The “Object coordinates” dialog is used to specify the celestial position of the observed object. This information is necessary to compute the heliocentric correction and the air mass coefficient.
There are several possibilities how to enter the object celestial position:
Specifying the object position manually
Select the source of coordinates (1).
(2) Enter object designation here. Although this field is not required, it is recommended to fill in a meaningful object identification.
Enter object right ascension to the text box (3) in hours. Use the hexagesimal format, separate the fields by a space character.
Enter object declination to the text box (4) in degrees. Use the hexagesimal format, separate the fields by a space character.
(5) Source and Remarks are optional fields. You can enter any information that you find useful. There are no formatting rules for these fields.
Click on the “Add” button (6) to add an object into the table of predefined objects (7).
Click the “OK” button (8) to save the coordinates.
Getting the object coordinates from the table of predefined positions
Select the source of coordinates (10).
The table of predefined positions is displayed in the table (11). Right-clicking a table opens a context menu.
Select an item in the table with a single left click to recall the data. The data are shown in the text boxes above the table (12).
Click the “Add” button (13) to make a new item to the table with data filled in the text boxes. Click the “Save” (14) button to update selected record. Click the “Remove” button (15) to remove the selected record from the table.
Click the “OK” button (16) to confirm the dialog.
The catalog files are not included in the program’s installation package. You have to download and install them separately.
Searching the variable star catalogs
Select the source of coordinates (20).
Enter the variable star designation into the text box (21). The search is not case sensitive.
Click the “Search” button (22) to start the search. The records that match are displayed in the table below (23).
Select an item in the table with a single left click. Right-clicking a table opens a context menu.
Click the “OK” button (24) to save the coordinates.
This option is available only when the reference frame includes the information about the position of the object.
Object coordinates from the reference frame
Select the source of coordinates (30).
(31) The equatorial coordinates of the object is displayed in the text boxes.
Click the “OK” button (32) to save the coordinates.