[kde-doc-english] [kstars] doc: Handbook updates
Jasem Mutlaq
mutlaqja at ikarustech.com
Mon Feb 23 14:58:41 UTC 2015
Git commit 1de39e745b2ee0fd9dd8495386c3e17c7cdf2253 by Jasem Mutlaq.
Committed on 22/02/2015 at 15:17.
Pushed by mutlaqja into branch 'master'.
Handbook updates
M +31 -81 doc/index.docbook
M +12 -68 doc/indi.docbook
http://commits.kde.org/kstars/1de39e745b2ee0fd9dd8495386c3e17c7cdf2253
diff --git a/doc/index.docbook b/doc/index.docbook
index cd7e3ce..226cdad 100644
--- a/doc/index.docbook
+++ b/doc/index.docbook
@@ -163,15 +163,13 @@
<abstract>
<para>
-&kstars; is a graphical desktop planetarium for &kde;. It depicts an
-accurate simulation of the night sky, including stars, constellations,
-star clusters, nebulae, galaxies, all planets, the Sun, the Moon,
-comets and asteroids. You can see the sky as it appears
-from any location on Earth, on any date. The user interface is highly
-intuitive and flexible; the display can be panned and zoomed with the
-mouse, and you can easily identify objects, and track their motion
-across the sky. &kstars; includes many powerful features, yet the
-interface is clean and simple, and fun to use.
+&kstars; is free, open source, cross-platform Astronomy Software.
+
+It provides an accurate graphical simulation of the night sky, from any location on Earth, at any date and time. The display includes up to 100 million stars, 13,000 deep-sky objects,all 8 planets, the Sun and Moon, and thousands of comets, asteroids, supernovae, and satellites.
+
+For students and teachers, it supports adjustable simulation speeds in order to view phenomena that happen over long timescales, the &kstars; Astrocalculator to predict conjunctions, and many common astronomical calculations. For the amateur astronomer, it provides an observation planner, a sky calendar tool, and an FOV editor to calculate field of view of equipment and display them. Find out interesting objects in the "What's up Tonight" tool, plot altitude vs. time graphs for any object, print high-quality sky charts, and gain access to lots of information and resources to help you explore the universe!
+
+Included with &kstars; is Ekos astrophotography suite, a complete astrophotography solution that can control all INDI devices including numerous telescopes, CCDs, DSLRs, focusers, filters, and a lot more. Ekos supports highly accurate tracking using online and offline astrometry solver, autofocus and autoguiding capabilities, and capture of single or multiple images using the powerful built in sequence manager.
</para>
</abstract>
@@ -191,91 +189,43 @@ interface is clean and simple, and fun to use.
&kstars; lets you explore the night sky from
the comfort of your computer chair. It provides an accurate graphical
representation of the night sky for any date, from any location on
-Earth. The display includes 126,000 stars to 9th magnitude (well below
-the naked-eye limit), 13,000 deep-sky objects (Messier, NGC, and IC
-catalogs), all planets, the Sun and Moon, hundreds of comets and
-asteroids, the Milky Way, 88 constellations, and guide lines such as
-the <link linkend="ai-cequator">celestial equator</link>,
-the <link linkend="ai-horizon">horizon</link> and
-the <link linkend="ai-ecliptic">ecliptic</link>.
+Earth. The display includes 126,000 stars to 9th magnitude (100 million with addon catalogs), 13,000 deep-sky objects (Messier, NGC, and IC catalogs), all planets, the Sun and Moon, hundreds of comets and
+asteroids, the Milky Way, 88 constellations, and guide lines such as the <link linkend="ai-cequator">celestial equator</link>, the <link linkend="ai-horizon">horizon</link> and the <link linkend="ai-ecliptic">ecliptic</link>.
</para>
<para>
-However, &kstars; is more than a simple night-sky simulator. The
-display provides a compelling interface to a number of tools with
-which you can learn more about astronomy and the night sky. There is
-a context-sensitive <link linkend="popup-menu">popup menu</link>
-attached to each displayed object, which displays object-specific
-information and actions. Hundreds of objects provide links in their
-popup menus to informative web pages and beautiful images taken by the
-Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories.
