Contents - Index

Targets

CCDAutoPilot can handle an almost unlimited number of targets (Professional Edition only).  There are a number of facilities to enter and edit targets and the target list itself.

Contents
Target List
Context Menu
Target Functions
New Entry
Utility Window
Options
Rotator


Target List



The target name, along with its coordinates, RA, Dec, PA are shown, along with the starting time and ending time of that target's imaging.  The end time is computed from the entries on the Light frames page.  If the leading check box is checked, that target will be part of the session; if not checked, it will be skipped.

Right-clicking on a target line will bring up the context menu.  You can click on the title for Target, RA and Dec to sort on that entry in ascending order.  Click again to sort in descending order.

Context Menu

 

an item in the context menu may be selected by clicking on it.
  • Edit brings up the Target Entry window with the information from the selected target filled out.  (see below)
  • Center TheSky will center the FOVI on the target coordinates when using TheSky6
  • Slew To Target will slew the telescope to the target coordinates.  If Precision Slew is checked, the target will take a plate solve after slewing and then correct the telescope position to be within a few arc-sec. of the desired coordinates.
  • Move Up will move the target line up in the list.
  • Move Down will move the target down in the list.
  • Delete will delete the highlighted target line from the list.
  • Clear All will delete the entire target list after confirmation.

    Target Functions



    On the left are buttons that replicate the functions of the context menu. Additional functions not on the context menu are:
  • Mosaic: Used to create a target list from the mosaic function in TheSky (Professional Edition only).  With the desired mosaic set up in TheSky, pressing the Mosaic button will bring them into the Target List.  Each mosaic element may then be edited by using the Edit Function or Edit Button.    If you are doing guided imaging, then you can move the FOV indicator as needed to locate a guide star and replace each Mosaic entry in the target list with an adjusted FOV Center, via the Get button.

  • Reset Times: Used to eliminate time gaps and optionally reset the first target start time to the current time.  All subsequent targets will start as soon as the previous target completes.  Use this feature if you want maximum target acquisition efficiency.  If you wish imaging for a given target to start at a specific time, for example around the meridian, then adjust the target start time via the Edit function and do not hit the Reset Times button after doing this.

    New Entry

    You can add a target using the following buttons:
  • Add: Used to manually add a target.  This opens the Target Entry window at right for manually entering target name and coordinate information.  Since the target name will ultimately be part of the data file names, it must not include the Windows "forbidden characters", '*/:<>?|'.  Such characters will be stripped from the target name if present.  There are certain formatting conventions that must be followed for the coordinates.  RA must be in hh<space>mm<space>ss.s, where hh is the RA hours, mm is the RA minutes and ss.s is the RA seconds.  Dec. must be entered in <sign>dd<space>mm<space>ss, where <sign> is the sign of the declination with an explicit '+' or '-' required.  dd is the Dec. degrees, mm is the Dec minutes and ss is the Dec. seconds.  All numeric entries must be separated by a space.  The Position Angle is entered as a value between 0 and 359.  Start time must be entered by using the up/down buttons with the cursor place over the appropriate value being edited - hours, minutes, say and month.  When satisfied with your entry, click OK to add this target entry information into the Target List.
  • Get: (TheSky6 feature only) Enter a target to search for by entering its name in the space provided and hit the Get button.  If it exists in TheSky6's database, the coordinates will be transferred into the Target list. If Get is hit with no entry, the RA and Dec of the FOVI's center in TheSky6 will be entered.  The PA of the FOVI will also be entered.  It is the FOVI center that determines the transferred coordinates, not any selected star or object.  If you want to get a selected star in TheSky's window, move the FOVI over that object.  This is a powerful target framing feature that is described in more detail here.  When used in conjunction with a rotator, you can select a suitable guide star using the FOVI and CCDAutoPilot will move the scope and the rotator to those precise coordinates.
  • From FIT: When hit, a file navigation window is opened, allowing you to navigate to a FIT file from a prior image acquisition.  If the keywords (FOCALLEN, XPIXSZ and XBINNING) are in the FITS header and have valid values, those values will be used for plate solving.  If any of them are missing, plate solving will attempted using the unbinned image scale from the Imager section of the Settings page. If the plate solve is successful, the coordinates in RA, Dec and PA will be entered into the Target List.

