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#title=true ra=true dec=true epoch=truefalse muRA=true muDec=true magnitude=true dRA=true dDec=true rotatorPA=true rotatorFrame=true # "Vega - Alpha Lyrae" 18:36:56.336 +38:47:01.28 2000 200.94 286.23 0.03 1.0 2.0 3.0 Target "HR 173 - HD 3795" 00:40:32.809 -23:48:17.56 2000 635.18 -363.56 6.14 1.0 2.0 3.0 Fixed |
Title, Right Ascension, and Declination are required parameters and the rest are optional. The first line of the meta data declares which columns parameters will be supplied in the input file. The order of the columns cannot change and the only thing that can be edited in the first line is the true/false value for the column. In other words, the first line has to include all the parameters shown above. The second line is a simple separator and is required.
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- title or name (surrounded in double quotes) - required - this it will be send to the TCS and as the science target name and cannot be blank
- Right Ascension (hh:mm:ss.sss) - required - the the seconds can be either integer or float
- Declination (+/-dd:mm:ss.ss) - required - plus plus sign is optional for the degrees, and arc-seconds can be either integer or floatepoch
- Proper Motion in RA (mas/yr) - this is the angular measurement used by most catalogs: μα×cos(δ)
- Proper Motion in Dec (mas/yr) - μδ
- Magnitude
- differential tracking rate in RA (arc seconds/hour)
- differential tracking rate in DEC (arc seconds/hour)
- rotator Postion Angle (degrees)
- rotator Frame ("Target" or "Fixed") - a literal string without the quotes
The coordinates need to be in FK5 (J2000). Not all combination of optional data make sense and the code is not robust enough to check for all the possible combinations. For instance; proper motion in RA and DEC and epoch should be all supplied together.
The fields should all be separated by at least one space and the columns in the input file do not have to line up but extra spaces can be inserted so that they are more readable for the user. Magnitude is included in case the observer wishes to sort the table based on brightness. It is not used by the TCS.
The table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers. First click will do does an ascending sort. Second click will do does a descending sort and third click will revert reverts to original order.
The Menu Bar contains several items but the main item is File --> Open Target List:
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The format for the input file to the Observer Target List was changed recently to be more flexible and also some what compatible with Slew/Dither function within the LMI LOUI. The code is compatible with the old style input file so existing tls files would still work but it is recommended to change to the new style for sake of maintenance and the added functionality that may be offered in the future. For instance, the old style input file has no means for providing rotator position angle and rotator frame. Please note that the old style format required epoch as input but it is set to false by default in the new format. Setting epoch to true for the new format will cause parsing errors and is not supported. The only reason that it exists in the meta data is for backward compatibility. |
Computed Columns
Every table includes three extra columns which are computed for DCT based on the current time for DCT; Air Mass, Azimuth and Elevation. These columns are provided to aid the observer in target selection and are time dependent. A resort re-sort of any of the columns causes the data to be recalculated and the updated values are shown.
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The simplest input file includes title, RA and DEC which are the minimal required data for the TCS. The title can be blank but it is a required field in the input file and the code will fail if the pair of double quotes are missing..
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#title=true ra=true dec=true epoch=false muRA=false muDec=false magnitude=false dRA=false dDec=false rotatorPA=false rotatorFrame=false
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"Vega - Alpha Lyrae" 18:36:56.336 +38:47:01.28
"HR 173 - HD 3795" 00:40:32.809 -23:48:17.56 |