Time dialog box (Data | Time)

Click on any control on the above screen to find out more

about it.

The Time dialog box contains options for settings and controlling time. This simple-looking dialog box contains many different methods for setting and controlling time.

Month/Day/Year/Hours/Minutes/Seconds

Use the Month, Day, Year and Time Controls to set these values.

Adjusting Time Using the Analog Clock

See the Analog Clock Control for details about setting the time using this control.

Calendar Control

See the Calendar Control for details about setting the date using this control.

Time Skip Increment

Time Skip Increment List box

TheSky6 allows you to change the rate at which time flows (1x, 50x, or 500x), or specify a fixed increment of time to display positions of objects using the Time Skip Increment dialog box.

Use the Time Skip Increment list box to select from the predefined time skip increments, or manually type any user-defined time skip increment. For example, select 1 week to compute and display the positions of objects at one week intervals, or enter 1d 4h 52m 30s to skip 1 day, 4 hours, 52 minutes, 30 seconds to skip this length of time between successive computations.

The time skip increment can be varied from as little as 0.01 seconds to as many days as you want. When Use Computer's Clock button is pressed, the time skip is set to 1x (real time). This means that the Virtual Sky is shows the positions of the heavens based on the computer's clock. In real time mode, the frequency at which the screen is updated is limited by the Screen Update Frequency settings.

See the tables below for example (and interesting) time skip increments.

Predefined Increments	Description
1x (real time)	Use this option to compute in real time.
1 second	Update every one
1 minute
1 hour
day (diurnal day)
Sunrise	Displays the sky at sunrise each day. The actual time of sunrise occurs at a different time each day.
Sunset	Displays the sky at sunset each day. The actual time of sunset occurs at a different time each day.
23h 56m 04 s (1 sidereal day)	The rotational period of a body relative to the stars. Useful for Earth-based studies of celestial motion.
29 d 12 hr 43 m 12 s (29.53 days)	Moon’s Synodic Period (see below for a definition of synodic.)

User-Defined Time Skip Increments

Select one of the pre-defined increments from the Time Skip Increment list box, or manually enter any time value you want. Type the time value, followed by the letter representing the time unit — d for days, h for hours, m for minutes, s for seconds. Case in insignificant.

Fractional values, like 24.6668h, are okay. Units can also be combined, such as 3d 4h 22m 1s.

Example Increments	Resulting time skip increment
4h 22 m 1 s	Skips 4 hours, 22 minutes and 1 second
100 d	Skips 100 days
24.6668 h	Skips 24 hours, 40 minutes and 48 seconds

Other Interesting Increments

Description

Saros Lunar Cycle

6585d 08h 30m (Saros Lunar Cycle)

Useful for studying repetitive lunation cycles, especially eclipses

Sidereal Year	The orbital period of a body relative to the stars. Useful for Earth-based and 3D Solar System studies.
87d 23h 14m 30s	Mercury’s Sidereal Year
224d 16h 42m	Venus’ Sidereal Year
365d 05h 49m 12s	Earth’s Sidereal Year
686d 22h 34m	Mars’ Sidereal Year
4330.75d	Jupiter’s Sidereal Year
10748d	Saturn’s Sidereal Year
30688.5d	Uranus’ Sidereal Year
59820d	Neptune’s Sidereal Year
90708d	Pluto’s Sidereal Year

Synodic Period	The mean period of repeating Earth-Sun-object alignment. Useful for primarily Earth-based observations, but good for 3D Solar System studies also.
29d 12h 43m 12s (29.53 days)	Moon’s Synodic Period
115d 21h 07m	Mercury’s Synodic Period
583d 22h 16m	Venus’ Synodic Period
779d 22h 48m	Mars’ Synodic Period
398.9d	Jupiter’s Synodic Period
378.1d	Saturn’s Synodic Period
369.7d	Uranus’ Synodic Period
367.5d	Neptune’s Synodic Period
366.7d	Pluto’s Synodic Period

Slider Control

Drag this control to quickly advance or retreat time. The slider control lets you show, for example, the path the a satellite, comet, or minor planet has traveled (or will travel). This can be useful when planning your imaging sessions to predict the optimal location to image an object.

Slider Control Visibility Note

This control is displayed only when time is stopped, and the time skip increment is set to something other than real time, 50X or 500x.

Toolbar

The table below describes each button on the Time dialog box toolbar.

Button	Description
	Sets the date and time back to the beginning of the time skip.
	Continuously move backward in time.
	Step backward in time by one time skip increment.
	Stop time.
	Step forward in time by one time skip increment.
	Continuously move backward in time.
	Show the Object Paths dialog box.
	Use the computer's clock to set the time. Pressing this button sets the Time Skip Increment to 1x (real time) and starts time flowing forward.
	Show the Time Options dialog box.