COMET "name"
Enter COMET and then the name of the desired comet in quotes. Autostar displays information about the comet from its database. For example: COMET: "Halley"
LUNAR ECLIPSE
If LUNAR ECLIPSE is part of the tour, Autostar checks its database every time the tour is activated to see if a lunar eclipse is visible that evening. If no eclipse is visible, this option is skipped and the tour proceeds on the the next object.
METEOR SHOWER
If METEOR SHOWER is part of the tour, Autostar checks its database every time the tour is activated to see if a meteor shower is visible that evening. If no meteor shower is visible, this option is skipped and the tour proceeds on to the the next object.
DEEP SKY "name"
Enter DEEP SKY followed by the name of the desired object in quotes. For example: DEEP SKY "Small Magellanic Cloud"
CONSTELLATION "name"
Enter CONSTELLATION followed by the name of the desired constellation in quotes. For example: CONSTELLATION "Leo Major"
STAR "name"
Enter STAR followed by the name of the desired star in quotes. For example: STAR "Vega"
LANDMARK az alt "title" "description"
Enter the azimuth (az) for the desired object in the following format: xxxdxxmxxs. For example:
123d27m00s. Then enter the altitude of the desired object in the following format: xxdxxmxxs. Then enter the title string and description string in quotes. For example:
LANDMARK 123d27m00s 57d20m20s "Landmark 1" "North corner of apartment building"
PICK ONE / PICK END
These two statements are used to surround a list of items that Autostar can choose from during a tour. Autostar begins at the top of the PICK ONE list and displays the first object from the list that is above the horizon and ignores the rest.
This statement is useful for developing tours that can be presented year round. For each object type you wish to use to illustrate in your tour, pick 10 to 12 examples spaced across the range of right ascension. Bracket them by the PICK ONE / PICK END statements. One current example displays for the user. For example:
AUTO SELECT TEXT "Globular Cluster" "Globular clusters are huge balls of stars." "They contain 50,000 to 100,000 stars and are located on the fringes of our" "galaxy."
PICK ONE
AUTO SELECT MESSIER 13
AUTO SELECT MESSIER 15
AUTO SELECT MESSIER 92
AUTO SELECT MESSIER 4
AUTO SELECT MESSIER 68 AUTO SELECT NGC 1234
AUTO SELECT TEXT "None Available" "I'm sorry. There are no bright globular" "clusters visible at this time."
PICK END
AUTO SLEW ON / AUTO SLEW OFF
With AUTO SLEW ON enabled in the tour, Autostar automatically slews the telescope to objects first before displaying the text description. This feature is useful when designing tours in which observing certain objects is required. For example, an astronomy professor may require his students to observe six objects, four of which Autostar automatically slews to in a tour. The
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