    The above steps completely define the target to be acquired.  There is no need to go to the target in advance and take test images for guide star positioning or guider calibration.  If you have properly initialized your equipment as defined on the Settings page, have an accurate FOV Indicator in TheSky and select Precision Slew to Target in the Options box, the target will be precisely centered and the guide star will be in the guider FOV.  

    Utility Window



    The top portion of the Utility Window shows the Ephemerides for the selected target.  You can see the east and west altitude as you desire either to avoid obstructions east or west of the meridian of if you don't want to image below a specific altitude, 45° in this example.  The lower portion of the window shows the ephemerides for the sun and the moon (TheSky6 only) for the current date as an aid to planning.


    Options



    Various options are available for slewing to a target and what to do while waiting.

  • Precision Slew to Target: When checked, the slew to every target consists of a translation to the specified RA/Dec coordinates, rotator movement to the desired position angle and a plate solve and correcting slew to insure a very accurate positioning of the telescope.  Unless you have excellent pointing, and/or a wide field guider, this option should be used for guided operation.  
  • To within  arc-sec: If you have a requirement for more precision, you can specify the slew accuracy tolerance.  CCDAutoPilot will slew to the target, plate solve and correct the position, then see what the pointing error is.  If it exceeds your specified tolerance, it will repeat this process up to 3 times to do as much as possible to meet your tolerance requirement.
    With Sync: When checked, the telescope will be sync'd to the plate solved coordinates.  This can be used if your mount has significant pointing errors to insure SkyStar centers the focus star on your imager for accurate focusing.  If this is not a concern, then this option can be left unchecked.  This option should be cleared for permanent setups with good pointing accuracy as may be obtained with a suitable Tpoint model. If checked, any Tpoint models should be disabled as repeated syncing into a Tpoint model is not recommended and will result in pointing inaccuracies.  Use either With Sync or Tpoint but not both. 
  • Skip First Target Slew: When checked, a slew to the first target is skipped.  This may be useful where you have already framed the target to your satisfaction and are ready to proceed with imaging it.  If Tracking Off While Waiting or Park While Waiting is checked, Skip First Target Slew will be unchecked.
  • Tracking Off While Waiting: When checked, tracking will be turned off while waiting for the target exposure start time to occur.  If dusk flats are selected, tracking will be turned off as soon as dusk flats are completed.  At target exposure start time, tracking will be turned on.  When checked, Skip First Target Slew will be unchecked.  
  • Park While Waiting: When checked, the telescope will be parked while waiting for the target exposure start time to occur.  If dusk flats are selected, the telescope will be parked as soon as dusk flats are completed.  At target exposure start time, the telescope will be unparked to allow slew to the target.  When checked, Skip First Target Slew will be unchecked.

    Rotator

    While control of the rotator is essentially automatic and transparent to the user once the system has been initialized, the rotator controls are provided as a convenience to the user.  It is recommended that all camera rotation be handled by selecting the desired Position Angle.  CCDAutoPilot will handle the rest.

    Here are two examples of the rotator control.  Different functions are visible or enabled, depending on the rotator selected.




    Rotator In Use: When a rotator is connected, the controls will be active and the title of the box will indicate the rotator being used.  Here, a RCOS Precision Instrument Rotator is shown.
  • Position shows the current position of the rotator in the rotator's units.  It is also used to enter a desired position for the Go To button
  • Step Size determines the amount the rotator will move either counter-clockwise when the CCW button is hit or clockwise when the CW button is hit.  Although step sizes are indicated by the drop down box, a manual entry will also be taken and used
  • Stop stops the rotator movement.
  • Go To slews the rotator to a specific position.  This position is defined when the user enters the desired position into the Position box.
  • CCW moves the rotator counter-clockwise by an amount indicated in the Step Size box.
  • CW moves the rotator clockwise by an amount indicated in the Step Size box.
  • Home moves the rotator to its home position.
  • Reverse: When an ASCOM rotator is used and the ASCOM driver supports changing the rotator direction, the reverse checkbox is displayed.  When checked, this reverses the rotator direction.  The required direction is that which causes the image plane, when viewed from behind the telescope to rotate in a CW direction when the CW button is pushed.  This should give a decreasing rotator position.  See rotator notes.

    No Rotator In Use
    In this case, all controls associated with a rotator are disabled and the title box will so indicate.