1XPLANET(1) General Commands Manual XPLANET(1)
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6 xplanet - render an image of a planet into an X window or file
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9 xplanet [options]
10
13 Xplanet is similar to Xearth, where an image of the earth is rendered
14 into an X window. All of the major planets and most satellites can be
15 drawn. A number of different map projections are also supported,
16 including azimuthal, Mercator, Mollweide, orthographic, and rectangu‐
17 lar. The latest version can always be found at http://xplanet.source‐
18 forge.net.
19
22 Options need only be specified with enough characters to be unambigu‐
23 ous. Valid options to Xplanet are:
24 -arc_file
27 Specify an arc file to be plotted against the background stars.
28 Each line in the file must have the following syntax:
29 dec1 ra1 dec2 ra2
31 where declination is in degrees and right ascension is in hours.
33 This option has no effect if -projection is specified.
34 -arc_spacing spacing
37 When drawing an arc, draw line segments that are spacing degrees
38 apart. The default is 0.1 degrees. Line segments shorter than
39 spacing will not be drawn.
40 -arc_thickness thickness
43 Specify the thickness of arcs. The default is 1 pixel. When
44 drawing arcs on a planet using the arc_file option in the con‐
45 figuration file, use the arc_thickness option there too.
46 -background background_file
49 Use background_file as the background image, with the planet to
50 be superimposed upon it. A color may also be supplied (e.g.
51 -background "navy blue" or -background 0xff00ff).
52 -base_magnitude magnitude
55 A star of the specified magnitude will have a pixel brightness
56 of 1. The default value is 10. Stars will be drawn more
57 brightly if this number is larger.
58 -body body
61 Render an image of the specified planet or satellite. Valid
62 values for body are sun, mercury, venus, earth, moon, mars, pho‐
63 bos, deimos, jupiter, io, europa, ganymede, callisto, saturn,
64 mimas, enceladus, tethys, dione, rhea, titan, hyperion, iapetus,
65 phoebe, uranus, miranda, ariel, umbriel, titania, oberon, nep‐
66 tune, triton, nereid, pluto, charon, random, and major.
67 The field of view can also be centered on a satellite location
69 using "naif" or "norad", along with the satellite id. For exam‐
70 ple, "-body naif-82" will center the field of view on NAIF ID
71 -82, which is the Cassini orbiter. Xplanet must be compiled
72 with SPICE support and the required kernels must be present.
73 See the README in the spice subdirectory for more details.
74 Using "-body norad20580" will center the field of view on NORAD
75 ID 20580, which is the Hubble Space Telescope. The appropriate
76 TLE files must be present in this case. See the README in the
77 satellites subdirectory for more information.
78 Using "path" will center the field of view on the direction of
80 motion of the origin. This direction is relative to the direc‐
81 tion of motion of the body specified by -path_relative_to.
82 Earth is the default body. This option is the same as -target.
84 -center +x+y
87 Place the center of the rendered body at pixel coordinates (x,
88 y). The upper left corner of the screen is at (0,0). Either x
89 or y may be negative. The default value is the center of the
90 screen.
91 -color color
94 Set the color for the label. The default is "red". Any color
95 in the rgb.txt file may be used. Colors may also be specified
96 by RGB hex values; for example -color 0xff and -color blue mean
97 the same thing, as do -color 0xff0000 and -color red.
98 -config config_file
101 Use the configuration file config_file. The format of con‐
102 fig_file is described in README.config. See the description of
103 -searchdir to see where xplanet looks in order to find the con‐
104 figuration file.
105 -date YYYYMMDD.HHMMSS
108 Use the date specified instead of the current local time. The
109 date is assumed to be GMT.
110 -date_format string
113 Specify the format for the date/time label. This format string
114 is passed to strftime(3). The default is "%c %Z", which shows
115 the date, time, and time zone in the locale's appropriate date
116 and time representation.
