Observer

For the calculation of topocentric coordinates, which are corrected for parallax, the geographic latitude and longitude of the location, the place of observation, is required, and the longitude is required for the time shift.

The settings for location, latitude, longitude, elevation, and time zone can be read from a locations database. Select Ephemeris -> Observer from the main menu or press Alt-O. The Location database dialog appears.

Select an entry from the locations list, click OK, and the observer location is retained and used for ephemeris calculation whenever topocentric coordinates are calculated. To find and select a location in the database quickly, in the field Search for, type the first few letters of the name of the location. To go to the first entry in the locations list click , to go to the last entry click . To sort the table of locations click the corresponding column header.

In the location database entries can be marked as favorite. Only these entries are shown if the chackbox show favorites only is checked.

Locations can be added, edited or deleted. To add a new location, click . In the appearing Add (Edit) location dialog enter the name of the Location and of the Region where it belongs to (e.g. the name of a country), the Latitude in degrees, minutes, and seconds (optional) separated by spaces followed by 'N' for north or 'S' for south of the equator, e.g. 51 55 57 N, limit 90 0 0. Enter the Longitude in degrees, minutes, and seconds (optional) separated by spaces followed by 'E' for east or 'W' for west of the Greenwich Meridian, e.g. 13 19 48 E, limit 180 0 0, and fill in the Time zone in hours and minutes east (+) or west (-) of GMT (limit ±12:00), the Elevation in meters (optional), and (optionally) the type of a local calendar. Click OK, and the new location appears in the locations list. To edit an existing location, select it in the locations list, click  , change the information, click OK, and the edited location appears in the locations list.

To delete a location, select it in the Locations list, click  , and confirm the deletion when asked. Click OK, and the observer location is retained and used for ephemeris calculation and shown in the status bar. To open the Location database dialog directly, click on the location in the status bar.