lumpy darkness

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2012

software resources - TheSky

TheSky 6 is popular planetarium astronomy. It displays charts which simulate the evening sky, showing the current positions for stars, deep sky objects, planets, comets, and artificial satellites. The application also drives telescope mounts. In fact, the manufacturer made the application so to fully support their mounts.

manufacturer: Software Bisque
principal developer: n/a
category: planetarium, telescope control
platform(s): Windows, Macintosh

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2016

performing a spiral search

Locate a star (or planet) by making the mount move outward in a circular pattern.

1. Choose Telescope, Options.
2. Choose Star Search...
3. Set the Width, Height, and Speed values, if necessary.
4. Click the Start Search button.
5. Be ready to click the Stop button.

A similar procedure may be used with satellite flyovers.

MONDAY, JULY 20, 2015

slew to a point by RA and Dec

Handy when chasing a comet or an object not otherwise found in the databases.

1. Choose Orientation, Move To...
2. In the Right ascension section, enter the Hours, Minutes, and Seconds values.
3. In the Declination section, enter the Degrees, Minutes, and Seconds and choose the North or South hemisphere.
4. From the Epoch menu, choose the preferred reference. E.g. 2000.0.
5. Click the Slew button.

With the mouse, you may use the "spinner" buttons beside the values.

MONDAY, JULY 13, 2015

fixing the comet load error

One can permanently fix the error / crash that may occur on attempting to load observable comet data from the web.

See the post for instructions on editing the Windows registry.

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015

tracking at solar, lunar, or comet rates

1. Click on the object to track.
2. In the Object Information dialog box, click the Telescope tab.
3. Click the Set Tracking Rates... button.
4. Confirm.

To revert to sideral tracking speed, select any star, and then perform the same steps as above.

THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015

adding comets

Requires an active internet connection.

1. Choose Data, Comets and Minor Planets...
2. Uncheck old comets, as necessary, so to speed up the software and to unclutter the simulated sky.
3. From The Web section, click the Observable... button.
4. Then choose the preferred comet from the sorted list and click Add. It is automatically checked or made active.

FRIDAY, JULY 27, 2012

TheSky 6 quick reference guide

Blake Nancarrow produced a quick reference guide for using the software in a basic fashion when running a Paramount ME telescope mount.

The document is available upon request for the time-being. It will appear on-line in short order...

SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2011

deactivating joystick button

The default behaviour of the button on the joystick of the Paramount ME is to send the mount to the home position.

This button was occasionally pressed by accident by an observer causing the telescope to move unexpectedly. There was a low-risk of hurting the observer, hitting people nearby, or striking ladders.

It is easy to disable.

1. Choose Telescope, Options, More Settings.
2. Click the Homing | Limits tab.
3. Click the Right Ascension radio button and remove the check mark next to Allowed from joystick.
4. Click the Declination radio button and remove the check mark next to Allowed from joystick.
5. Optionally, cClick the Setup tab and click Save to Flash.

The last step is required if you want to set start-up condition of the mount. Otherwise, you'll have to do this for each session.

MONDAY, JUNE 22, 2009

toggling tracking

While measuring double stars, during the drift timing, I wanted to turn off the tracking of the Paramount.

It is easy to toggle off and on...

1. Choose the Telescope command.
2. Hover on the Options command (so to verify the current status). Tracking is listed in the submenu and normally checked, i.e. on.
3. Click the Tracking command to disable (or enable).

Turning off tracking is also useful when you want to keep the mount powered and the software running but want to avoid any movement, perhaps to avoid collisions, to tracking into the stop limits.

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