117 -dynamic_origin file
120 Specify an observer location. The location is relative to the
121 body specified with -origin (by default, this is the Sun). The
122 last line of the file must be of the form
123 YYYYMMDD.HHMMSS range lat lon localtime
125 For example,
127 19951207.120000 10.328 -3.018 97.709 9.595
129 The specified time is ignored and the current time is used. The
131 range is in planetary radii, and lat and lon are in degrees.
132 Localtime (in hours) is optional, but if present, it will be
133 used in place of the longitude. Only the last line of the file
134 is used. This file may be updated between renderings using a
135 script executed with the -prev_command or -post_command options.
136 -ephemeris_file filename
139 Specify a JPL digital ephemeris file (DE200, DE405, or DE406) to
140 use for computing planetary positions. Xplanet uses Bill Gray's
141 code (http://www.projectpluto.com/jpl_eph.htm), which reads both
142 big and little endian binary files. The ephemeris files found
143 at ftp://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/pub/eph/export/unix are big endian
144 files, but you do not need to do any additional byte-swapping to
145 use them. See the description of -searchdir to see where
146 xplanet looks in order to find the ephemeris file.
147 -font fontname
150 Set the font for the label. Only TrueType fonts are supported.
151 If the -pango option is used, fontname is taken to be the font
152 family name (e.g. "Arial").
153 -fontsize size
156 Specify the point size. The default is 12.
157 -fork Detach from the controlling terminal. This is useful on MS Win‐
160 dows to run xplanet from a batch file without having to keep a
161 DOS window open. Be careful when using this option; it's easy
162 to have multiple processes running at the same time without
163 knowing it - check the Task Manager. On unix systems this is
164 pretty much the same as running xplanet in the background.
165 -fov Specify the field of view, in degrees. This option and the
168 -radius option are mutually exclusive. This option has no
169 effect if the -projection option is used.
170 -geometry string
173 Specify the image geometry using the standard X window geometry
174 syntax, [<width>{xX}<height>][{+-}<xoffset>{+-}<yoffset>] (e.g.
175 256x256-10+10 puts a window 256x256 pixels in size 10 pixels
176 away from the right side and 10 pixels below the top of the root
177 window). The root window outside of the image will be black.
178 This option may be used with -window or -output.
179 -glare radius
182 Draw a glare around the sun with with a radius of the specified
183 value larger than the sun. The default value is 28.
184 -gmtlabel
187 Same as the -label option, but show GMT instead of local time.
188 -grs_longitude lon
191 The longitude of Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS). A typical
192 value is 94 degrees. If this option is specified, longitudes on
193 Jupiter will be calculated in System II coordinates. By
194 default, longitudes are calculated in System III coordinates.
195 When using this option, use an image map for Jupiter where the
196 center of the GRS is at the pixel 0 column, or the left side of
197 the image.
198 -hibernate seconds
201 After the screen has been idle for the specified number of sec‐
202 onds, xplanet will sleep. This option requires xplanet to have
203 been compiled with the X Screensaver extension.
204 -idlewait seconds
207 Don't run Xplanet unless the screen has been idle for the speci‐
208 fied number of seconds. This option requires xplanet to have
209 been compiled with the X Screensaver extension.
210 -interpolate_origin_file
213 This option is only useful in conjunction with -origin_file. It
214 computes the observer position at the current time by interpo‐
215 lating between values specified in the origin file. This is
216 useful if you have spacecraft positions tabulated in an origin
217 file, but want a real time view.
218 -jdate Julian date
221 Use the specified Julian date instead of the current local time.
222 -label Display a label in the upper right corner.
225 -labelpos
228 Specify the location of the label using the standard X window
229 geometry syntax. The default position is "-15+15", or 15 pixels
230 to the left and below the top right corner of the display. This
231 option implies -label.
232 -label_body body
235 Use the specified body to calculate the sub-observer, sub-solar,
236 and illumination values in the label. This is useful with the
237 -separation option.
238 -label_string
241 Specify the text of the first line of the label. By default, it
242 says something like "Looking at Earth". Any instances of %t
243 will be replaced by the target name, and any instances of %o
244 will be replaced by the origin name.
245 -latitude latitude
248 Render the target body as seen from above the specified latitude
249 (in degrees). The default value is 0.
