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XPLANET(1)		    General Commands Manual		    XPLANET(1)

NAME
       xplanet - render	an image of a planet into an X window or file

SYNOPSIS
       xplanet [options]

DESCRIPTION
       Xplanet	is  similar to Xearth, where an	image of the earth is rendered
       into an X window.  All of the major planets and most satellites can  be
       drawn.	A  number of different map projections are also	supported, in-
       cluding azimuthal, Mercator, Mollweide, orthographic, and  rectangular.
       The  latest  version  can  always  be  found  at	http://xplanet.source-
       forge.net.

OPTIONS
       Options need only be specified with enough characters to	 be  unambigu-
       ous.  Valid options to Xplanet are:

       -arc_file
	      Specify  an arc file to be plotted against the background	stars.
	      Each line	in the file must have the following syntax:

	      dec1 ra1 dec2 ra2

	      where declination	is in degrees and right	ascension is in	hours.
	      This option has no effect	if -projection is specified.

       -arc_spacing spacing
	      When drawing an arc, draw	line segments that are spacing degrees
	      apart.  The default is 0.1 degrees.  Line	segments shorter  than
	      spacing will not be drawn.

       -arc_thickness thickness
	      Specify  the  thickness  of arcs.	 The default is	1 pixel.  When
	      drawing arcs on a	planet using the arc_file option in  the  con-
	      figuration file, use the arc_thickness option there too.

       -background background_file
	      Use  background_file as the background image, with the planet to
	      be superimposed upon it.	A color	may  also  be  supplied	 (e.g.
	      -background "navy	blue" or -background 0xff00ff).

       -base_magnitude magnitude
	      A	 star  of the specified	magnitude will have a pixel brightness
	      of 1.  The default value	is  10.	  Stars	 will  be  drawn  more
	      brightly if this number is larger.

       -body body
	      Render  an  image	 of  the specified planet or satellite.	 Valid
	      values for body are sun, mercury,	venus, earth, moon, mars, pho-
	      bos, deimos, jupiter, io,	europa,	 ganymede,  callisto,  saturn,
	      mimas, enceladus,	tethys,	dione, rhea, titan, hyperion, iapetus,
	      phoebe,  uranus,	miranda, ariel,	umbriel, titania, oberon, nep-
	      tune, triton, nereid, pluto, charon, random, and major.

	      The field	of view	can also be centered on	a  satellite  location
	      using "naif" or "norad", along with the satellite	id.  For exam-
	      ple,  "-body  naif-82"  will center the field of view on NAIF ID
	      -82, which is the	Cassini	orbiter.   Xplanet  must  be  compiled
	      with  SPICE  support  and	 the required kernels must be present.
	      See the README in	the spice subdirectory for more	details.   Us-
	      ing "-body norad20580" will center the field of view on NORAD ID
	      20580, which is the Hubble Space Telescope.  The appropriate TLE
	      files  must  be  present	in  this  case.	 See the README	in the
	      satellites subdirectory for more information.

	      Using "path" will	center the field of view on the	 direction  of
	      motion  of the origin.  This direction is	relative to the	direc-
	      tion of motion of	the body specified by -path_relative_to.

	      Earth is the default body.  This option is the same as -target.

       -center +x+y
	      Place the	center of the rendered body at pixel  coordinates  (x,
	      y).   The	 upper left corner of the screen is at (0,0). Either x
	      or y may be negative.  The default value is the  center  of  the
	      screen.

       -color color
	      Set  the	color for the label.  The default is "red".  Any color
	      in the rgb.txt file may be used.	Colors may also	 be  specified
	      by  RGB hex values; for example -color 0xff and -color blue mean
	      the same thing, as do -color 0xff0000 and	-color red.

       -config config_file
	      Use the configuration file  config_file.	 The  format  of  con-
	      fig_file	is described in	README.config.	See the	description of
	      -searchdir to see	where xplanet looks in order to	find the  con-
	      figuration file.

       -create_scattering_tables scattering_file
	      Create lookup tables for Rayleigh	scattering.  See the README in
	      the scattering directory for more	information.

       -date YYYYMMDD.HHMMSS
	      Use  the	date specified instead of the current local time.  The
	      date is assumed to be GMT.

       -date_format string
	      Specify the format for the date/time label.  This	format	string
	      is  passed  to strftime(3).  The default is "%c %Z", which shows
	      the date,	time, and time zone in the locale's  appropriate  date
	      and time representation.

