Source code for displaying constellations, for the blind.

[raymcal]

                        Helping the blind see the stars!                  Hi.  I was thinking that programmers might be able to help me with this one.  I'm totally blind, but I would like to learn what the various constellations look like in the sky.  The state library does not have braille books showing them, as that would be  easy.  But, I wonder if anyone has written any code to display them.  I'm good with the Decartesian cordinate plain and understanding points.  If someone has code for this, I could look at it and understand what these things look like.  You may reach out to me here or, preferably, at [e-mail].  Thanks.                      

[Carl Gundel]

May 8, 2019 15:15:54 GMT -5 raymcal said:

                        Helping the blind see the stars!                  Hi.  I was thinking that programmers might be able to help me with this one.  I'm totally blind, but I would like to learn what the various constellations look like in the sky.  The state library does not have braille books showing them, as that would be  easy.  But, I wonder if anyone has written any code to display them.  I'm good with the Decartesian cordinate plain and understanding points.  If someone has code for this, I could look at it and understand what these things look like.  You may reach out to me here or, preferably, at [e-mail].  Thanks.                      

You have a special graphics output device for the blind?  

[tenochtitlanuk]

An idea that might work on a touch screen is to use an image-map, so when you touch within a certain radius of each star it jumps to a routine that announces audibly what the star is and what part of the constellation it represents.
I don't have a touch pad available at present, but might have a play using the mouse.

A simple constellation is the Plough ( aka Big Dipper) with only seven stars.
Cartesian coordinate pairs for them, suitable to display on a 600 by 600 graphic with 0, 0 at top left and 600, 600 at bottom right, are
106 303
189 254
246 262
326 267
362 316
465 276
455 201
These represent the stars, starting from the 'handle' on the left and following the shape. The last three then link back to the fourth one, making a kind of box with a handle. The line from the sixth to the seventh van be followed 'up' the sky in a slight curve and locates the Pole Star.

[tenochtitlanuk]

Will get back to this!
Meanwhile
...anyone care to try with a touch screen,
OR
'''anyone understand how eSpeak works?

Save the bmp and copy/paste the code. At present it puts up info if you are near each star as text. Hence the need for sound output for raymcal..


'nomainwin

WindowWidth  = 610
WindowHeight = 630

dim x( 100), y( 100), text$( 100)

data 7  '   number of stars

data 106, 303, "Alkaid at start of handle on the left"
data 189, 254, "Mizar  moving right along the handle"
data 246, 262, "Alioth moving right along the handle"
data 326, 267, "Magrez handle attaches to pan or plough"
data 362, 316, "Phecda lower left of the box shape"
data 465, 276, "Merak  lower right of the box shape"
data 455, 201, "Dubhe  upper right of body box shape. Connects back leftwards to Megrez"

read num

for star =1 to num
   read p:  x( star)     =p
   read p:  y( star)     =p
   read p$: txt$( star) =p$
next star

open "Constellations" for graphics_nsb as #wg

   #wg "trapclose [quit]"
   #wg "when leftButtonDown [announce]"

   #wg "down"
   #wg "fill  darkblue"

   loadbmp "scr", "plough600.bmp"
   #wg "drawbmp scr 1 1"
   #wg "flush"

   wait

[announce]
   x =MouseX
   y =MouseY
   for i =1 to num
       if ( x -x( i))^2 +( y -y( i))^2 <400 then ' within radius 20
           print txt$( i)
           'playwave "textS( i)" +".wav",async '   Needs me to record notes as wav files...
           'run "C:\Program Files\eSpeak\command_line\espeak  "; chr$( 34); "This is an example."; chr$( 34)
                   '   needs me to understand eSpeak under Wine/Linux!
       end if
   next i
   wait

[quit]
   close #wg
   end


[tenochtitlanuk]

My Linux system now reads the texts aloud after installing espeak Windows version with..
           run chr$( 34) +"C:/Program Files (x86)/eSpeak/command_line/espeak.exe "_
            +chr$( 34) +" -s 110 "_    '   90 for slower, 150 for faster
            +chr$( 34) +txt$( i) +chr$( 34)


[raymcal]

            Thanks.  actually, that list of 7 cordinates is perfect for me.  I'm very good with math.  Yes, with a touch-screen, one could feel them graphed, but I can't afford one.  Actualy, with a good embosser (Braille Printer) one could just print a piece of Braille paper with the dots on it.  Braille is dots.  I'm surprised this hasn't been done much before, but constellations are about the easiest thing in the universe to graphically display with Braille.  For my speech, I just API my way into the Windows speech engines.  But, that's why I just wanted to see the source code.  I can read the numbers and know where the dots are.  I draw graphics, myself, through coding, so I'm very used to that way of thinking.  I wonder if there are places with more lists of coordinate dots for constellations.  This is really opening up new understanding for me.  Of course, stars do have color, so it would be cool if someone had a star-showing program with coordinates and colors, too.              

[tenochtitlanuk]

For anyone seeing this thread I've put up a link to page on my site and a webpage about what Ray's enquiry triggered in me!
He turned
106 303
189 254
246 262
326 267
362 316
465 276
455 201
into

[tenochtitlanuk]

This is fun!
( outline of traditional figure added by hand in this animation.
Code and the csv file will be on the page on my site .. stars are given sizes represenring apparent brightness. Stars are seen as points!

[tenochtitlanuk]

Now running adaptations of my code to produce all the 48 traditional constellations.