v4.0a:Documentation update. 1 change in 68k version only. (Nov-2006)
v4.0: Version change, AmigaOS 2.0.4+ (V37) now supported. (Oct-2006)
Database and ARexx support added; at least 51 changes.
New features, improvements, fixes. Details in the guide.
FIX - light-time correction was faulty for geoc/topoc positions. (FIXED)
The bug caused errors in longitudes of planets upto 20" of arc. :(
v3.6: Bugfix version, 3 changes. (May-2006)
v3.5: Regular 6-months-update version, at least 35 changes. (May-2006)
New features, improvements, fixes.Details in the guide.
v3.0: First public release. (Dec-2005)
Purpose:
The ASense is a PROFESSIONAL ASTROLOGY SOFTWARE, intended to be used by
a single astrologer, or by a person interested in astrology.It may also
be used by an amateur astronomer to get an up-to-date picture of a sky.
IF CORRECTLY USED BY A SKILLED PERSON, IT EARNS ITSELF IN A SINGLE DAY.
(Otherwise one must spend some time reading the manual...)
Name:
"Asense is a Drosophila neural precursor gene and is capable of initiating
sense organ formation." - the allegory is that this software is capable
to make the end user aware of the astrological events that take place
on the sky and of possible benefits that their analysis may bring.
The other allegory is that the end users should be as numerous as
the fruit flies are... :-)
Documentation:
For conveniance, the manual has been split in 2 parts, one that handles
the GUI and astrology part of the software, and the other which focuses
on astronomical data about the planets and their satellites, stars, and
the solar system in general.The portion of a guide devoted to astronomy
contains no astrology at all, except for the keywords about the objects.
Requirements:
- Amiga OS 2.0.4+ or equivalent emulation (OS 3.0+ recommended),
- Basic knowledge of astrology.
Installation:
- It is already installed in it's own directory.
Localization:
- built-in language is english.
Distribution: COMMERCIAL
- DEMO version of ASense is freely distributable, if in original form.
Author: Jim Sunrise, (C) 2005, 2006 Jim Sunrise, all rights reserved.
Highlights:
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- NEW! The Altitude house system, designed to become the ultimate one
- NEW! Special theory of aspects, applied and explained
- ability to create exactly 4400 chart types with only few mouse clicks
(by using a single date, that is), and 272 different ways to draw them
- ability to generate 28800 kinds of ephemeris from a single (variable)
set of objects, and to present each one in 70 different formats.
- NEW! The ASense chart style, designed by a professional designer
(picture speaks a 1,000 words)
- extended database of stars, with many fine details about them
- an up-to-date astronomical guide of objects involved, with several
additional interesting essays ('Evolution of the solar system',...)
- To comemorate the 150th anniversary from the birth of Nikola Tesla,
his birth chart(s) were used as an example.
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/// Features (hopefuly, an exhaustive list)
Features: (+ sign indicates an especially advanced and unique feature)
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NOTE: some of the features below are not used in astrology, but may
be very useful for amateur astronomers and sky watchers.
+ UNIQUE chart style, designed by a professional designer.
'A picture speaks a thousand words.' - It has been taken good care that
the chart picture presented to you at the end, really does exactly that.
NOTE: ASense chart style is copyrighted. If you wish to reproduce it
in your own software, then please read the 'Legal' part of the manual.
Zodiacs:
- tropical, sidereal, draconic, sidereal draconic zodiacs,
+ accurate and classic sidereal calculations,
+ accurate (sidereal or not) draconic zodiac (projected to lunar orbit),
- 21 built-in classic sidereal zodiacs and 5 built-in accurate ones,
- ability to define your own sidereal zodiacs (both accurate and classic).
House systems:
+ Altitude (dynamic) and altitude (static) flavours of a house system which
is designed by the author of this software with the aim to become the
Ultimate house system. This is a very NEW and UNIQUE feature,
- Krusinski house system, a competitive newly proposed house system,
the first one to use a complex transformation to compute the houses,
- 17 other classical house systems (Topocentric, Gauquelin Sectors,
Placidus, Morinus, Regiomontanus, Campanus, Alcabitus, Porphyry,
Neo-Porphyry, Koch (a.k.a. Birthplace), Horizon (a.k.a. Azimuth),
Meridian (a.k.a. Axial Rotation), Whole, Vehlow, Ptolemy,
Equal from MC, Equal from Asc.