250 -light_time
253 Account for the time it takes for light to travel from the tar‐
254 get body to the observer. The default is to ignore the effects
255 of light time.
256 -localtime localtime
259 Place the observer above the longitude where the local time is
260 the specified value. 0 is midnight and 12 is noon.
261 -log_magstep step
264 Increase the brightness of a star by 10^step for each integer
265 decrease in magnitude. The default value is 0.4. This means
266 that a star of magnitude 2 is 10^0.4 (about 2.5) times brighter
267 than a star of magnitude 3. A larger number makes stars
268 brighter.
269 -longitude longitude
272 Place the observer above the specified longitude (in degrees).
273 Longitude is positive going east, negative going west (for the
274 earth and moon), so for example Los Angeles is at -118 or 242.
275 The default value is 0.
276 -make_cloud_maps
279 If there is an entry in the config file for cloud_map, xplanet
280 will output a day and night image with clouds overlaid and then
281 exit. The images will be created in the directory specified by
282 -tmpdir, or in the current directory if -tmpdir is not used.
283 The names of the output images default to day_clouds.jpg and
284 night_clouds.jpg, but may be changed by the -output option. If
285 "-output filename.extension" is specified, the output images
286 will be named "day_filename.extension" and "night_file‐
287 name.extension". The dimensions of the output images are the
288 same as the day image.
289 -marker_file
292 Specify a file containing user defined marker data to display
293 against the background stars. The format of each line is gener‐
294 ally declination, right ascension, string, as in the example
295 below:
296 -16.7161 6.7525 "Sirius"
298 For additional options which may be specified, see the
300 marker_file entry in README.config. This option has no effect
301 if -projection is specified. This option is not meant for city
302 markers; for that use the marker_file option in the configura‐
303 tion file.
304 -markerbounds filename
307 Write coordinates of the bounding box for each marker to file‐
308 name. This might be useful if you're using xplanet to make
309 imagemaps for web pages. Each line looks like:
310 204,312 277,324 Los Angeles
312 where the coordinates are for the upper left and lower right
314 corners of the box. This file gets rewritten every time xplanet
315 renders its image.
316 -north north_type
319 This option rotates the image so that the top points to
320 north_type. Valid values for north_type are:
321 body: body's north pole
323 galactic: galactic north pole
324 orbit: body's orbital north pole (perpendicular to the orbit plane)
325 path: origin's velocity vector (also see -path_relative_to option)
326 separation: perpendicular to the line of sight and the
327 target-separation target line (see -separation option)
328 The default value is "body".
330 -num_times num_times
333 Run num_times before exiting. The default is to run indefi‐
334 nitely.
335 -origin body
338 Place the observer at the center of the specified body. Valid
339 values are the same as for -target. In addition, "above",
340 "below", or "system" may be specified. Using "above" or "below"
341 centers the view on the body's primary and the field of view is
342 large enough to show the body's orbit. Using "system" places
343 the observer at the center of a random body in the same system
344 as the target body. Two bodies are in the same system if one of
345 the following is true:
346 1) target and origin have same primary
348 2) target is origin's primary
349 3) origin is target's primary
350 If the body name is preceded by a dash, the observer is placed
352 on the opposite side of the target from the specified body at a
353 distance equal to the distance between the target and body. For
354 example, -target earth -origin sun places the observer at the
355 center of the sun. If -target earth -origin -sun is used, the
356 observer is placed on a line connecting the centers of the earth
357 and sun at a distance of 1 AU farther from the sun than the
358 earth.
359 -origin_file origin_file
362 Specify a list of observer positions in origin_file. The posi‐
363 tions are relative to the body specified with -origin (by
364 default, this is the Sun). Each line should be of the form
365 YYYYMMDD.HHMMSS range lat lon localtime
367 For example,
369 19951207.120000 10.328 -3.018 97.709 9.595
371 Range is in planetary radii, and lat and lon are in degrees.
373 The date is the only required value. If the localtime (in
374 hours) is supplied, it will be used in place of the longitude.
