Q&A


Heavenly-Opportunity Q&A Log




Below are questions posed from current or prospective users relevant to the current version of Heavenly-Opportunity, along with appropriate responses.

Q.  When will you have a Windows-CE version for PDA’s or a version for the Mac OSX?
A.  I have no immediate plans for same.

Q.  After three attempts to install Heavenly-Opportunity after downloading and 'unzipping' it with WinZip, when attempting to run the program I get an error message about File Not Found,  Runtime error '53'. I am using Windows 98SE on a Pentium 4 computer.  Any ideas?
A.  I wish I knew.  No one else has reported a similar problem.  Make sure you run the Setup program before trying to execute H-O out of a zip file.  I’d be happy to send a CD if you’d care to register.

Q.  I recently downloaded a trial version of your software.  I found a problem with the time for Arizona residents and visitors.  I live in Arizona and we're on Mountain Standard Time year round.  That means when everyone else goes to Daylight savings time we don't, so in the winter we are on Mountain  Time and in the summer we are on Pacific Time.  When I did an input to your program I got a sunset time of 8:38 PM when it actually set at 7:38PM.  What gives?
A.  Yes, Heavenly-Opportunity can have problems in certain geographic areas.  This problem has largely, but not completely, been fixed in the United States, but anomalies remain elsewhere in the world.  When the program estimates incorrectly, it is a simple matter to change the estimated time zone to correct the problem.

Q.  With purchase, am I entitled to free upgrades and for how long?
A.  Yes, you are entitled to free upgrades for the time being.  When and if significant new capabilities are added, I will reevaluate the costs.

Q.  Sometimes, Heavenly-Opportunity shows the moon setting on a day before it rises.  How can this be?
A.  H-O does not pay any attention to specific moon cycles, as do some other programs.  On any given midnight-to-midnight period, the moon can indeed set before it rises again.  Heavenly-Opportunity provides what photographers need to know and is correct.

Q.  Not every horizon is level, and it's not easy to determine how to specify search criteria for such situations (e.g., When will the moon appear above a mountain range that's at an altitude of 5 degrees?).  Ideally, of course, the search form sould include the option to specify a window of altitude as well as azimuth.  Can Heavenly-Opportunity do this?
A.  Yes, you are correct.  The program may be modified at some point in the future to do just as you suggest.  However, with a bit of practice, you will likely get good at estimating the time difference for the altitude gain you are looking for.  See the documentation for more on this topic.  And with the advent of Version 3, see the View | Daily Details option.

Q.  I downloaded the trial version of your Heavenly-Opportunity software but was unable to get it to accept a latitude over 65 degrees North. Is this just a limitation of the trial version?  If it is a limitation of your programme it is not going to be a whole lot of use to photographers who like me who work in polar regions!
A.  As I understand it (and I am no expert on arctic photography) very slight variations in atmospheric conditions can and do modify sunrise and set times above 65° to a considerable extent.  For that reason, and for simplicity of programming, Heavenly-Opportunity does not accept latitudes north or south of the Arctic or Antarctic Circles (actually 65° instead of the true 66° 32’).

Q.  Gentleman:  I just visited your web site.  What a great idea.  I think it is a must for the advanced enthusiast and pro nature photographers. Would you consider the possibility of us reviewing it and selling it at our on-line photo shop?
A.  Yes, I am actively looking for just such opportunities.

Q.  I recently downloaded a copy of your software and, when I input information for New Zealand, the results I got just didn't make sense. I used the NZ time in the drop down box and lat and long for my home town of Wellington and the sunrise and sunset times, amongst other things, just weren't right.  Does the software work for New Zealand? or am I doing something wrong?
A.  When I look at the world time zone map (http://www.worldtimezone.com/index12.html) it appears that the zone boundaries really bend in odd ways to accommodate New Zealand.  As explained in the documentation, Heavenly-Opportunity views the world quite simplistically, in pre-set longitudinal blocks, regardless of the name of the time zone (except in the US).  If H-O is *consistently* off by an hour or two, simply choose the time zone that makes it 'right' and you'll be in business, presumably anywhere in New Zealand.  You might need to vary the zone during the year if to account for daylight savings time, if you have such an adjustment.

