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Brief instructions: Enter RA and Dec in degrees, in decimal notation. RA should be between 0 and 360. Dec should be between -90 and 90.
The point of view can be shifted from the earth, using the Disp (displacement) parameter. This displacement is in parsecs and moves the point of view in the direction given by RA and Dec. It should be between -1000 and 1000. (The views will of course be increasingly inaccurate as the displacement goes up.)
M_Adj adjusts the magnitudes of the stars. Negative numbers brighten the stars; a value of -2 makes each star approximately 6 times as bright. This parameter should be between -8 and 8. Mag adjusts the magnification of the view. The stereo view at magnification 1 is approximately 16 degrees by 20 degrees and decreases proportionally to the magnification. Mag should be between 0.5 and 1000.
This interface is still alpha quality. The results take a long time to load; I will try to improve this in the not-too-distant future. Incidentally, I get better results when I use a helper program to view these stereograms than when Netscape shows them. Your mileage may of course vary.
Here are some possible things to look at:
The Big Dipper, from our own vantage point.
RA: 188
Dec: 56
Disp: 0
M_Adj: -1
Mag: 0.5
The Pleiades, from 25 parsecs away.
RA: 57
Dec: 24
Disp: 90
M_Adj: 0
Mag: 0.8
The Hyades, from nearly the point of view of Aldebaran. As seen on p. 40 of the June 1999 issue of Sky and Telescope.
RA: 67
Dec: 17
Disp: 20
M_Adj: -1
Mag: 1
A view of the sun--the fifth magnitude star at the exact center of the frame--with the faint stars of Pisces as backdrop. This is from 10 parsecs in the direction opposite from RA 0, Dec 0.
RA: 0
Dec: 0
Disp: -10
M_Adj: 0
Mag: 0.5
Copyright (c) 1998 Brian Tung