+However, &kstars; is more than a simple night-sky simulator. The display provides a compelling interface to a number of tools with which you can learn more about astronomy and the night sky. There is
+a context-sensitive <link linkend="popup-menu">popup menu</link> attached to each displayed object, which displays object-specific information and actions. Hundreds of objects provide links in their
+popup menus to informative web pages and beautiful images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories.
</para><para>
-From an object's popup menu, you can open its <link
-linkend="tool-details">Detailed Information Window</link>, where
-you can examine positional data about the object, and query a huge
-treasury of online databases for professional-grade astronomical data
-and literature references about the object. You can even attach your
-own Internet links, images and text notes, making &kstars; a graphical
-front-end to your observing logs and your personal astronomical notebook.
+From an object's popup menu, you can open its <link linkend="tool-details">Detailed Information Window</link>, where you can examine positional data about the object, and query a huge treasury of online databases for professional-grade astronomical data and literature references about the object. You can even attach your own Internet links, images and text notes, making &kstars; a graphical front-end to your observing logs and your personal astronomical notebook.
</para>
<para>
-Our <link linkend="tool-calculator">Astrocalculator</link> tool
-provides direct access to many of the algorithms the program uses
-behind the scenes, including coordinate converters and time
-calculators.
+Our <link linkend="tool-calculator">Astrocalculator</link> tool provides direct access to many of the algorithms the program uses behind the scenes, including coordinate converters and time calculators.
</para>
<para>
-You can plan an observing session using our <link
-linkend="tool-altvstime">Altitude vs. Time</link> tool, which will
-plot curves representing the Altitude as a function of time for any
-group of objects. If that is too much detail, we also provide a
-<link linkend="tool-whatsup">What's Up Tonight?</link> tool that
-summarizes the objects that you will be able to see from your location
-on any given night. You can add your favorite objects to your
-observing wish-list using
-the <link linkend="tool-obsplanner">Observation Planner</link> tool,
-which allows you to plan your observation sessions professionally.
+You can plan an observing session using our <link linkend="tool-altvstime">Altitude vs. Time</link> tool, which will plot curves representing the Altitude as a function of time for any group of objects. If that is too much detail, we also provide a <link linkend="tool-whatsup">What's Up Tonight?</link> tool that summarizes the objects that you will be able to see from your location on any given night. You can add your favorite objects to your
+observing wish-list using the <link linkend="tool-obsplanner">Observation Planner</link> tool, which allows you to plan your observation sessions professionally.
</para>
<para>
-&kstars; also provides a <link linkend="tool-solarsys">Solar System
-Viewer</link>, which shows the current configuration of the major
-planets in our solar system. There is also a <link
-linkend="tool-jmoons">Jupiter Moons Tool</link> which shows the positions
-of Jupiter's four largest moons as a function of time.
+&kstars; also provides a <link linkend="tool-solarsys">Solar System Viewer</link>, which shows the current configuration of the major planets in our solar system. There is also a <link
+linkend="tool-jmoons">Jupiter Moons Tool</link> which shows the positions of Jupiter's four largest moons as a function of time.