Q.  I just paid via PayPal for the download option for your Heavenly-Opportunity software, but received no info on how to download the full version.
A.  The download on the website is the full version of the program minus the password.  I will send your password via e-mail.

Q.   I have a problem.  I have downloaded the install program, but when I want to open the program a window appears with this message:
  Critical error,cannot find WMM data file in installation folder.  Could you please help me! I work with Windows XP Pro.  Thank you.

A.  This sounds like one of three possible problems.  Either (1) you have not actually run the SETUP installation program (or did not complete the installation), (2) you may have tried to manually move the software after installation to a new folder but did not move everything required, or (3) you are somehow executing the program from the folder into which you put the download rather than the folder into which the SETUP program put the software (presumably C:/Program Files/HeavenlyOpportunity if you chose the defaults).  Do any of these possibilities sound right, or do they sound like gobbledy-gook?

My recommendation is to: (1) uninstall Heavenly-Opportunity using the normal Windows Uninstall procedure.  If Windows says that H-O is not installed, that tells us something right there. (2) Assuming that you still have HO-x-x.exe in your download directory, (re)install it by double clicking on that program and then running SETUP.  This should open an install window that asks where you want to put the software, etc.  Choose the defaults.  (3) Finally, use the Windows Start button to locate Heavenly-Opportunity among all installed programs and launch it that way.  If this does not work for you, please let me know what happens and we will work from there.  I know installation can at times be a confusing maze, but once it works, you are home free.

Q.  Do you know a web site I could use to check for meteor showers or other interesting events like eclipses that would be upcoming in the next year?

A.  This is not my specialty at all, but I asked a friend for some recommendations.  Here is what I was told:

Variety of topics, with various alert services: Sky and Telescope
   
Sun information: SpaceWeather

Satellites: Heavens Above
               CalSky
Colorado aurora predictions, with alert service: University of Colorado

More on the aurora:
   
Space news:
    also the florida today newspaper site.

Meteors:
   
      North American Meteor Network
      Lew Gramer, Public Outreach
 

Following are some of the best websites for information on comets visible
this month:

      Seiichi Yoshida's Weekly Information about Bright Comets:
   
      Summary of Bright Comet Visibility in Northern Hemisphere:
  
      Summary of Bright Comet Visibility in Southern Hemisphere:

      Greg Crinklaw's "Skyhound" - Comet Details and Printable Finder Charts:
   
      Coordinates for Observable Comets (Harvard site):
   

For Eclipses, check:
    http://www.mreclipse.com/
    http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/eclipse.html

For night photography, you might check:
    http://www.thenocturnes.com/

And here's a great site that I would add to the list.  It looks very useful for predicting cloud cover (and other things) for a variety of locations, mostly in Canada and the U.S.:
     Clear Sky Clock

Q.  I am having trouble downloading and installing your program.  Can you help?
A.  Heavenly-Opportunity is distributed over the Internet as a 'self-extracting' program.  It requires four discrete installation steps that can be confusing for folks who do not regularly do this sort of thing.  Basically, the steps are (1) download the self-extracting program, (2) verify that the download worked properly, (3) unpack the installation program from the download program, and (4) run the installation program. 

Unfortunately, there are so many different web browsers, so many different Windows operating systems, and so many different ways that users have their systems configured, that making one set of instructions is, frankly, an impossible job unless you are Microsoft, which I am not.  But here’s a shot at the general steps that you must follow to get the job done. These instructions assume you are using Windows 95, 98, 2000, ME, XP, NT or something even newer.  The instructions also use the name HO-x-x.exe as a placeholder for whatever version of the downloadable file is the most current, for example, HO-2-3.exe means version 2.3.

