en:documentation:quick_start_solar_system

# The Solar System

## Guide content

- Installation
- The Chart
- The Solar System
- Deep Sky Objects
- Driving a telescope
- Cartes du Ciel-SkyChart as an application server

## Planets

You can switch on/off the display of the Sun, planets and satellites with the Chart → Show Objects → Show planets dialog box or the icon in the object bar.

Advanced ⇒ In the Setup → Solar system → Planet dialog box, you can choose the appearance options for the Solar system objects, set the Jupiter GRS longitude, set on the Earth shadow (lunar eclipse) and a transparent mode of the planets (occulations).

## Comets

The standard Cartes du Ciel-SkyChart installation contains a sample file of 207 comets that is loaded in the database.

Then you can switch on/off the display of comets with the Chart → Show Objects → Show comets dialog box or the icon in the object bar.

Advanced ⇒ In Setup → Solar system → Comet - Load MPC File dialog box, you can load from MPC site a complete and fresh comets file. In the same dialog box, the tab “Data Maintenance” allows you to manage the comets database and “Add” enables you to add new comet caracteristics.

Tips: If you want to see all the comets in the file on a width angle chart set the following options: “Display as a symbol”, … fainter than magnitude: 99, Show comets 99 magnitude fainter…

## Asteroids

The standard Cartes du Ciel-SkyChart installation contains a sample file of 5000 asteroidsthat is loaded in the database.

You can switch on/off the display of asteroids with the Chart → Show Objects → Show asteroids dialog box or the icon in the object bar.

Advanced ⇒ In Setup → Solar system → Asteroid - Load MPC File dialog box, you can load from the MPC site the complete and fresh asteroids file. Then you have to prepare the monthly data (same dialog box, next tab).
In the same menu, “Data Maintenance” allows you to manage the asteroids database and “Add” allows you to add new asteroid caracteristics.

## Orbits simulation

You can simulate the movement of solar system objects on their orbits by the Setup → Date/Time → Time simulation dialog box.

## Twilight simulation

You can simulate the twilight colour by the Setup → Display → Sky colour dialog box (radio button “Fixed Black” or “Automatic”) or by the icon in the object bar.

Advanced ⇒ In the same dialog box, you can set twilight colour or fixed colour as you wish.

## Ephemeris

You can obtain ephemeris for solar system objects in the File → Calendar dialog box or the icon in the main bar. This gives you information about twilight, planets, comets, asteroids, lunar and solar eclipses.

Advanced ⇒ In the same dialog box, you can download new solar and lunar eclipse predictions by Fred Espenak from NASA Eclipse Web Site.
You can also modify the colour of comets, asteroids and orbits in Setup → Display → Display colour and the twilight and sky background colour in Setup → Display → Sky background colour.