Davenhall and Legget,
1990, ADC Cat. No. a6042, a6049.
-
Preliminary Version of the Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Edition.
Hoffleit and Warren, 1991, ADC Cat. No. a5050.
-
Messier Data File. Frommert, Kronberg, and McArthur, http://www.seds.org/messier/.
- Astronomical Algorithms. Meeus, Jean. Willmann-Bell, 1991.
- Lunar Solution ELP 2000-82B. Chapront-Touze and Chapront, 1988, ADC
Cat. No 6079.
- Planetary Solutions VSOP87. Bretagnon and Froncou, 1988. ADC Cat.
No 6081.