Before you begin, let me say that, as far as I know, you should not need to turn off your firewall or anything else, though it is usually a good idea to exit all other Windows programs except, of course, your browser.  One possible exception would be your virus scanner, but to start with, let's leave that on as well.

STEP ONE: Download the self-extracting program, HO-x-x.exe

The multiple files needed for installation have all been "packed" into one file to make for easy download.  To download this file and save it to your hard disk, click on the link on the Heavenly-Opportunity web page to HO-x-x.exe using your web browser after noting it's listed file size.  (You may be warned that this is a program which could do bad things to your computer, that "some files can harm your computer if it contains malicious code".  Don’t worry; Heavenly-Opportunity will not harm your computer.)  Perhaps after other questions, your web browser will ask you what to do with this file.  You want to save it to a folder (sometimes called a directory) on your hard disk where you can find it later.  Often, your browser may suggest a place for you, like C:/Temp or C:/Windows/Temp.  Either of these places would be a fine choice, or choose somewhere else.  Just be sure to note the name of the folder so you can find HO-x-x.exe when the download is complete.

Assuming that you have gotten this far, you will normally see some indication that the download is taking place, perhaps with a progress bar.  You may be asked whether you want to open the file when the download is complete.  Say No to this question if asked, but you can say that you want to open the folder, if asked, because that will give you a head start on Step Two.  Regardless, you are making progress!

STEP TWO: Verify the size of the HO-x-x.exe you just downloaded

Although Internet downloads today are relatively error-free, errors can happen during the download process -- perhaps in conjunction with some virus scanners.  In particular, I want you to make sure that you have completely downloaded the HO-x-x.exe file.  So, open the Windows File Manager or Explorer or whatever program you use to see what files are found on your PC's hard disk.  (If you do not have an icon for Explorer on your desktop, right-click on the Start button and choose Explore.)  Then locate the folder in which you put the HO-x-x.exe file and locate that file name in the list. 

Note that your system may or may not actually show the file extension (.exe).  I recommend that you choose View | Details to see that the file is an “Application”, but more importantly, to see what the listed file size is.  The file size may also show up if you hold your cursor over the file long enough, or certainly if you right click on the file name and choose Properties from the pop-up menu.  In any event, check to see that the size listed is approximately the same as what is shown on the Heavenly-Opportunity web page where you downloaded the file in the first place.  Remember that the file size given by Windows is in kilobytes; divide it by 1000 to get megabytes.  If the file sizes differ by a large amount, the download must have failed and you must start all over again.  Otherwise, proceed to Step Three.

STEP THREE: Unpack the Installation Program from HO-x-x.exe

Once you have downloaded and verified the size of H-O-x-x.exe, Heavenly-Opportunity is still not ready to run on your PC, but you are ready to 'unpack' the installation program.  Unpack means to get the files out of the HO-x-x.exe file that are necessary for installation.  To start the unpacking process, double-click on the HO-x-x.exe file name, which should be easy since you have already located it on your hard disk.  (Press Run if asked whether you really want to run this program because the "publisher could not be verified".)  Running the downloaded file will bring up a small WinZip Self-Extractor dialog box that asks which folder you want the unpacked contents to go into.  If the name in the "Unzip to folder:" box is not the same as the folder you put HO-x-x.exe into, use the Browse button to choose that folder – the one you were just looking at.  Then push the Unzip button.  You should see a progress bar flash by and then you will get a message that three or more files were unzipped successfully.  Press the OK button and then the Close button.  You are making good progress.

