NAME
WMMOONCLOCK - Dockable Moon Phase Clock
SYNOPSIS
wmMoonClock [-display <Display>] [-bc <Color>] [-lc <Color>] [-dc
<Color>] [-low] [-lat <Latitude>] [-lon <Longitude>] [-h]
DESCRIPTION
wmMoonClock displays the current phase of the moon. Clicking on the
icon brings up different displays -- there are 5 in all. The different
"pages" are;
First Page
Shows the Moon phase image.
Second Page
Shows the current Local Time (LT) and Universal Time (UT), the
Moon’s Age (number of days since last new moon), the geometric
(as opposed to temporal) fraction of the way through the current
lunar cyle (e.g. 50 for full moon), the fraction of the Moon’s
disc that is illuminated (ratio of area illuminated to total
area of disc) and whether the Moon is (locally) visible of not
(i.e. is it above the horizon?).
Third Page
Shows the Rise and Set times for yesterday (first line), today
(middle line), and tommorrow (last line). If the Moon does not
rise or set on a given day a ‘null time’ is shown (--:--). Note
that these times should still be good for high latitude
observers. Also note that there will always be at least one
(--:--) showing up per month. This is because once per month the
Moon will rise (set) on a given day but will set (rise) in the
very early portion of the next day.
Fourth Page
Shows the Moon’s horizon coordinates (i.e. the Altitude/Azimuth
system). Azimuth is measured in degrees CCW from due south, and
altitude is measured in degrees from the horizon up to the Moon.
Distance (Dist) is measured in units on Earth radii (1 Re is
about 6370km). Note that this is a local coordinate system and
will not be correct if the observer’s latitude and longitude are
not set correctly.
Fifth Page
Shows the Moon’s ecliptic coordinates. (i.e. the Right
Ascention/Declination system). Useful for astronomers?
Many of the quantities shown will not be correct unless LT and UT are
correct, and the user specifies the proper latitude and longitude.
OPTIONS
-display <display>
Use an alternate X Display.
-bc Set background color. (E.g. #7e9e69 or blue)
-lc Set color of text labels.
-dc Set color of data values.
-low Conserve colors. For 8-bit displays, a lower-color pixmap will
be used automatically, but you can also force its use on
higher-color displays if necessary.
-lat <Latitude>
Observers Latitude in degrees. Positive in northern hemisphere,
negative in southern hemisphere.
-lon <Longitude>
Observers Longitude in degrees. Greenwich is 0.0, and longitude
increases positively toward the west. (Alternatively, negative
numbers can also be used to specify longitudes to the east of
Greenwich).
-h Display list of command-line options.
BUGS
Who knows? (Let me know if you find any).
AUTHOR
Michael G. Henderson <mghenderson@lanl.gov>
21 December 1998