375 For each line in the origin file, the observer is placed at the
376 specified position, relative to the body specified with -origin.
377 This option is useful for showing spacecraft flybys or orbiting
378 around a planet. Any line with a # in the first column is
379 ignored.
380 -output filename
383 Output to a file instead of rendering to a window. The file
384 format is taken from the extension. Currently .gif, .jpg, .ppm,
385 .png, and .tiff images can be created, if xplanet has been com‐
386 piled with the appropriate libraries. The image size defaults
387 to 512 by 512 pixels but this may be changed by the -geometry
388 flag. If used with the -num_times option, each output file will
389 be numbered sequentially.
390 -output_map filename
393 Output the intermediate rectangular map that is created in the
394 process of rendering the final image. It will have the same
395 dimensions as the default day map.
396 -output_start_index index
399 Start numbering output files at index. The default is 0.
400 -pango Use the Pango (http://www.pango.org) library for rendering
403 internationalized text. Pango uses Unicode for all of its encod‐
404 ing, and will eventually support output in all the worlds major
405 languages. If xplanet has not been compiled with this library
406 this option will be ignored. There appear to be memory leaks in
407 the pango library, so I don't recommend letting xplanet run
408 indefinitely with this option.
409 -path_relative_to body
412 Only used with -north path or -target path. The origin's veloc‐
413 ity vector is calculated relative to the specified body. By
414 default, this is the Sun.
415 -post_command command
418 -prev_command command
420 Run command either before or after each time xplanet renders an
421 image. On MS Windows, you may need to use unix-style paths.
422 For example:
423 xplanet.exe -prev_command ./prev.bat
425 -print_ephemeris
429 Print the heliocentric rectangular equatorial coordinates
430 (J2000) for each body xplanet knows about, and then exit.
431 -projection projection_type
434 The projection type may be one of ancient, azimuthal, bonne,
435 equal_area, gnomonic, hemisphere, lambert, mercator, mollweide,
436 orthographic, peters, polyconic, rectangular, or tsc. The
437 default is no projection. Multiple bodies will not be shown if
438 this option is specified, although shadows will still be drawn.
439 -proj_param value
442 Pass additional parameters for some projections. The only pro‐
443 jections that use this option at present are the Bonne,
444 Gnomonic, and Mercator projections. The Bonne projection is
445 conformal at the specified latitude. Higher values lead to a
446 thinner heart shape. The default is 50 degrees. The Gnomonic
447 and Mercator projections use the specified latitude as the
448 boundaries of the projection. The defaults are 45 and 80
449 degrees, respectively. This option may be used more than once
450 for future projections that require additional parameters. Only
451 the first value is used at present.
452 -quality quality
455 This option is only used when creating JPEG images. The quality
456 can range from 0 to 100. The default value is 80.
457 -radius radius
460 Specify the radius of the globe as a percent of the screen
461 height. The default value is 45% of the screen height. When
462 drawing Saturn, the radius value applies to the radius of the
463 outer ring.
464 -random
467 Place the observer above a random latitude and longitude.
468 -range range
471 Render the globe as seen from a distance of range from the
472 planet's center, in units of the planetary radius. The default
473 value is 1000. Note that if you use very close ranges the field
474 of view of the screen can be greater than 180 degrees! If you
475 want an "up close" image use the -radius option.
476 -rotate angle
479 Rotate the globe by angle degrees counterclockwise so that north
480 (as defined by the -north argument) isn't at the top. The
481 default value is 0. My friends in the Southern Hemisphere can
482 use -rotate 180 to make the earth look like it should! For non-
483 orthographic projections, the globe is rotated and then pro‐
484 jected, if that helps you visualize what to expect.
485 -save_desktop_file
488 On Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X, xplanet creates an intermedi‐
489 ate image file which is used to set the desktop. This file will
490 be created in the -tmpdir directory. By default, this image is
491 removed after the desktop has been set. Specifying this option
492 will leave the file in place.