STEP FOUR: Install Heavenly-Opportunity

You should still be able to see your folder contents and may now see that you have new files in that folder, including one application called Setup.exe.  This is good news because Setup is the program that will actually install Heavenly-Opportunity.  Double-click on the Setup application.  You will now likely get a message that you will be installing new software and to exit all other Windows programs; do as it says.  Pressing OK will take you to another dialog that asks where you want to install Heavenly-Opportunity.  I recommend keeping the suggested folder (C:/Program Files/HeavenlyOpportunity), so just push the big button in the upper left of the dialog.  The installer will take care of the rest, except that you may be asked whether you would like to keep newer files currently on your system.  Always keep your newer files, regardless of how poorly Microsoft has worded the question.  [NOTE: I have had reports of installation problems, especially under Microsoft Vista, where you may get one or more messages saying that there is trouble registering a (DLL) file.  Just reply "Ignore" and all should be well.]

STEP FIVE:  Run Heavenly-Opportunity

I know I said installation was a four-step process -- and it is.  But you probably want to actually run Heavenly-Opportunity now that you have gone to all this trouble.  Fortunately, the hard work is behind you now.  Press the Windows Start button, choose All Programs, and look for Heavenly-Opportunity in the list of installed programs.  Point to Heavenly-Opportunity, click on the program name, and Heavenly-Opportunity should start up from there. 

If anyone has suggestions to improve these instructions, please let me know, along with the operating system and browser you are using.

Q.  I hear that there may soon be changes to our Daylight Savings Time, specifically the beginning and ending dates.  Will Heavenly-Opportunity be changed to address the new conventions?
A.  Yes, as necessary .  Indiana adopted a uniform DST across the state to take effect April 2, 2006, and is reflected in the most recent version of H-O.  Federal changes are in the works that will take effect in 2007.  As I have heard, apparently Congress wasn't entirely sure whether changing daylight savings would actually result in an energy savings, requested a study by the Department of Energy to specify the savings, and allowed themselves an 'out' to retract that part of the Energy Policy Act if it did not pay off.  H-O will be changed as necessary to reflect whatever restructuring is required.  If you hear of some new wrinkles I might not know about, please let me know.

Q.  Can you make a version that runs on a MAC?
A.  Though this has been a frequent question (see above), the truth is that I wouldn't know how to start.  I have been told that there is a piece of hardware that plugs into a MAC that enables Windows software to run.  It is also my understanding that the new Intel-based Macs can (or will be able to) run Windows software if you install Windows as a separate partition on your hard drive.  I'll take a wait and see approach.  If you know about this, please let me know.

Q.  Can you tell me why when I check the box for "Adjust height above horizon to" it only changes the time and compass heading for the sun and not the moon?
A. The real answer is that I have not figured out how to modify the algorithm for the moon's dynamics to actually make this adjustment.  The algorithm I had for sun dynamics already had that feature built-in.  Maybe some day I can figure this out.  A somewhat more practical answer is that I see this feature being used more for alpenglow photos and less for photos of the moon taken from high altitudes, but perhaps that is just rationalizing my inability to modify the moon's algorithm.

Q.  I am conducting a photography seminar on July 19, 2008, at Rocky Mountain National Park.  I chose this date because Heavenly-Opportunity reports the Sunset at 8:28 p.m. with an (almost full) Moonrise at 9:30 p.m..   I thought photographers might have some fun with this after the seminar, but now I'm wondering if there's too much time between sunset and moonrise for the moon to have an orange glow.  I think all of the incidents I've seen of this were when sunset and moonrise occurred closer in time  What's your opinion?  If the glow doesn't occur when the moon rises, might it pick up some glow as it rises higher?
A.  Good question.  Looking at the date you chose, I see that the 9:30 moon rise occurs after civil twilight but during nautical twilight.  In general, that means that contrast will be lacking.   Though I have not paid a lot of attention to this aspect of timing, I believe the delay in your case will reduce the probability that you will have an orange glow.  BUT, I think that lighting conditions depend very much on the clouds (their makeup and configuration) and dust in the atmosphere.  Under certain circumstances, the conditions you chose could work well, but I just think that the odds are probably less than 50:50 with that delay that you will get exactly what you seek.  However, weather and attitude permitting, watching the full moon rise from the mountains will be awe inspiring regardless!

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Page last updated 3/20/08 by jb