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arcsecond precision is more than sufficient, but there are cases where the additional level of accuracy in "full precision" is truly necessary. It also allows Guide to claim higher accuracy than other software. Those wanting specific details of Guide's accuracy should look here: http://www.projectpluto.com/accuracy.htm 7c: Planet display When Guide shows a planet or natural satellite, and the field of view is so large that the object would appear as only a few dozen pixels, that object is shown as a small cross-mark labelled with a symbol. You can change its color from the Data Shown dialog, and you can click the "Label planets by name" option in that dialog to cause Guide to use names in place of symbols. The real capabilities in how Guide shows planets only become apparent when you zoom in far enough for the object to show a disk. For many objects, a "bitmapped surface" is provided. Zoom in on, for example, the Moon, or Venus, or Mars, and you get a fairly realistic rendition of its surface. The correct side is oriented to you; phase effects are shown. Zoom in on Jupiter, and any shadows cast on it by its moons will be apparent. Right-click on a planet or natural satellite, and select "Display", and you'll get the usual controls over color, labelling, on/off, and magnitude limits for planets. But when you click on the "Options..." button in that dialog, you get some finer control over how that particular object is shown: [ ]-- Mars -------------------[X] | | | [X] Full precision | | [ ] Label by name | | | | Mars: | | [X] Show features [ ] | | Feature density: [_50_] | | [X] Label features [ ] | | [ ] Lat/lon grid [ ] | | __30_ x __30_ degrees | | | | ( ) Solid color | | (o) Bitmap #1 | | ( ) Bitmap #2 | | ( ) Bitmap #3 | | | | Contrast: [ * ] | | Brightness: [ * ] | | Earthshine: [ 50 ] | | |
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