       -dynamic_origin file
	      Specify  an  observer location.  The location is relative	to the
	      body specified with -origin (by default, this is the Sun).   The
	      last line	of the file must be of the form

	      YYYYMMDD.HHMMSS range lat	lon localtime

	      For example,

	      19951207.120000	  10.328   -3.018   97.709    9.595

	      The specified time is ignored and	the current time is used.  The
	      range  is	 in  planetary	radii, and lat and lon are in degrees.
	      Localtime	(in hours) is optional,	but if	present,  it  will  be
	      used  in place of	the longitude.	Only the last line of the file
	      is used.	This file may be updated between  renderings  using  a
	      script executed with the -prev_command or	-post_command options.

       -ephemeris_file filename
	      Specify a	JPL digital ephemeris file (DE200, DE405, or DE406) to
	      use for computing	planetary positions.  Xplanet uses Bill	Gray's
	      code (http://www.projectpluto.com/jpl_eph.htm), which reads both
	      big  and	little endian binary files.  The ephemeris files found
	      at  ftp://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/pub/eph/export/unix  are  big	endian
	      files, but you do	not need to do any additional byte-swapping to
	      use  them.   See	the  description  of  -searchdir  to see where
	      xplanet looks in order to	find the ephemeris file.

       -font fontname
	      Set the font for the label.  Only	TrueType fonts are  supported.
	      If  the  -pango option is	used, fontname is taken	to be the font
	      family name (e.g.	"Arial").

       -fontsize size
	      Specify the point	size.  The default is 12.

       -fork  Detach from the controlling terminal.  This is useful on MS Win-
	      dows to run xplanet from a batch file without having to  keep  a
	      DOS  window  open.  Be careful when using	this option; it's easy
	      to have multiple processes running  at  the  same	 time  without
	      knowing  it  -  check the	Task Manager.  On unix systems this is
	      pretty much the same as running xplanet in the background.

       -fov   Specify the field	of view, in degrees.  This option and the -ra-
	      dius option are mutually exclusive.  This	option has  no	effect
	      if the -projection option	is used.

       -geometry string
	      Specify  the image geometry using	the standard X window geometry
	      syntax, [<width>{xX}<height>][{+-}<xoffset>{+-}<yoffset>]	 (e.g.
	      256x256-10+10  puts  a  window  256x256 pixels in	size 10	pixels
	      away from	the right side and 10 pixels below the top of the root
	      window).	The root window	outside	of the image  will  be	black.
	      This option may be used with -window or -output.

       -glare radius
	      Draw  a glare around the sun with	with a radius of the specified
	      value larger than	the sun.  The default value is 28.

       -gmtlabel
	      Same as the -label option, but show GMT instead of local time.

       -grs_longitude lon
	      The longitude of Jupiter's Great	Red  Spot  (GRS).   A  typical
	      value is 94 degrees.  If this option is specified, longitudes on
	      Jupiter  will  be	 calculated  in	System II coordinates.	By de-
	      fault, longitudes	are  calculated	 in  System  III  coordinates.
	      When  using  this	option,	use an image map for Jupiter where the
	      center of	the GRS	is at the pixel	0 column, or the left side  of
	      the image.

       -hibernate seconds
	      After  the screen	has been idle for the specified	number of sec-
	      onds, xplanet will sleep.	 This option requires xplanet to  have
	      been compiled with the X Screensaver extension.

       -idlewait seconds
	      Don't run	Xplanet	unless the screen has been idle	for the	speci-
	      fied  number  of	seconds.  This option requires xplanet to have
	      been compiled with the X Screensaver extension.

       -interpolate_origin_file
	      This option is only useful in conjunction	with -origin_file.  It
	      computes the observer position at	the current time  by  interpo-
	      lating  between  values  specified  in the origin	file.  This is
	      useful if	you have spacecraft positions tabulated	in  an	origin
	      file, but	want a real time view.

       -jdate Julian date
	      Use the specified	Julian date instead of the current local time.

       -label Display a	label in the upper right corner.

       -labelpos
	      Specify  the  location  of the label using the standard X	window
	      geometry syntax.	The default position is	"-15+15", or 15	pixels
	      to the left and below the	top right corner of the	display.  This
	      option implies -label.

       -label_altitude
	      Display the altitude above the surface instead of	distance  from
	      the body center in the label.

       -label_body body
	      Use the specified	body to	calculate the sub-observer, sub-solar,
	      and  illumination	 values	in the label.  This is useful with the
	      -separation option.

       -label_string
	      Specify the text of the first line of the	label.	By default, it
	      says something like "Looking at Earth".	Any  instances	of  %t
	      will  be	replaced  by  the target name, and any instances of %o
	      will be replaced by the origin name.