</para>
<para>
-Our primary goal is to make &kstars; an interactive educational tool for
-learning about astronomy and the night sky. To this end, the &kstars;
-Handbook includes the <link linkend="astroinfo">AstroInfo
-Project</link>, a series of short, hyperlinked articles on astronomical
-topics that can be explored with &kstars;. In addition, &kstars;
-includes &DBus; functions that allow you to <link
-linkend="tool-scriptbuilder">write complex scripts</link>, making &kstars;
-a powerful "demo engine" for classroom use or general illustration of
-astronomical topics. Furthermore, any 3rd party tool or language with support of &DBus; can be used to write powerful scripts using
-<ulink url="http://api.kde.org/4.x-api/kdeedu-apidocs/kstars/html/classKStars.html">&kstars; &DBus; API</ulink>
+Our primary goal is to make &kstars; an interactive educational tool for learning about astronomy and the night sky. To this end, the &kstars; Handbook includes the <link linkend="astroinfo">AstroInfo
+Project</link>, a series of short, hyperlinked articles on astronomical topics that can be explored with &kstars;. In addition, &kstars;
+includes &DBus; functions that allow you to <link linkend="tool-scriptbuilder">write complex scripts</link>, making &kstars; a powerful "demo engine" for classroom use or general illustration of
+astronomical topics. Furthermore, any 3rd party tool or language with support of &DBus; can be used to write powerful scripts using <ulink url="http://api.kde.org/4.x-api/kdeedu-apidocs/kstars/html/class&kstars;.html">&kstars; &DBus; API</ulink>
</para>
<para>
-However, &kstars; is not just for students. You can control telescopes
-and cameras with &kstars;, using the elegant and powerful <link
-linkend="indi">INDI</link> protocol. &kstars; supports several popular
-telescopes including Meade's LX200 family and Celestron GPS. Several
-popular CCD cameras, webcams, and computerized focusers are also supported.
-Simple slew/track commands are integrated directly into the main window's
-popup menu, and the INDI Control Panel provides full access to all of
-your telescope's functions. INDI's Client/Server
-architecture allows for seamless control of any number of <link
-linkend="indi-kstars-setup">local</link> or <link
-linkend="indi-remote-control">remote</link> telescopes using a single
-&kstars; session.
-For advanced users, &kstars; provides Ekos, a complete astrophotography suite for Linux. <ulink url="http://www.indilib.org/about/ekos.html">Ekos</ulink> is based on a modular extensible framework to perform common astrophotography tasks.
-This includes highly accurate GOTOs using astrometry solver, ability to measure and correct polar alignment errors , auto-focus and auto-guide capabilities,
+However, &kstars; is not just for students. You can control telescopes and cameras with &kstars;, using the elegant and powerful <link linkend="indi">INDI</link> protocol. &kstars; supports several popular
+telescopes including Meade's LX200 family and Celestron GPS. Several popular CCD cameras, webcams, and computerized focusers are also supported. Simple slew/track commands are integrated directly into the main window's
+popup menu, and the INDI Control Panel provides full access to all of your telescope's functions. INDI's Client/Server
+architecture allows for seamless control of any number of <link linkend="indi-kstars-setup">local</link> or <link linkend="indi-remote-control">remote</link> telescopes using a single
+&kstars; session.For advanced users, &kstars; provides Ekos, a complete astrophotography suite for Linux. <ulink url="http://www.indilib.org/about/ekos.html">Ekos</ulink> is based on a modular extensible framework to perform common astrophotography tasks. This includes highly accurate GOTOs using astrometry solver, ability to measure and correct polar alignment errors , auto-focus and auto-guide capabilities,
and capture of single or stack of images with filter wheel support.
</para>
<para>
-We are very interested in your feedback; please report bugs or
-feature requests to the &kstars; development mailing list:
-<email>kstars-devel at kde.org</email>. You can also use
-the automated bug reporting tool, accessible from the Help menu.
+We are very interested in your feedback; please report bugs or feature requests to the &kstars; development mailing list: <email>kstars-devel at kde.org</email>. You can also use the automated bug reporting tool, accessible from the Help menu.
</para>
<!-- TRANS:CREDIT_FOR_TRANSLATORS -->
@@ -283,11 +233,11 @@ the automated bug reporting tool, accessible from the Help menu.