- Angles (Asc, MC, Desc, IC), Vertex, Equatorial Asc.
Charts:
- topocentric, geocentric, heliocentric or solar system barycentric charts,
- apparent, astrometric, true (a.k.a geometric), or virtual positions,
- ability to turn on/off light-time correction, gravity deflection,
aberration, precession, nutation and refraction,
- traditional or accurate (with nutation eliminated) sidereal modes.
- natal chart (surprise, surprise),
- offset charts - ability to manualy do a step-by-step chart animation by
- time (seconds/minutes/hours/days/months/years/centuries/millenia),
- geo. longitude (hours/minutes/seconds/degrees/arcmins/arcsecs),
- geo. latitude (degrees/arcmins/arcsecs),
- altitude (meters/hectometers/kilometers),
- cycles (solar/lunar returns/solar enneads/progr./directions/transits),
- ability to quickly review the natal chart and to return to offset chart,
- ability to cast offset charts in a ring.
Data input:
- ability to enter data as a single string, instead of many separate
entries. This allow faster manipulation and improves observability.
- support for different date formats.
- ability to require the data to be properly graded with EXTENDED Roden
rating(coordinates are to be graded too) to be able to create charts.
- ability to refuse to cast complex charts with poorly graded data.
Presentation:
- ability to choose the view (sky as viewed from a northern/southern
hemisphere or a combined view, depending on a location from a chart)
- ability to chose a presentation mode:
- normal (1 coordinate) (standard chart type),
- ringed (2 coordinates, 1 radial, 1 circular), with aspects, or
- conic (realistic views of both hemispheres of the sky, without aspects
optionally with stars (2 charts, side-by-side)
- ability to choose a second (radial) coordinate separately
(pair of first/declination/latitude/altitude/refracted altitude)
(This allows charts of long. vs decl. type, ringed or conic.)
Cyclic charts:
- true/mean anomalic/sidereal/tropical/draconic solar returns
- true/mean anomalic/sidereal/tropical/draconic solar enneads
- true/mean anomalic/sidereal/tropical/draconic/synodic lunar returns
- true/mean sidereal/tropical/synodic MC returns
- secondary returns (kinetic returns, anlunars)
- phase returns for sun and moon (a.k.a. synodic/draconic) (obsolete term)
- planetary returns (indirectly supported by time stepping)
- primary, secondary, tertiary and minor progressions
+ total of *861 subtypes of progressions* are available
- primary, secondary and tertiary directions of solar/lunar/Asc/MC arc,
+ total of *3420 subtypes of directions* are available
+ subtypes number depends on a choice of projection (ecl/equ/hor/drac/3D),
and also on definitions of terms year/month/day (tropical, sidereal...)
- normal and precession corrected transits (sidereal transits)
- ability to show cyclic charts in a ring around the natal,
- ability to quickly alter the data for both natal (main) and cyclic charts,
- ability to find and produce cyclic charts valid for a given date/time,
- ability to find and produce cyclic charts valid for a given
date/time/place.
Comparison charts:
- synastry charts (6 types),
- swapped houses (tables),
- mutual aspects (between a chart in a ring and the main (inner) one).
- Davison relationship charts
- ability to use midpoints of individual geographical coordinates or
midpoints on a great circle
- composite charts
- ability to merge individual coordinates or
to find a great circle merge
- coalescent charts
- coalesc on a selected plane (ecl/equ/hor/drac/great circle (3D))
- ability to coalesc only one, or both angular spheric coordinates
- ability to show Davison relationship/composite/coalescent chart in
a ring around the natal (and to find mutual aspects, swap houses...)
Stars:
- star chart (chart of all selected stars, with distances depicted),
- ability to turn on/off different coloring for retrograde stars,
- ability to turn on/off plotting of stars and/or displaying of their data,
- ability to show the stars from a cyclic chart (or natal chart) plotted
on a chart as well, with fancy, meaningfull graphics.