       -latitude latitude
	      Render the target	body as	seen from above	the specified latitude
	      (in degrees).  The default value is 0.

       -light_time
	      Account for the time it takes for	light to travel	from the  tar-
	      get  body	to the observer.  The default is to ignore the effects
	      of light time.

       -localtime localtime
	      Place the	observer above the longitude where the local  time  is
	      the specified value.  0 is midnight and 12 is noon.

       -log_magstep step
	      Increase	the  brightness	 of a star by 10^step for each integer
	      decrease in magnitude.  The default value	is  0.4.   This	 means
	      that  a star of magnitude	2 is 10^0.4 (about 2.5)	times brighter
	      than a star  of  magnitude  3.   A  larger  number  makes	 stars
	      brighter.

       -longitude longitude
	      Place  the  observer above the specified longitude (in degrees).
	      Longitude	is positive going east,	negative going west  (for  the
	      earth  and  moon), so for	example	Los Angeles is at -118 or 242.
	      The default value	is 0.

       -make_cloud_maps
	      If there is an entry in the config file for  cloud_map,  xplanet
	      will  output a day and night image with clouds overlaid and then
	      exit.  The images	will be	created	in the directory specified  by
	      -tmpdir,	or  in	the  current directory if -tmpdir is not used.
	      The names	of the output images  default  to  day_clouds.jpg  and
	      night_clouds.jpg,	 but may be changed by the -output option.  If
	      "-output filename.extension" is  specified,  the	output	images
	      will  be	named "day_filename.extension" and "night_filename.ex-
	      tension".	 The dimensions	of the output images are the  same  as
	      the day image.

       -marker_file
	      Specify  a  file	containing user	defined	marker data to display
	      against the background stars. The	format of each line is	gener-
	      ally declination,	right ascension, string, as in the example be-
	      low:

	      -16.7161 6.7525 "Sirius"

	      For   additional	 options  which	 may  be  specified,  see  the
	      marker_file entry	in README.config.  This	option has  no	effect
	      if  -projection is specified.  This option is not	meant for city
	      markers; for that	use the	marker_file option in  the  configura-
	      tion file.

       -markerbounds filename
	      Write  coordinates  of the bounding box for each marker to file-
	      name.  This might	be useful if you're using xplanet to make  im-
	      agemaps for web pages.  Each line	looks like:

	      204,312 277,324 Los Angeles

	      where  the  coordinates  are  for	the upper left and lower right
	      corners of the box.  This	file gets rewritten every time xplanet
	      renders its image.

       -north north_type
	      This option  rotates  the	 image	so  that  the  top  points  to
	      north_type.  Valid values	for north_type are:

	      body:	   body's north	pole
	      galactic:	   galactic north pole
	      orbit:	   body's orbital north	pole (perpendicular to the orbit plane)
	      path:	   origin's velocity vector  (also see -path_relative_to option)
	      separation:  perpendicular to the	line of	sight and the
			   target-separation target line (see -separation option)

	      The default value	is "body".

       -num_times num_times
	      Run  num_times  before  exiting.	 The default is	to run indefi-
	      nitely.

       -origin body
	      Place the	observer at the	center of the specified	 body.	 Valid
	      values  are the same as for -target.  In addition, "above", "be-
	      low", or "system"	may be specified.  Using  "above"  or  "below"
	      centers  the view	on the body's primary and the field of view is
	      large enough to show the body's orbit.   Using  "system"	places
	      the  observer  at	the center of a	random body in the same	system
	      as the target body.  Two bodies are in the same system if	one of
	      the following is true:

	       1) target and origin have same primary
	       2) target is origin's primary
	       3) origin is target's primary

	      If the body name is preceded by a	dash, the observer  is	placed
	      on  the opposite side of the target from the specified body at a
	      distance equal to	the distance between the target	and body.  For
	      example, -target earth -origin sun places	the  observer  at  the
	      center  of  the sun.  If -target earth -origin -sun is used, the
	      observer is placed on a line connecting the centers of the earth
	      and sun at a distance of 1 AU farther  from  the	sun  than  the
	      earth.

