To help you realise the full potential of RedShift 4 we have created a number of workspaces that you can download and use. From these scenarios you can explore the universe and the power of RedShift.

In all the workspaces using multiple windows the navigation panels have been disabled in all but one window. The sky filters panel and cursor tools panel have been disabled in all windows. To reactivate these panels in the relevant window either select them from under Guides and Navigation on the system menu bar or do a right mouse click in the relevant Sky Window and select the panel of choice from the menu.

In all the Workspaces the scenarios have been set and a suitable starting time span set. All you need to do is click on the step time forward or advance time continuously buttons on the navigation panels.

To download the file click on the title.

Alignment

Shows an interesting planetary alignment from October 1997 where six of the planets and the moon were visible in the southern sky shortly after sunset. Sky Window 1 gives the view from London. Sky Window 2 shows the whole Solar System and Sky Window 3 the inner Solar System as far as the orbit of Mars.

The scenario is best viewed by stepping intially through in days. Once you have decided an optimum viewing date change the time step to minutes to obtain the best view.

You might want to stand change your viewing location to the planet Neptune and see if you observe a simliar alignment.

Analemma

The analemma is the path mapped out by the Sun on the sky if its position is recorded at the same time every day. The position of the Sun varies because the Earth's rotation axis is not perpendicular to its orbit and the orbit itself is slightly elliptical.

Andromeda

Andromeda shows how you can alter the display properties in RedShift 4.

Sky Window 1 shows a view of the night sky with galaxies displayed as icons. The icons are located at the center of the object.

Sky Window 2 shows a view of the night sky with galaxies displayed as areas. The area corresponds to the physical dimensions of the galaxy.

Sky Window 2 shows a view of the night sky with galaxies displayed as real images. Throughout RedShift 4 a number of objects are represented on the sky in real colour using images from the Photo Gallery.

Galileo

Galileo places you onboard the Galileo orbiter currently in orbit around Jupiter. You start in September 1996 just before the orbiter's first encounter with Jupiter.

The main backdrop shows the relative positions of the moons of Jupiter and the orbital path of Galileo.

The four other windows are effectively individual cameras on the orbiter pointing continuously at the four largest moons of Jupiter (Galilean satellites).

There are timespans of a few months between enounters, which usually only last a few minutes. To optimise viewing set the time step to as little as 15 minutes and sit back and watch. Alternatively you can alter the time step from a few minutes to a few days. The position of the orbiter is continuously displayed so it is relative easy to see if an encounter is likely to happen.

The position of the orbiter can only be displayed from 19/10/1989 until 01/02/2000.

If you want to watch the full inflight movie click here to download an alternative version that contains an extra window. Starting on 19/10/1989 you can also watch the planetary flybys that were used to gravitationally assist the Galileo satellite on its way to Jupiter.

Jupiter

The Jupiter workspace allows you to view the motion of the moons of the Jovian system from a number of different vantage points.

The top window places you high above the north pole of Jupiter looking back down on the planet and its four largest moons.

The lower left window is the view from Earth with the orbits of the moons also shown.

The lower right window shows the view from above the surface of the moon Ganymede.

Solar Eclipse 1999

The Solar Eclipse of 1999 passed across Europe and Asia. Having begun out over the Atlantic Ocean the first point of land the eclipse encountered was the south western extreme of the UK. For the simulation of the eclipse you are located on the Lizard the southern most point of mainland UK.

The top left window shows a zoomed in view of the Sun and the Moon.

The top right window shows the view of western Europe for an altitude of 19 000 km (3 Earth radii).

The bottom window is a view from the Sun with the Moon is seen to transit the Earth.

Lunar Eclipse 2000

In January this year a Lunar Eclipse was visible over the United States of America. This simulation locates you in New York on the evening of January 20th at 10 PM local time. In the other window is a view of the Earth from the centre of the Lunar surface. As time advances you can observe the a Lunar eclipse on Earth and a Solar eclipse on the Moon!

Mars

All the planets take a different amount of time to orbit the Sun. Because of these differences the paths of the planets across the sky, as viewed from Earth, are not simple. Every so often the planets show retrograde motion across the sky. Retrograde motion means they move in the opposite direction, relative to the background stars, than they usually do.