</chapter>
-&quicktour; <!--A Quick Tour of KStars-->
-&config; <!--Configuring KStars-->
+&quicktour; <!--A Quick Tour of &kstars;-->
+&config; <!--Configuring &kstars;-->
&commands; <!--Command Reference-->
&astroinfo; <!--AstroInfo Articles-->
-&tools; <!--KStars Tools-->
+&tools; <!--&kstars; Tools-->
&dumpmode; <!--Command-line image-dump mode-->
&indi; <!-- INDI-->
&faq; <!--Questions and Answers-->
diff --git a/doc/indi.docbook b/doc/indi.docbook
index bbcd7de..abcb19d 100644
--- a/doc/indi.docbook
+++ b/doc/indi.docbook
@@ -4,11 +4,9 @@
<secondary>Overview</secondary>
</indexterm>
-<para>&kstars; provides an interface to configure and control astronomical instruments via
-the <acronym><link linkend="what-is-indi">INDI</link></acronym> protocol.</para>
+<para>&kstars; provides an interface to configure and control astronomical instruments via the <acronym><link linkend="what-is-indi">INDI</link></acronym> protocol.</para>
-<para>The <acronym>INDI</acronym> protocol supports a variety of astronomical instruments
- such as CCD cameras and focusers. For an up to date list of supported devices, please visit <acronym>INDI</acronym> <ulink url="http://indilib.org/index.php?title=Devices">supported devices page</ulink>.</para>
+<para>The <acronym>INDI</acronym> protocol supports a variety of astronomical instruments such as CCD cameras and focusers. For an up to date list of supported devices, please visit <acronym>INDI</acronym> <ulink url="http://indilib.org/index.php?title=Devices">supported devices page</ulink>.</para>
<sect1 id="indi-kstars-setup">
<title>INDI Setup</title>
@@ -215,49 +213,7 @@ updates from <guimenuitem>Configure INDI</guimenuitem> dialog under the
<para>You can run CCD and Video Capture devices from the <guimenuitem>Device Manager</guimenuitem> in the <guimenu>Devices</guimenu> menu. Like all INDI devices, some of the device controls will be accessible from the skymap. The device can be controlled fully from the <guimenuitem>INDI Control Panel.</guimenuitem></para>
-<para>The standard format for image capture is FITS. Once an image is captured and downloaded, it will be automatically displayed in the &kstars; <link linkend="tool-fitsviewer">FITS Viewer</link>. To capture a sequence of images, use the <guimenuitem>Capture Image Sequence</guimenuitem> tool from the <guimenu>Devices</guimenu> menu. This tool is inactive until you establish a connection to an image device.</para>
-</sect1>
-
-<sect1 id="indi-capture">
-<title>Capture Image Sequence</title>
-<indexterm><primary>Capture</primary>
-<secondary>Image</secondary>
-</indexterm>
-
-<para>The Capture Image Sequence tool can be used to aquire images from cameras and CCDs in interactive and batch modes. Furthermore, you can select which filter, if any, you want to use for your images. The capture tool remains disabled until you establish a connection to an imaging device.</para>
-
-<screenshot>
-<screeninfo>Capture Image Sequence</screeninfo>
-<mediaobject>
-<imageobject>
-<imagedata fileref="indicapture.png" format="PNG"/>
-</imageobject>
-</mediaobject>
-</screenshot>
-
-<para>The above screenshot depicts a sample capture session. The tool provides the following options:</para>
-<itemizedlist>
- <listitem><para>Camera/CCD</para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem><para><option>Device:</option> The desired imaging device.</para></listitem>
- <listitem><para><option>Prefix:</option> The image prefix which will be prepended to each captured filename.</para></listitem>
- <listitem><para><option>Exposure:</option> The number of seconds to expose each frame.</para></listitem>
- <listitem><para><option>Count:</option> The number of images to aquire.</para></listitem>
- <listitem><para><option>Delay:</option> The delay in seconds between consecutive images.</para></listitem>
- <listitem><para><option>ISO 8601 time stamp:</option> Append ISO 8601 time stamp to the filename. (e.g. image_01_20050427T09:48:05).</para></listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </listitem>
- <listitem><para>Filter</para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem><para><option>Device:</option> The desired filter device.</para></listitem>
- <listitem><para><option>Filter:</option> The desired filter slot. You can assign color values to slot numbers using the <link linkend="indi-configure">INDI</link> page (e.g. Slot #1 = Red, Slot #2 = Blue..etc).</para></listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </listitem>
