Chart Labels

Chart label options appear when you click the Labels icon. Any changes to the labels take effect immediately once they are selected or unselected. When you change a label, the chart type changes to "Custom", to let you know that the setting is different from any of the existing "prefab" options.

General label options:

  • Coordinate grid: Turns the right ascension/declination grid on or off.
  • Constellation names: Turns constellation names on or off. At wide scales, this puts names near the centers of the constellations. At medium to high chart magnifications, the names identify the constellations occupied by the chart center and the four chart corners.
  • Constellation lines: Turns the official constellation border lines on or off.
  • Star names: Turns common star names (like Sirius or Polaris) on or off.
  • Star catalog IDs: When enabled, all "classic" star catalog designations (Bayer Greek letters, Flamsteed numbers, proper names, and variable star designations) will appear, regardless of any other chart label settings.
  • Abbreviate IDs: By convention, Bayer, Flamsteed, and variable star designations normally include the constellation abbreviation (e.g. δ Cep, 61 Cyg, R CrB). If you're looking at a small area within a constellation, or if there are many stars labeled, this may not be what you want. The "Abbreviate" setting disables the constellation abbreviations, so a label like "61 Cyg" becomes just "61".

Star label options:

  • Deep-sky objects (DSO): Enables deep-sky objects (galaxies, clusters, etc.). Click an object's symbol to reveal extra information.
  • DSO Images: When DSOs are shown, and this option is enabled, selecting a deep-sky object will find its image in the Sloan Digitized Sky Survey (when available) or the Palomar Observatory Digitized Sky Survey and display it near the DSO's symbol.
  • Sunlike stars: When enabled, stars similar to the Sun in spectrum and luminosity will be labeled specially (bright yellow text).
  • Nearby stars: When enabled, all "nearby" stars will be labeled with the star’s distance, in light years, as part of their label (e.g. "Sirius (9 l.y.)"). "Nearby" stars are defined on a per-chart basis and are usually under 50 light years for wide-field charts and 100 or 200 light years for ones at higher magnifications. The exact cutoff is in the Advanced Chart Settings under the "Label stars closer than" setting.
  • Motions: When enabled, and a non-zero time frame for stellar motions is set in the Advanced Chart Settings, markers showing stellar motion are drawn.
  • Variables: When enabled, variable stars are identified with a circle around the usual star symbol, and labeled with their name or catalog designation.

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