XMOONTOOL(1)XMOONTOOL(1)NAMExmoontool - Moon For The Sun / Werewolf Early Warning System
SYNOPSISxmoontool [-mctU]
DESCRIPTION
Xmoontool is a Xwindows application which displays information about
the moon in real time. When closed (iconic) it displays a graphical
representation of what the moon would look like right now if you were
to go outside and look at it. (Go on, try it, the fresh air may do you
some good). When the window is open, the same image of the moon is
displayed in the upper right of the window, along with more verbose
information about both the moon and the sun (the bright yellow thing in
the sky, not the thing you're staring at right now. It's not a good
idea to stare at the bright yellow thing). The open window display is
updated approximately once per second, the icon is updated every two
minutes.
Xmoontool will run on both monochrome and color displays. Unless
explicity told to run in either the monochrome (-m) or the color (-c)
mode, xmoontool will automatically select the appropriate mode. On
color displays, the moon's face is rendered in eight colors in both the
icon and the open window. The darkened portion of the moon is visible
on color displays as dark shades of blue. On monochrome displays, only
the illuminated portion of the face is drawn in.
As an extra added bonus for users of color displays, the Apollo 11 Com‐
memorative Red Dot has been added to the face of the moon at the
approximate location of Tranquility Base, to mark the 20th anniversary
of An Historic Event.
The image of the moon's face used by xmoontool, especially the color
version, is quite accurate. It was rendered on an Amiga by Joe
Hitchens, an artist of no small talent, from an illustration in an
astronomy textbook.
If invoked with the -t option, xmoontool will start up in test mode.
In test mode, the tool warps through time, updating the display as fast
as possible, skipping approximately one hour per cycle. A menu is
available on the tool, for both the icon and the open window, which
will let you switch in and out of test mode at will. This is what's
known as a cheap thrill, and can provide endless hours of entertainment
(if you're easily entertained).
The option -U effects the moon's and the sun's distances to be
expressed in (statute) miles instead of the default kilometers.
For those who are lycanthropically inclined, the open window tells you
when the next full moon will occur. This may or may not be something
you'll want to know.
TEDIOUS TECHNICAL CREDITS
Believe it or not, xmoontool uses some actual science and even authen‐
tic mathematics. If you're into that sort of thing, you might like to
know that the following books were used by the original author to cre‐
ate xmoontool:
"Practical Astronomy With Your Calculator" by Peter Duffett-Smith, Sec‐
ond Edition, Cambridge University Press, 1981.
"Astronomical Formulae for Calculators" by Jean Meeus, Third Edition,
Willmann-Bell, 1985.
"Planetary Programs and Tables from -4000 to +2800" by Pierre Bretagnon
and Jean-Louis Simon, Willmann-Bell, 1986.
"Celestial BASIC" by Eric Burgess, Revised Edition, Sybex, 1985.
This one was used by Joe to render the moon image and by me to locate
the Apollo 11 landing site:
"Astronomy: From the Earth to the Universe" by Jay M. Pasachoff, Second
Edition, Saunders College Publishing, 1983
SEE ALSO
The real moon.
AUTHORS
John Walker
Autodesk SA
Avenue des Champs-Montants 14b
CH-2074 MARIN
Switzerland
Usenet: kelvin@Autodesk.com
Fax: 038/33 88 15
Voice: 038/33 76 33
Original author of moontool (the one who did the hard part).
Ron Hitchens, Independent Hacker. Adder-on of various "features" and
"improvements". Culprit responsible for this stoopid man page.
ronbo@vixen.uucp
...!uunet!cs.utah.edu!caeco!vixen!ronbo
hitchens@cs.utexas.edu
4th Berkeley Distribution 15 SEPTEMBER 1993XMOONTOOL(1)