       -origin_file origin_file
	      Specify  a list of observer positions in origin_file.  The posi-
	      tions are	relative to the	body specified with  -origin  (by  de-
	      fault, this is the Sun).	Each line should be of the form

	      YYYYMMDD.HHMMSS range lat	lon localtime

	      For example,

	      19951207.120000	  10.328   -3.018   97.709    9.595

	      Range  is	 in  planetary	radii, and lat and lon are in degrees.
	      The date is the only  required  value.   If  the	localtime  (in
	      hours)  is  supplied, it will be used in place of	the longitude.
	      For each line in the origin file,	the observer is	placed at  the
	      specified	position, relative to the body specified with -origin.
	      This  option is useful for showing spacecraft flybys or orbiting
	      around a planet.	Any line with a	# in the first column  is  ig-
	      nored.

       -output filename
	      Output  to  a  file  instead of rendering	to a window.  The file
	      format is	taken from the extension. Currently .gif, .jpg,	 .ppm,
	      .png,  and .tiff images can be created, if xplanet has been com-
	      piled with the appropriate libraries.  The image	size  defaults
	      to  512  by  512 pixels but this may be changed by the -geometry
	      flag. If used with the -num_times	option,	each output file  will
	      be numbered sequentially.

       -output_map filename
	      Output  the  intermediate	rectangular map	that is	created	in the
	      process of rendering the final image.  It	will have the same di-
	      mensions as the default day map.

       -output_start_index index
	      Start numbering output files at index.  The default is 0.

       -pango Use the Pango (http://www.pango.org) library for	rendering  in-
	      ternationalized  text.  Pango uses Unicode for all of its	encod-
	      ing, and will eventually support output in all the worlds	 major
	      languages.   If  xplanet has not been compiled with this library
	      this option will be ignored.  There appear to be memory leaks in
	      the pango	library, so I don't recommend letting xplanet run  in-
	      definitely with this option.

       -path_relative_to body
	      Only used	with -north path or -target path.  The origin's	veloc-
	      ity vector is calculated relative	to the specified body.	By de-
	      fault, this is the Sun.

       -post_command command

       -prev_command command
	      Run  command either before or after each time xplanet renders an
	      image.  On MS Windows, you may need  to  use  unix-style	paths.
	      For example:

	      xplanet.exe -prev_command	./prev.bat

       -print_ephemeris
	      Print   the   heliocentric  rectangular  equatorial  coordinates
	      (J2000) for each body xplanet knows about, and then exit.

       -projection projection_type
	      The projection type may be one  of  ancient,  azimuthal,	bonne,
	      equal_area,  gnomonic, hemisphere, lambert, mercator, mollweide,
	      orthographic, peters, polyconic, rectangular, or tsc.   The  de-
	      fault  is	 no  projection.  Multiple bodies will not be shown if
	      this option is specified,	although shadows will still be drawn.

       -proj_param value
	      Pass additional parameters for some projections.	The only  pro-
	      jections	that  use  this	 option	at present are the Bonne, Gno-
	      monic, and Mercator projections.	The Bonne projection  is  con-
	      formal at	the specified latitude.	 Higher	values lead to a thin-
	      ner  heart  shape.  The default is 50 degrees.  The Gnomonic and
	      Mercator projections use the specified latitude  as  the	bound-
	      aries  of	 the  projection.  The defaults	are 45 and 80 degrees,
	      respectively.  This option may be	used more than once for	future
	      projections that require additional parameters.  Only the	 first
	      value is used at present.

       -quality	quality
	      This option is only used when creating JPEG images.  The quality
	      can range	from 0 to 100.	The default value is 80.

       -radius radius
	      Specify  the  radius  of	the  globe  as a percent of the	screen
	      height.  The default value is 45%	of the	screen	height.	  When
	      drawing  Saturn,	the  radius value applies to the radius	of the
	      outer ring.

       -random
	      Place the	observer above a random	latitude and longitude.

       -range range
	      Render the globe as seen from  a	distance  of  range  from  the
	      planet's	center,	in units of the	planetary radius.  The default
	      value is 1000.  Note that	if you use very	close ranges the field
	      of view of the screen can	be greater than	180 degrees!   If  you
	      want an "up close" image use the -radius option.

       -rotate angle
	      Rotate the globe by angle	degrees	counterclockwise so that north
	      (as  defined  by the -north argument) isn't at the top.  The de-
	      fault value is 0.	 My friends in the Southern Hemisphere can use
	      -rotate 180 to make the earth look like it should!  For  non-or-
	      thographic projections, the globe	is rotated and then projected,
	      if that helps you	visualize what to expect.

       -save_desktop_file
	      On Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X, xplanet creates an intermedi-
	      ate image	file which is used to set the desktop.	This file will
	      be  created in the -tmpdir directory.  By	default, this image is
	      removed after the	desktop	has been set.  Specifying this	option
	      will leave the file in place.