Ephemeris generation:
- versatile ephemeris generator, 5 grades of accuracy (0.1° .. 0.1" of arc),
- compact or normal output
- ephemeris for interval of time
- ephemeris for month, 2 months or a year
- ephemeris for a chart's date/time/place, or for current transits
- ephemeris for user selectable time steps (from 1 second to 1 millenia)
- ephemeris for noon, midnight, or user adjustable time borders
- events: ingresses, stationary times (with accuracy estimates)
- weekdays, sidereal times
- absolute julian date, deltat, true and mean ecliptic obliquity,
nutation in longitude, nutation in obliquity, inclination of lunar orbit
+ ephemeris for 27 different data parameters calculable by this software:
- ecliptical (longitudes (with and without zodiac signs), latitudes,
daily speeds in longitudes and latitudes),
- draconic (within the lunar plane) ('longitudes' and 'latitudes' when
draconic zodiac is selected),
- equatorial (R.A., declinations, daily speeds in R.A, and declinations),
- horizontal (azimuths, altitudes, *refracted* altitudes, daily speeds of
azimuths, altitudes and refracted altitudes),
- daily maximums and minimums of altitudes and refracted altitudes,
- distance and radial speed
- times of risings and settings,
- times of meridian transits (MC and IC transits)
+ times of culminations and of lowest altitudes
- ability to save ephemeris on a selected file
Data Settings:
- ability to adjust the rounding of
- arcs (minutes, seconds, no rounding)
- astronomy units (1, 3, 9 digits)
- magnitudes (1 or 2 digits)
- percentages (percents, promiles, no rounding)
- text (full, abbrev.),
Data:
- absolute julian date, deltat, true and mean ecliptic obliquity,
nutation in longitude, nutation in obliquity, inclination of lunar orbit
- times of risings and settings,
- risings and settings for upper limb, for center or for a lower limb,
- times of meridian transits (MC and IC transits)
+ times of culminations and of lowest altitudes
- angle crossings on a given date, on previous date, on next date, or
on ±half a day around of a given time (±12 hours),
- phase angles and percentages, elongations, apparent diameters, magnitudes,
- defined orbs (as adjusted by the user)
Coordinates:
- ecliptical (longitudes (with and without zodiac signs), latitudes,
daily speeds in longitudes and latitudes),
- draconic (within the lunar plane) ('longitudes' and 'latitudes' when
draconic zodiac is selected),
- equatorial (R.A., declinations, daily speeds in R.A, and declinations),
- horizontal (azimuths, altitudes, *refracted* altitudes, daily speeds of
azimuths, altitudes and refracted altitudes),
- daily maximums and minimums of altitudes and refracted altitudes,
- distance and radial speed
- cartesian ecliptic coordinates with speeds,
- cartesian draconic coordinates with speeds.
- placements within (all) 88 astronomical constellations
- house positions (upto 6 decimal places)
- swap houses positions (chart comparison technique)
Data about aspects:
- delta to 100%, actual angles, percentages,
- orbs of aspects, total orbs, halfed orbs,
- ability to sort aspects (by type, objects, attributes, percentage).
Data about the stars (from stellar catalogs):
- Proper names, synonyms, translations and cross-catalog references
(Bayer/Flamsteed/HR/GCVS-NSV/FKS/HIP/HD/DM/ADS/GC)
- Rot. speeds, parallaxes, errors of parallaxes, distances in ly/pc,
errors of distances in ly/pc,
- variability type(s), periods, epochs of max light, durations of eclipses
- max/min/abs/U-B/B-V/R-I magnitudes,
- order of components,
- spectral types of all components, very detailed, with roughly noted
sizes of mutual orbits and other peculiarites
Derived data about the stars:
- all of the above mentioned coordinates,
- temperatures, radii, visual and total luminosities,
- bolometric correction (difference between total and visual luminosities),
- center of comfort zone (distance from a central star which receives the
same amount of insolation as the Earth does, the liquid-water zone).
- ability to sort stars (by name, HR index, constellation, magnitude,
spectral type, longitude, latitude, R.A., declination, vicinity,
azimuth, altitude, house position).
Objects:
- sun, moon, planets, true and mean lunar nodes, fortuna, angles (objects)
- ability to select which objects are to be included in the chart.
+ 400 named stars (all of them), much more astronomical details about stars
than in other astrology programs, in other to allow better understanding
and felling of their influence (the naming isn't everything, something lies
in appearance too).
- ability to select which groups of stars are to be checked for importance
(choices by magnitude (6 options) and/or by properties (named, bright,
nearby, close, variable, zodiac)).
