AstroGrav iconAstroGrav Help /Menus /Edit /Add Object...Version 5.0.1

Edit / Add Object...   ('Edit / Add Object...' icon)

Operating Systems: All
Window Types: All
Simulation Types: All

Summary

Adds a new object to the frontmost simulation.

Description

When you select this command, a small dialog will first be displayed inviting you to choose a parent for the new object. You can either select no parent, in which case you will be creating a new independent object, or you can select an existing object to be the parent, in which case you will be creating a new child object in orbit around the chosen parent. In the case of a solar system simulation, you can also specify the epoch at which the new object is to be added.

When you select no parent, the object editor will be displayed showing the twelve independent fields that describe a default new independent object. This is an object that is set up independently of other objects using absolute elements, rather than relative to a parent object using orbital elements. The upper block of six fields will be the physical elements, and the lower block of six fields will be the absolute elements that describe the position and velocity of the object. The tabs for editing the rectangular elements and orbital elements are disabled because the new object has no parent. You can edit the visible fields and then choose OK to accept your edits, after which each of the frontmost simulation's open windows will be updated to reflect the change.

When you select an existing object to be the parent, the object editor will be displayed showing the twelve independent fields that describe a default new child object. This is an object that is set up relative to a parent object using orbital elements, rather than independently of other objects using absolute elements. The upper block of six fields will be the physical elements, and the lower block of six fields will be the orbital elements that describe the position and velocity of the object. For the orbital elements, there are multiple options available for most of the fields, giving you many different ways of describing the object's orbit. There are also tabs that allow you to specify the absolute elements or the rectangular elements if you wish. You can edit the visible fields and then choose OK to accept your edits, after which each of the frontmost simulation's open windows will be updated to reflect the change.

In the case of an object that has the Earth as its parent, an additional popup menu is visible, which gives you the choice between expressing the orbital elements relative to the ecliptic, J2000, or JNow. This is very useful for adding Earth satellites whose orbital elements are usually expressed relative to J2000.

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