Using the Phase Manager 
Clicking
the Phase Icon opens the Phases
Dialog, and Lunar Map ProTM
adds the current lunar phase to the map display.
The
Phases Dialog is designed to display one Lunation
at a time, (a complete monthly
cycle of lunar phases). In the following
example, take a look at the Phase
Selector. It is showing you at a
glance that the terminator has passed First Quarter, and is advancing towards
Full Moon. This lets you know instantly,
that the moon is waxing.
The green arrows on the
Phases Dialog move the lunar cycle forward or backward, by one lunation cycle
per mouse click. This makes it easy to
find the correct time and date for: New
Moon - First Quarter - Full Moon - Last Quarter, for any month that you
choose. The Phase Manager also provides
pop-up hints that make navigation easier.
Of course, you can also
set the phase anywhere in between the pictured phases. Just use your mouse to drag the slider on the
Phases Dialog. In the next example, the
slider has been moved to about halfway between New Moon and First Quarter. When you release the slider, the phase display
is changed, along with the state of libration shown on the map, and the
information in both the Time and Ephemeris Dialogs.
According to the Time
Dialog, the slider position (shown above),
corresponds to a waxing crescent on
If the Time and Phases
Dialogs are open at the same time, you can watch the time and date change by
moving the slider, or watch the phase change by setting a new time.
Moving the slider to a
position directly below any phase icon provides the correct time and date for
the phase pictured. In the next example,
First Quarter occurs on
Adjusting the Phases
Dialog Box is excellent for making quick, coarse phase changes. You can achieve accuracy of about three
hours, depending upon your skills with your mouse.
In some instances, you
will need to make more precise adjustments, which means working with the Time
Dialog. For date changes, place your
cursor on the arrow next to the Date
Window, and click the arrow, to bring up a small calendar. Click on a new date, and then click Apply.
Clicking the arrows on
either side of the calendar advances the calendar forwards or backwards in
monthly increments.
Clicking on the Year, allows you to use the up and down
arrows to change the calendar in yearly increments.
To change the time, use
your mouse to highlight either hours or minutes in the Time Window, and use the up and down arrows to make the time
change.
NOTE: The software permits you to select any time
and date between
If you want to set a phase based upon Colongitude, you can enter changes to the Time Dialog and observe the changes in Colongitude on the Ephemeris Dialog. You can then tweak the time and date information, until the Ephemeris displays the Colongitude setting that you desire. For more information about Colongitude, please refer to the Help Menu Glossary.
To return all dialog
boxes to the current computer clock settings, click the Current Button, on the Time Dialog, or close the Time Dialog, and
reopen it.
Phase Mask Options
The Phases Dialog also provides
you with the capability of choosing the opacity of the Phase Mask. When a texture map is used, you can simply
slide the Dark Side Transparency
Selector in 5% increments, between 0 and 100%, until the phase appearance
suits your personal taste. In the
following example, the phase mask is set to Opaque.
In the example below,
the phase mask transparency is set to 60%.
If the slider was moved all the way to Transparent, the phase would no
longer be visible.
When a vector map is
used, the Dark Slide Transparency
Selector operates a bit differently.
Setting the selector to Opaque will still result in a black phase mask,
as shown below.
Moving the selector anywhere between the mark
representing Opaque, and the mark representing Transparent, will result in a
lined (see through) phase mask.
If the slider is moved
all the way to Transparent, only the terminator line will remain visible.