       -searchdir directory
	      Any files	used by	xplanet	should be placed in one	of the follow-
	      ing   directories	 depending  on	its  type:  "arcs",  "config",
	      "ephemeris", "fonts",  "images",	"markers",  "origin",  "satel-
	      lites", or "stars".  By default, xplanet will look for a file in
	      the following order:

	      The current directory
	      searchdir
	      subdirectories of	searchdir
	      subdirectories of	xplanet	(if it exists in the current directory)
	      subdirectories of	${HOME}/.xplanet on X11
	      subdirectories of	${HOME}/Library/Xplanet	on Mac OS X
	      subdirectories of	DATADIR/xplanet

	      DATADIR is set at	compile	time and defaults to /usr/local/share.

       -separation body:dist
	      Place  the  observer at a	location where the target body and the
	      separation body are dist degrees apart.	For  example  "-target
	      earth  -separation  moon:-3" means place the observer at a loca-
	      tion where the moon appears 3 degrees to the left	of the earth.

       -spice_ephemeris	index
	      Use SPICE	kernels	to compute the position	 of  the  named	 body.
	      The  index  is  the  naif	 ID  code (e.g.	599 for	Jupiter).  The
	      -spice_file option must be used to supply	the names of the  ker-
	      nel files.  This option may be used more than once for different
	      bodies.

       -spice_file spice_file
	      Specify  a file containing a list	of objects to display.	A file
	      containing a list	of SPICE kernels to read named	spice_file.krn
	      must exist along with spice_file.	 See the README	in the "spice"
	      subdirectory for more information.

       -starfreq frequency
	      Fraction	of  background pixels that will	be colored white.  The
	      default value is 0.001.  This option is only meaningful with the
	      azimuthal, mollweide, orthographic, and peters projections.

       -starmap	starmap
	      Use starmap to draw the background stars.	 This file should be a
	      text file	where each line	has the	following format:

	      Declination, Right Ascension, Magnitude

	      where Declination	is in decimal degrees and Right	 Ascension  is
	      in decimal hours.	 For example, the entry	for Sirius is

	      -16.7161	6.7525 -1.46

	      See  the description of -searchdir to see	where xplanet looks in
	      order to find the	star map.

       -target target
	      Same as -body.

       -tt    Use terrestrial time instead of universal	time.  The two	differ
	      slightly	due to the non-uniform rotation	of the earth.  The de-
	      fault is to use universal	time.

       -timewarp
	      As in xearth, scale the apparent rate at which  time  progresses
	      by factor.  The default is 1.

       -tmpdir tmpdir
	      Specify  a  directory that xplanet will use to place images cre-
	      ated using -make_cloud_maps.  On Microsoft Windows, xplanet will
	      write a bitmap file called xplanet.bmp to	the  specified	direc-
	      tory.  The default is the	result of the GetWindowsDirectory call
	      (C:WINDOWS  on  Win95).  On Mac OS X, xplanet will create	an in-
	      termediate PNG file in order to set the background.  The default
	      value is /tmp.  On Windows and Mac OS X, the  intermediate  file
	      will  be	removed	unless the -save_desktop_file option is	speci-
	      fied.

       -transparency
	      Update the background pixmap for transparent Eterms and  aterms.
	      This option only works under X11.

       -transpng filename
	      Same  as	the  -output  option,  except set the background to be
	      transparent when writing a PNG file.

       -utclabel
	      Same as -gmtlabel.

       -verbosity level

	      level	 output
	      <	0	 only fatal error messages
	      0		 non-fatal warning messages
	      1		 basic information
	      2		 basic diagnostics
	      3		 more detailed diagnostics
	      4		 very detailed diagnostics

	      The default value	is 0.

       -version
	      Display current version information, along with a	list  of  com-
	      pile-time	options	that xplanet supports.

       -vroot Render  the  image to the	virtual	root window.  Some window man-
	      agers use	one big	window that sits over the real root window  as
	      their  background	window.	 Xscreensaver uses a virtual root win-
	      dow to cover the screen as well.

       -wait wait
	      Update every wait	seconds.

       -window
	      Render the image to its own X window.  The size defaults to  512
	      by 512 pixels but	this may be set	by the -geometry flag.

       -window-id ID
	      When using the X11 windowing system, draw	to the window with the
	      specified	ID.

       -window_title title
	      Set the window's title to	title.	This option implies -window.

       -XID ID
	      Same as -window-id.

       -xscreensaver
	      Same as -vroot.

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