Accuracy of built-in ephemeris:
- 0.05" of arc, except for Moon, which is 0.5" of arc (a speed compromise).
Range of built-in ephemeris:
- 8000 years (4000 BC - 4000 AD)
Aspects:
- 25 different aspect types (first 12 series, parallels),
- ability to select which aspects are to be included in the chart,
- adjustable planetary orbs,
+ UNIQUE aspect calculation algorithm that handles everything automatically:
- applying / separating aspects (with different handling of each),
- ingoing / outgoing (a.k.a. sinister / dexter aspects),
+ every aspect has a separate orb, based on the harmonics theory.These are
not directly adjustable, since they were made to fully depend on the orbs
of planets involved,
- aspects with or without latitude (a.k.a. 2D / 3D aspects),
- aspects in different planes (2D mode): ecl/equ/hor/drac/3D (great circle)
- ability to force conjunctions only to be computed in 2D (useful for stars)
- ability to turn on/off aspects to angles,
- ability to turn on/off aspects to stars,
- ability to turn on/off very-tight-orbs mode (all orbs are halfed, useful
for messy and low importance charts, like horary ones),
- ability to adjust the threshold of aspects and to reject the wide ones,
- ability to calculate mutual aspects between a main chart and a ringed one,
- ability to draw aspects without displaying the data table about them.
Documentation:
- Special theory of aspects - an almost complete theory of aspects, which
gives answers to all outstanding questions of 'Why?', except that it
doesn't gives the sizes of the orbs... These have to be empirically
determined first (the options exist for that) in order for the theory
to be able to expand to include the results. The stellar orbs are the
important ones and are still being analyzed. This is very UNIQUE.
- guide of planets and stars (astronomy guide)
- an up-to-date astronomical guide of objects involved, with several
additional interesting essays (destiny of the solar system,
history of the Earth,...).
- asynchronous online help
- tips-of-the-day for beginners
- example for novices
- FAQ file
GUI:
- friendly GUI, designed by a professional designer (hundreds of options,
yet most charts are only one or two mouse clicks away),
- no need to remember the meaning of fancy icons (everything has labels),
- ability to control textfields from a numeric keypad
- ability to quickly access important functions by menu shortcuts
- ability to quickly access the most important functions by GUI buttons
- ability to present upto 4 charts at once and to compare them mutually.
- ability to zoom in the fine (messy) details.
- ability to change the screen mode.
- hover help about objects (just point an object to find it's details).
Input / output:
- ability to save the reports
- ability to alter the reports
- ability to save the picture of the chart
- ability to configure everything and save the settings
- ability to adjust the colors (and to save the adjustments)
- ability to iconify (menufy) and to start several copies of the program
simultaneously
Databases:
- Extensive database support.
- all data is forced to be graded with extended Roden rating.
- ability to recall any chart data entered during a session with a single
keypress.
- ability to save and reload data strings entered during a session as
history files
- ability to easily merge the history files with databases
- ability to add records to a database, and to comment them
- ability to filter the records by any recorded parameter, including comments
- 22 databse filtering types, including case sensitive searches
- ability to use multiple set of filters at the same time
- ability to use inclusive or exclusive filtering
- ability to sort loaded database by any recorded parameter.
- ability to browse the records from history and databse buffers with
a single keypress, showing only those which are not blocked by filtering
Scripts:
- ability to control ASense from ARexx
- ability to run ARexx scripts from ASense
- ability to record sequences and to save them as ARexx macros
- an integrated shell for ARexx commands
- at least 38 ARexx commands with many arguments
Support:
+ ability to easily hunt bugs and write debuging reports to developer.
+ statistics of usage (the record is kept about how many times a user has
used every gadget and menu item available). This data may be valuable
to developer to create a better explained and accesible application.
User is asked to send this data as feedback when writing bugreports
or support messages to developer.
Tech:
+ extremely optimised algorithms (the author is a professional optimiser)
+ very small and compact size (low footprint): fits on floppy, works on
10 years old hardware without problems, flawlessly. Requires only 2Mb.
- requires AmigaOS v2.0.4+.
- can work without a HD.
- ability to quit and vanish without traces left in the memory :-)
///
NOTE: Sometimes, the
Readme created with ARC 3.2 - Copyright (c)1996-99 by Jens Weyer.
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