BinaryMaker - Create Binary Star Systems
Simulates the orbital motion of binary stars. You can specify the mass and other characteristics of the two stars, and specify the orbital elements. These can be saved in files referred to as star files. 12 files for well-known binary stars are provided or create your own.
BinaryMaker uses six windows. Two Sky Display windows provide X-Y and Z-Y coordinate views. The Data Tables window provides data on the stars, the orbit, and the current position of the stars. The View Angle window has scroll bars allowing you to change the direction from which the binary star is viewed. The Radial Velocity window shows a graph of the radial velocity of both stars. The Luminosity window, appropriate for eclipsing binaries, shows a graph of the intensity as observed at the earth.
The X-Y view is the view as seen from the earth, with North at the bottom and East on the right. With this orientation, the orbits will appear as they are displayed in Burnhams Celestial Handbook. The Z-Y view, which normally views the orbit as it would be seen from above the X-Y window, can be revised to produce a 3-dimensional view of the orbits. Three of the orbital elements specify the orientation of the binary orbit in space with respect to an observer. These are the inclination, the longitude of the ascending node, and the longitude of periastron. The View Angle window allows you to quickly alter these elements to see what the orbit would look like from a different direction. Simply slide the scroll bars on any of the three values.
The Radial Velocity Window shows a plot of the radial velocity of both stars as a function of orbital phase. The Data Tables window provides data on the current binary star system in three pages. The Star Data table gives information on the primary and secondary star. The Orbital Elements table specifies the standard orbital elements, and the distance to the stars in parsecs. The Current Position table gives the current simulation time and the position of the secondary star in the plane of the orbit and in the plane of the sky. With BinaryMaker you will have an advanced program for binary studies and a fun learning tool!
IBM & compatibles, Windows 2000/XP/Vista $49.95
