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| Description: | Graphically displays the phase of the moon, optionally labelled with information. Clicking on the label text cycles through the message formats without a trip to the Preferences panel. There might also be a few other places to click.... |
| Author: | kps |
| Version: | 1.4 |
| New in v1.4: | Fixed for WebKit 3 -- OS X 10.5 Leopard. Adds Japanese localization by Christopher Li. |
| Uploaded on: | March 10th 2008 at 11:54 PM |
| Rating: |
 
(4.28 stars) [Show Detailed Ratings]
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| Downloads: | 13383 (all versions), 3574 (this version) |
Date & Time - DashPhoon
Comments
Credits (until I figure out how to fit this into the widget itself):
DashPhoon was inspired by Jef Poskanzer's Phoon <URL:http://www.acme.com/software/phoon/>, which displays the phase of the moon in ASCII text. DashPhoon's astronomical calculations are a JavaScript rewrite of Phoon's astro.c, which in turn was adapted from John Walker's Moontool
<URL:http://www.fourmilab.ch/moontool/>.
The routines for the 'i' button and switching sides are loosely derived from the sample code in Apple's Dashboard Programming Guide <URL:http://developer.apple.com/documentation/AppleApplications/Conceptual/Dashboard_Tutorial/>.
The Moon image is derived from one of NASA's -- primarily to get the poles in the right place.
Posted by: kps (developer) on May 04, 05 (3:21 AM) for version 1.0 (previous version)
Neat App. The only problem is that there is an annoying white outline on the right side of the moon. In other words, the whole moon is not shaded during a new moon. There is that distracting white outline on the right side. It is not present in the sample picture above. Otherwise, I love this widget.
Posted by: hungryhippo on May 09, 05 (6:01 AM) for version 1.0 (previous version) View Detailed Rating
Hungryhippo, I guess I need to adjust how long the label says "New Moon" (and "Full Moon"
; the white outline is the beginning of the crescent moon. I'll fix that for 1.1. Thanks for the report.
Posted by: kps (developer) on May 09, 05 (4:35 PM) for version 1.0 (previous version)
Oops, didn't realize that line was the beginning of the crescent moon. Sorry, my bad.
Great app. Wish I could give it 5 stars but the site won't let me rate a second time.
Posted by: hungryhippo on May 11, 05 (3:34 AM) for version 1.1 (previous version)
Comment editing will be available shortly.
Posted by: pm (Administrator) on May 11, 05 (3:47 AM) for version 1.1 (previous version)
Actually, hungryhippo, it turns out that *I* was wrong: when I looked further I found that there was *also* a genuinely incorrect visible fringe on the edge, as a result of the photo not perfectly matching the shadow canvas. I had not noticed it earlier because I was testing against a light background. This is fixed in now in version 1.1.
Posted by: kps (developer) on May 11, 05 (5:10 PM) for version 1.1 (previous version)
This is a good start, given that I was hoping to find a moon phase for the Dashboard, and found one immediately.
However, it's not a very nice looking implementation. What I particularly have a problem with is the razor-sharp border between dark and light on the moon's image. Check out Moon Dock (http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/11799) for a really good looking implementation of a similar concept.
KPS, I'll really love this widget when you can get a soft-transition from dark to light. Then it'll be 5 stars all the way!
Posted by: dbj1000 on May 16, 05 (5:15 AM) for version 1.1 (previous version) View Detailed Rating
DashPhoon's moon is upside down for us in the Southern hemisphere... with the current waxing moon the partial moon should be on the left, not the right (i.e. rotated 180 degrees). See <http://homepages.win.co.nz/creation/moon.html> and <http://homepages.win.co.nz/creation/moonmap.html>.
Posted by: barefootguru on May 19, 05 (11:10 PM) for version 1.1 (previous version)
barefootguru, I intend to add a hemisphere option in the next version, but it might be a couple of weeks before I get around to it.
dbj1000, Moon Dock is a neat program; if I had known about it, I might not have bothered with DashPhoon. However, that extremely gradual transition is very unrealistic; there's no twilight on the moon. I might slightly soften the transition slightly, though, if it can be done efficiently.
