Getting Started with Voyager and SkyGazer      

Setting and Animating the Time

To change the time, in the Time Panel window with the clock, click and drag the clock's hour hand. Note that the sky darkens and lightens as the time of day changes. Click the "Now" button to set the time back to the present (or to whatever your computer's clock says it is!)

Double-click the Time Panel's clock, or choose set date and time... from the arrow popup menu to the right of the clock. The "set time" dialog box appears. Use this to enter your birthday (or any other date!), and click "OK". This will show the sky at the date and time of your birth - or whatever other time you entered.

To continuously animate the time, use the Time Panel Select a time step of 2 minutes from the popup menu above the clock, then click the "Start" button. The sky will darken and lighten, and the stars move across the sky, as the Earth turns. Press the "stop" button to turn off the animation. You can use the VCR-like controls to run the animation forward or backward continuously, or to advance or rewind it in single steps.

If you have "locked" on an object, that object will stay centered as the time changes. Use this to follow the motion of the Sun or Mars across the sky, as you animate the time in (say) 1-day steps.

Back: Finding Objects and Information
Next: Changing Your Location

Copyright February, 2011

Carina Software & Instruments, Inc