http://www.clearskyinstitute.com/xephem/ http://www.phy.ohiou.edu/~tss/ASTR410/findingcharts.html (this is RE: older version xephem) following for xephem V 3.6.4 Aim: prepare observing charts (finder images and star location info) My Target: Upgren 1 (Note: this is a bit unusual: most targets will be NGC and can be found directly) Standard Stars: 106 700, 107 484 (Find in the database: UBVRI.edb) from: http://www.noao.edu/wiyn/obsprog/images/tableB.html http://www.noao.edu/wiyn/obsprog/images/tableA.html http://www.noao.edu/wiyn/obsprog/images/atlasinfo.html (Note: images here are 7'x7'...smaller than out camera) start xephem in a terminal (Konsole) tkirkman@linphys1 1% xephem set location: under Local Chicago, Illinois-> SJU Observatory Set click on calendar day (NM=new moon) set Local Time to be say, 9pm=21:00:00 click: Update write down UTC Time & Sidereal Note: almost always you can find your cluster in NGC.edb and standard stars in UBVRI.edb, Landolt83.edb or Buil92.edb, however in some cases you may have to add location data into xephem's Favorites database. >Begin: How to add cluster/star location data The enter line must be exactly as follows: format: object_name,f,RA.as:H:M:S,DEC.as:D:M:S,1 Notes: commas are required "f" means fixed trailing 1 is a meaningless magnitude I'd copy&paste the RA & dec data to avoid typos examples: Upgren 1,f,12:35:00,+36:18:00,1 106 700,f,14:40:52,-00:23:36,1 107 484,f,15:40:17,-00:21:13,1 Data->Favorites Add edb: add object by typing in the object data line, in edb format. one line for every object to be added click: Save to: >End...How to add cluster/star location data de-select (not Use): Sun, Mercury, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto Note if object is NGC use direct lookup: Data->Index Search: NGC6940 click:Favorite FYI: xephem is not to be trusted on cluster information View-> Data Table Control->Setup de-select: Az, Vmag, Elong select: Cns, HA click: Apply record in file basic data: Control->List use or modify filename Data->Favorites de-select (not Use): all planets back in Data Table... record in file, data that changes with time: de-select: Cns, RA, Dec, RisTm, TrnTm, TrnAlt, SetTm select: HA, Alt, Air click: Apply Control->List (Append) on main window: modify time to say, 10pm=22:00 click: Update on Data Table: Control->List (Append) on main window: modify time to say, 11pm=23:00:00 click: Update on Data Table: Control->List (Append) Main window: View->Sky View (Note this will be for the time/date most recently set) Control->Options select: Grid de-select: Galatic plane Constellation select: Abbreviations N (no) Deep Sky labels Control->Print click Print command click: Ok It is helpful to known the SAO# of a star near our object. Data->Files Files->SAO.edb In the Sky View, move the left-most slider (Field of View scale) 95% of the way to the top at the left-bottom see FOV about 5x5 degrees nearest to Upgren 1 is SAO63080 Main window: Data->Index... Search: 63080...find is mag7.3 (too dim for LX200) see next closest is SAO63118...find is mag6.4 so OK Stars will be *labeled* with magnitude if Control->Options Labeling: for Stars...click M (rhs box) Favorites->107 484 (standard star) Search: 140680...mag7.5 However, 140643 is mag6.5 Favorites->106 700 Search: 120553 (nope) 140076 (nope) 140129 is mag6 If I hit the Camera button (top-left) on any of these objects I get a DSS image of the region Note that the "nose" or Gaussian peak just above Where on the rhs allows you to measure magnitudes. If you do this I'd also turn on the Magnifying Glass and Plot center Row & Column to see the pixels Meade has estabished shortcuts to 250 very bright stars (mag<3.5). These stars are a good first place to setup crude focus and RA/dec. Typically they are so bright that the CCD saturates (but they are easy to find in the finder scope). They can be found in the database: Meade250.edb exit xephem: File->Quit print list file: linphys1 2% lp .xephem/datatbl.txt or use kwrite to open file and print from menu for skymap...alternative: Fire up web browser: http://www.fourmilab.to/yoursky/ select nearby city: Minneapolis edit resulting data: Universal time: as recorded in xephem for 9pm Latitude & Longitude for SJU Observatory (see .xephem/datatbl.txt file) de-select Constellation Boundaries de-select: star Names & Bayer/Flamsteed codes Image size: 1000 Colour: Black on white background print result Standard Stars... You can locate standard stars by Data->Files->Files UBVRI.edb or brighter standards in Landolt83.edb or Buil91.edb You can limit the Sky View display to bright stars via: COntrol->Filter find slider: Stars Lim Mag Many of these stars are the canonical equatorial standards published by Landolt: Landolt, A.U., AJ, 104, 340 (1992) A nice feature is to capture several standards in one frame. WIYN (see above) has a nice list of such recommended fields 92 250 00:54:37 +00:38:56 13.178 95 330 03:54:31 +00:29:05 12.174 98 653 06:52:05 -00:18:19 9.539 RU 149D 07:24:16 -00:32:38 11.480 RU 152D 07:30:03 -02:04:16 11.076 PG0918+029D 09:21:22 +02:47:30 12.272 101 327 09:56:09 -00:25:50 13.441 101 421 09:57:16 -00:17:16 13.180 PG1047+003C 10:50:18 -00:00:23 12.453 104 334 12:42:21 -00:40:28 13.484 PG1323-086D 13:26:05 -08:50:34 12.080 labeled -085 at WIYN 107 602 15:39:19 -00:15:29 12.116 107 484 15:40:17 -00:21:13 11.311 PG1633+099B 16:35:34 +09:46:22 110 232 18:40:52 +00:01:58 12.516 110 266 18:42:49 +00:05:06 12.018 110 506 18:43:19 +00:30:27 11.312 111 1969 19:37:44 +00:25:48 10.382 MARK A 20:43:59 -10:47:42 13.258 113 342 21:41:00 +00:27:34 10.878 PG2213-006B 22:16:22 -00:21:49 12.706