Astrotools history

Version 3.4 (2005.06.05)
- Altitude limit for star/deepsky visibility enabled for graphical display
- Transit ordered display of star/deepsky visibility always starts at noon (12:00)
- Many new deep sky objects added
- Comet list updated
- This history file now maintained as separate page
Version 3.3 (2005.01.04)
- Splitted Astrotools into three separate tools: Ephemeris Tool, Event Tool and Jupiter Tool
- Functions of old Astrotools divided into Ephemeris Tool and Event Tool
- Event Tool: Event types individually selectable
- New: Jupiter Tool is a simulator and event calculator for Jupiter satellites and GRS
Version 3.2 (2004.10.25):
- Major improvement on graphical tools, much better looking and very fast
- Now using CSS positioning in stead of tables and all those small images
- Added magnitude display to Object Data
- Added weekday to Visibility
- Added rise/set indication to TwilightVisibility
Version 3.1 (2004.10.18):
- Added comets
- Added alt and az to positions/text output
- Added heliocentric distance to data/text output
- Added display of siderial time in interface
- Event search now clickable in 'chart' mode, however, output is text only
- Some cosmetic changes to user interface (styled some buttons etc)
- Speeded up the code, some tools almost twice as fast
- Changed link to my homepage to new domain: www.ngc7000.org
Version 3.0 (2004.09.21):
- Major new version
- New name: Javascript AstroTools (was Skyplanner)
- User interface significantly changed
- New text tools for generating ephemeris, lists of events etc
- Most tools now have a text and a graphical (chart) mode
- Time input (no longer fixed to 'noon')
- Julian Day display and input
- New tools: Search solar/lunar/planetary events, separation between two objects
- Twilight visibility now supports selectable Sun depression angle
- Star/Deep sky object list/charts now optionally sorted according to R.A. and with altitude filter
- Fixed error in rise/set calculations for Moon, parallax was wrong
- Increased accuracy of lunar calculations
Version 2.3 (2004.01.04):
- Another facelift of user interface, changed colour scheme
- Made 'Twilight Altitude' usable with all objects (was only Mercury and Venus)
- Changed some colours in Visibility charts
- Fixed bug in Visibility (an occasionally missed moonrise)
Version 2.2 (2003.07.27 ):
- Changed user interface again. Choose object, click on function (just as in pre v2.0!)
- Visibility and Altitude of selected star or deep sky object via User Object
- Added several deep sky objects
- Corrected longitude of Madrid and Malaga
Version 2.1 (2003.03.19 ):
- Completely rewritten code for visibility charts, higher resolution and 10 times faster
- All other charts 2 to 3 times faster
- Improved precision, now using Paul Schlyter's method for planetary calculations
- Added user object
Version 2.0 (2003.02.12):
- Major upgrade
- Changed user interface, now first choose desired output and then click desired object
- New charts for illumination, distance, declination, ecliptic longitude and elongation
- Restyled altitude chart, show planet positions as numbered "balls" in stead of coloured squares
- Display of additional information (azimuth, right ascencion etc) as numbers on some charts
Version 1.2 (2003.01.28):
- Improved daylight saving time handling: DST check box, DST status saved in cookie, DST determined when reading time zone from system clock
- Sign of time zone offset reversed! (I found negative time zones for places each of Greenwich non-logical)
Version 1.1 (2003.01.22):
- Added cookie to store home location.
- Improved Mercury/Venus altitude display.
- Added transit times to some charts.
- The automatic DST correction for date updates has been (temporarily?) disabled.
Version 1.0 (2002.08.31):
- First release of Skyplanner

Home page: Ole's Astronomy Site

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