Posted by: kps (developer) on May 29, 05 (9:45 PM) for version 1.1 (previous version)
nice AND nice hidden features 
Posted by: jorislandman on Jun 02, 05 (2:32 AM) for version 1.1 (previous version) View Detailed Rating
kps, I'm very glad you did bother with DashPhoon - it's an excellent widget and has replaced Moon Dock as my preferred moon!
Whilst you may be technically correct about the lack of twilight on the moon, Moon Dock's soft transition is much closer to what we see from earth. Just Google for "Moon" and look at the images on the first pagge to see a range of examples (e.g. astrogeology.usgs.gov/ assets/wallpaper/moon.jpg). You may not want DashPhoon to have quite such a gradual transition, but I beg you to soften the transition a little!
Posted by: dbj1000 on Jun 02, 05 (12:12 PM) for version 1.1 (previous version)
dbj1000, I will try to have a softened border in some later version; so far I have not found a method that looks good enough to use.
Posted by: kps (developer) on Jun 15, 05 (1:29 AM) for version 1.1 (previous version)
neat widget. but i don't know what a julian day is.
Posted by: modcaveman on Jun 15, 05 (5:35 AM) for version 1.2 (previous version) View Detailed Rating
Re your northern/southern hemisphere view option, I think some aussie or kiwi is pulling your leg. Does the moon flip when you cross the equator? I don't think so. If people in the antipodes are having trouble seeing the moon correctly, they should try standing on their heads.
Posted by: sprindle on Jun 15, 05 (1:06 PM) for version 1.2 (previous version)
Sprindle, people below the equator are *already* standing on their heads, so they see everything upside down. It's just like how people in England -- being east of the ocean -- see everything as a mirror image and therefore have to drive on the left.
(DashPhoon's hemisphere option will become a latitude slider in some future version.)
Posted by: kps (developer) on Jun 15, 05 (1:27 PM) for version 1.2 (previous version)
Kps, your suggestion makes sense. Because doing a headstand whilst looking at the moon would be tedious for our antipodal friends, a far better idea would be for them to use a mirror -- except that would just do the horizontal flip component, not the vertical.
This whole matter is somewhat arbitrary anyway. Consider in the northern hemisphere how a rising half moon appears as you face it, then later the same setting moon as you face it. Left/right and top/bottom both flip, and you don't have to go to Australia for this.
I assume you're depicting the rising moon.
Posted by: sprindle on Jun 16, 05 (11:14 AM) for version 1.2 (previous version)
NOTE: DashPhoon version 1.2 appears to have a bug affecting localiztion. If you want to use a non-English version, please check back in a few days for version 1.3.
Posted by: kps (developer) on Jun 18, 05 (2:35 PM) for version 1.2 (previous version)
Sprindle -- yes, the display as it is now could be thought of as a *map* of the moon, with north fixed at the top (or south, now), rather than a picture of the moon in the sky. It might evolve toward the latter.
Posted by: kps (developer) on Jun 19, 05 (1:16 PM) for version 1.3 (previous version)
i liked it and you shoud do some more like on someother thing good job!!!!
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Posted by: DEAD456 on Aug 12, 05 (4:24 PM) for version 1.3 (previous version) View Detailed Rating
Nice work.
Posted by: jonwiley on Dec 20, 05 (4:52 AM) for version 1.3 (previous version) View Detailed Rating
Have loved using this widget but unfortunately buggy in Leopard: the 'shadow' drawn over the moon is offset from where it's supposed to go.
Posted by: barefootguru on Dec 11, 07 (3:51 PM) for version 1.3 (previous version)
I'll try to get to it over the break and have a Leopard-compatible version by early January.
Posted by: kps (developer) on Dec 17, 07 (2:31 PM) for version 1.3 (previous version)
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