493 -searchdir directory
496 Any files used by xplanet should be placed in one of the follow‐
497 ing directories depending on its type: "arcs", "config",
498 "ephemeris", "fonts", "images", "markers", "origin", "satel‐
499 lites", or "stars". By default, xplanet will look for a file in
500 the following order:
501 The current directory
503 searchdir
504 subdirectories of searchdir
505 subdirectories of xplanet (if it exists in the current directory)
506 subdirectories of ${HOME}/.xplanet on X11
507 subdirectories of ${HOME}/Library/Xplanet on Mac OS X
508 subdirectories of DATADIR/xplanet
509 DATADIR is set at compile time and defaults to /usr/local/share.
511 -separation body:dist
514 Place the observer at a location where the target body and the
515 separation body are dist degrees apart. For example "-target
516 earth -separation moon:-3" means place the observer at a loca‐
517 tion where the moon appears 3 degrees to the left of the earth.
518 -spice_ephemeris index
521 Use SPICE kernels to compute the position of the named body.
522 The index is the naif ID code (e.g. 599 for Jupiter). The
523 -spice_file option must be used to supply the names of the ker‐
524 nel files. This option may be used more than once for different
525 bodies.
526 -spice_file spice_file
529 Specify a file containing a list of objects to display. A file
530 containing a list of SPICE kernels to read named spice_file.krn
531 must exist along with spice_file. See the README in the "spice"
532 subdirectory for more information.
533 -starfreq frequency
536 Fraction of background pixels that will be colored white. The
537 default value is 0.001. This option is only meaningful with the
538 azimuthal, mollweide, orthographic, and peters projections.
539 -starmap starmap
542 Use starmap to draw the background stars. This file should be a
543 text file where each line has the following format:
544 Declination, Right Ascension, Magnitude
546 where Declination is in decimal degrees and Right Ascension is
548 in decimal hours. For example, the entry for Sirius is
549 -16.7161 6.7525 -1.46
551 See the description of -searchdir to see where xplanet looks in
553 order to find the star map.
554 -target target
557 Same as -body.
558 -tt Use terrestrial time instead of universal time. The two differ
561 slightly due to the non-uniform rotation of the earth. The
562 default is to use universal time.
563 -timewarp
566 As in xearth, scale the apparent rate at which time progresses
567 by factor. The default is 1.
568 -tmpdir tmpdir
571 Specify a directory that xplanet will use to place images cre‐
572 ated using -make_cloud_maps. On Microsoft Windows, xplanet will
573 write a bitmap file called xplanet.bmp to the specified direc‐
574 tory. The default is the result of the GetWindowsDirectory call
575 (C:WINDOWS on Win95). On Mac OS X, xplanet will create an
576 intermediate PNG file in order to set the background. The
577 default value is /tmp. On Windows and Mac OS X, the intermedi‐
578 ate file will be removed unless the -save_desktop_file option is
579 specified.
580 -transparency
583 Update the background pixmap for transparent Eterms and aterms.
584 This option only works under X11.
585 -transpng filename
588 Same as the -output option, except set the background to be
589 transparent when writing a PNG file.
590 -utclabel
593 Same as -gmtlabel.
594 -verbosity level
597 level output
599 < 0 only fatal error messages
600 0 non-fatal warning messages
601 1 basic information
602 2 basic diagnostics
603 3 more detailed diagnostics
604 4 very detailed diagnostics
605 The default value is 0.
607 -version
610 Display current version information, along with a list of com‐
611 pile-time options that xplanet supports.
612 -vroot Render the image to the virtual root window. Some window man‐
615 agers use one big window that sits over the real root window as
616 their background window. Xscreensaver uses a virtual root win‐
617 dow to cover the screen as well.
618 -wait wait
621 Update every wait seconds.
622 -window
625 Render the image to its own X window. The size defaults to 512
626 by 512 pixels but this may be set by the -geometry flag.
627 -window-id ID
630 When using the X11 windowing system, draw to the window with the
631 specified ID.
632 -window_title title
635 Set the window's title to title. This option implies -window.
636 -XID ID
639 Same as -window-id.
640 -xscreensaver
643 Same as -vroot.
644 XPLANET(1)