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AAOFM: Automated Astronomical Object Feature Measurer
Measures the size of surface features on prominent astronomical objects in the Solar System.
A cross-platform application for Windows, Linux and Mac.
A version for Android tablets and iPad in the works.

AAOFM
splash screen
Figure 1: The opening splash screen for AAOFM.

This application is for observers who photograph the most commonly imaged Solar System objects (specifically the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus). It can make size measurements of surface features (in both kilometers and miles) and also save a detailed record of any generated feature measurement data. Whether you wish to measure the diameter of sun spots, lunar craters, features in Jupiter's cloud bands, etc., then AAOFM is the app for you. The online help text has general user instructions on:

how to prepare image files for use by the application
how to calibrate the program to insure accuracy of measurements
how to choose a feature to measure
how to measure the size of a feature
how to save generated size data to a disk folder for later reference

Example of a Feature Measuring Screen of
AAOFM
Figure 2: A sample feature measurement done using AAOFM.

The AAOFM is free for noncommercial use.

Installing AAOFM with the automated setup wizard for Windows users:
For those with Windows based computers who wish to install AAOFM in the simplest manner possible without separately installing Java on their computers, download the AAOFM setup wizard. This setup wizard will install a version of the AAOFM app that will automatically include the required Java runtime library without actually installing Java on your computer. The wizard will also give you the option of having an icon on your desktop from which you can quickly launch AAOFM. For the easiest and smoothest installation, execute the wizard by right clicking the setup wizard filename and choose the "Run as Administrator" option.

Running AAOFM on Windows after installing with the setup wizard.
After installation with the setup wizard, you can run AAOFM the same way you would any other Windows app since (in this particular case) it is a standard Windows executable.

Installing AAOFM for Linux users, Mac users and some Windows users who didn't install with the AAOFM setup program:
For all other users, the alternate AAOFM jar app (filename: FeatureMeas.jar) will work on any computer with the Java runtime environment (JRE) installed on it, be it Windows (except for those using Windows RT), Linux or Mac. At present, using the jar app is the only way you can run AAOFM on a Linux computer or Mac. You will need to install JRE first if you do not already have it installed. After installing the JRE, download the jar app on this webpage by clicking the following link: FeatureMeas.jar. Make sure you put the jar file in your home folder or some other folder that your computer has been setup to look for executable files. After you complete those steps, there are a couple of different ways that you can execute AAOFM. Those methods are described as follows.

Running AAOFM: For Linux users, Mac users and some Windows users who don't install with the AAOFM setup program
Execution Method 1: From the terminal
Make sure that you designate FeatureMeas.jar as an executable file. Once you have done that, from your computer's terminal app (called the Command Prompt on Windows computers), type in and execute this command.

java -jar FeatureMeas.jar
Note, if you did not put the jar file in a folder that your computer automatically looks inside of for executable files, you will have to type the full pathname to the FeatureMeas.jar.

Execution Method 2: How to make AAOFM execute with just a double click.
If it is not already displayed on your desktop, you must go to the folder containing the FeatureMeas.jar file. On Linux and Wndows computers, users should right-click on the icon for FeatureMeas.jar. You will be presented with some options for executing FeatureMeas.jar. The option you should choose is Oracle Java Runtime. If when choosing this option you set it up as your default option, you will only have to double click the icon to run FeatureMeas in the future.

On a Mac, setting up AAOFM (FeatureMeas.jar) to run with a double click is a little more involved. Go here for details: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/18858363/executing-a-jar-on-mac-10-8

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