-</itemizedlist>
-
-<para>After you fill in the desired options, you can begin the capture procedure by pressing the <guibutton>Start</guibutton> button. You may cancel at any time using the <guibutton>Stop</guibutton> button. All captured images will be saved to the default FITS directory which can be specified in the <link linkend="indi-configure">INDI</link> page of the settings dialog.</para>
-
-<para>If you have more complex capturing requirements and conditions to fulfil, it is recommended to create a script to meet your specific needs using the <link linkend="tool-scriptbuilder">Script Builder</link> tool in the <guimenu>Tools</guimenu> menu.</para>
+<para>The standard format for image capture is FITS. Once an image is captured and downloaded, it will be automatically displayed in the &kstars; <link linkend="tool-fitsviewer">FITS Viewer</link>.</para>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="indi-configure">
@@ -287,7 +243,7 @@ updates from <guimenuitem>Configure INDI</guimenuitem> dialog under the
<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para><option>Device target crosshair:</option> When checked, &kstars; displays the telescope's target crosshair on the sky map. The crosshair is displayed upon a successful connection to the telescope and its location is updated periodically. The telescope's name is displayed next to the crosshair. &kstars; displays one crosshair per each connected telescope. To change the color of the telescope's crosshair, open the <link linkend="viewops">Configure &kstars;</link> window. Select the <guilabel>Colors</guilabel> tab, and then change the color of the <emphasis>Target Indicator</emphasis> item to the desired color.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para><option>INDI messages in status bar:</option> When checked, &kstars; displays INDI status messages in the &kstars; status bar.</para></listitem>
- <listitem><para><option>Automatic Display of FITS upon capture:</option> When checked, &kstars; will display captured FITS in &kstars; <link linkend="tool-fitsviewer">FITS Viewer</link> tool. If you use the <link linkend="indi-capture">Capture Image Sequence</link> tool, all captured images will be saved to disk regardless of this option.</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para><option>Automatic Display of FITS upon capture:</option> When checked, &kstars; will display captured FITS in &kstars; <link linkend="tool-fitsviewer">FITS Viewer</link> tool.</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</listitem>
<listitem><para>Update Source: Synchronize &kstars; according to either the
@@ -452,13 +408,14 @@ as following:</para>
...]</para>
<para>Options:</para>
-<para> -l d : log driver messages to d/YYYY-MM-DD.islog</para>
-<para> -m m : kill client if gets more than this many MB behind, default 10</para>
-<para> -p p : alternate IP port, default 7624</para>
-<para> -v : show key events, no traffic</para>
-<para> -vv : -v + key message content</para>
-<para> -vvv : -vv + complete xml</para>
-<para> driver : executable or device at host[:port]</para>
+<para> -l d : log driver messages to d/YYYY-MM-DD.islog</para>
+<para> -m m : kill client if gets more than this many MB behind, default 10</para>
+<para> -p p : alternate IP port, default 7624</para>
+<para> -f path : Path to fifo for dynamic startup and shutdown of drivers.</para>
+<para> -v : show key events, no traffic</para>
+<para> -vv : -v + key message content</para>
+<para> -vvv : -vv + complete xml</para>
+<para> driver : executable or device at host[:port]</para>
<para>For example, if you want to start an INDI server running an LX200 GPS
driver and listening to connections on port 8000, you would run the
@@ -534,19 +491,6 @@ It depends on the particular telescope you're running, but the minimum three ope
<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>
-Can I use &kstars; to do guiding?
-</para>
-</question>
-<answer>
-<para>
- Currently, there are no plans to support guiding in &kstars;. Users may utilize <ulink url="http://code.google.com/p/open-phd-guiding/">OpenPHD Guiding</ulink> as it is compatible with &kstars; and INDI.
-</para>
-</answer>
-</qandaentry>
-
-<qandaentry>
-<question>
-<para>
What's the difference between <command>Slew</command>, <command>Track</command>, and <command>Sync</command> exactly?
</para>
</question>
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