In the left window you are located in Santiago, Chile, at 01:30 in the morning on New Year's day 2001. By advancing the time you can observe the poisiton of Mars across the sky throughout the year.

In the right hand window it is possible to see the relative orbital positions of the Earth and Mars over the same period. As the Earth "catches" Mars in early May its position on the sky starts to move backwards and continues to do so for a couple of months. By mid-July the Earth has moved clear of Mars and the forward motion across the sky is restored.

Phobos

See a view of the Phobos moon as seen from Russian spacecraft PHOBOS-2 at a close distance (~ 300 km) in March 1989

Precession

Precession of the Earth's axis is cause because the Earth itself is spining and being gravitationally influenced by other objects in the Solar System. Over a period of 25 800 years the Earth's axis traces out a cone across the sky with an angular radius of just over 23 degrees. One of the effects of precession is for the position of the "Pole Star" to change. It is currently fairly close to the star Polaris in Ursa Minor. In 13 000 years time it will be the bright star Vega. A more detailed description on Precession can be found in the Dictionary of Astronomy.

The three windows show the position of the celestial north pole at noon on the 1st January in 4713 BC, 2000 AD and 9999 AD.

Seasons

Seasons are caused by the fact that this plane of the equator is tillted by 23.5 degrees relative to the plane of the Earth's orbit. As long as there is a difference between these two planes then a planet will experience seasons. Mercury and Jupiter have virtually no difference between the two planes meaning there are no discernable seasons on these planets. Venus, Uranus and Pluto by contrast have inclinations of greater than 90 degress.

In the left hand window you can view the change in the stars you would see rising over London throughout the year. The top right window shows how the regions of the Earth in sunlight change over the year. The lower right image simply gives the position of the Earth in its orbit around the Sun.

Summer Triangle

If constellation were bring created today the summer triangle might well be one of the them. It is so called becuase of its shape and its position high overhead during the summer nights of the northern hemisphere. It is formed by joining up the bright stars of Deneb in Cygnus, Vega in Lyra and Altair in Aquilla.

Transit

The last transit of Venus across the Sun was in December 1882. It would have been best viewed from somewhere in South America, like Rio de Janerio in Brazil. The left hand window shows a close up of Venus as it transits the Sun. The right hand image shows the position of the Sun and Venus in the sky (with the natural sky colour turned off). The next transit of Venus will take place in 2004.

Pioneer 10

In the 1970's a series of space probes were launched by NASA to explore the outer planets of the Solar System. The first one to be launched was Pioneer 10 in March 1972. The main background window shows the relative position of the satellite along with the planets. The smaller window is effectively an onboard camera recreating the views of the of the Soalr System. Pioneer 10 had a single encounter with Jupiter. The onboard camera switches to Jupiter on 5th October 1973 with closest approach on 3rd/4th Decemeber 1973.

Pioneer 11

Following on from Pioneer 10 was Pioneer 11 launched in April 1973. The main background window shows the relative position of the satellite along with the planets. The smaller window is effectively an onboard camera recreating the views of the of the Soalr System. Pioneer 11 had a dual encounter with Jupiter and Saturn. The onboard camera switches to Jupiter on 6th October 1974 and Saturn on 28th June 1979. Closest approach comes on 3rd Decemeber 1974 and 2nd September 1979 respectively.

Voyager 1

Voyager 1 was launched in Septemeber 1977. The main background window shows the relative position of the satellite along with the planets. The smaller window is effectively an onboard camera recreating the views of the of the Soalr System. Voyager 1 had a dual encounter with Jupiter and Saturn. The onboard camera switches to Jupiter on 15th January 1979 and Saturn on 7th October 1980. Closest approaches come on 5th March 1979 and 13th Novemeber 1980 respectively.

Voyager 2

Voyager 2 was launched in August 1977 (before Voyager 1). The main background window shows the relative position of the satellite along with the planets. The smaller window is effectively an onboard camera recreating the views of the of the Soalr System. Voyager 1 had encounter with Jupiter, Saturn Uranus and Neptune the later 2 being the only visits every made to these planets. The onboard camera switches to Jupiter on 4th May 1979, Saturn on 5th July 1981, Uranus on 5th January 1986 and Neptune on 3rd August 1989. Closest approaches come respectively on 10th July 1979, 26th August 1981, 24th/25th January 1986 and 25th August 1989.