The file format will be changing slightly when we update the TCS to v1.8 in the near future. Stay tuned for more details. (posted - 2020 Feb 13)
Tracking/Pointing Data for ephemeris targets can be made available at DCT in several ways:
- You may submit a data file prior to your arrival at the site,
- You may bring your data to the site on a thumb drive,
- You may have your TO generate the data on your behalf.
Data Submission
Whether you chose to submit you data file prior to your arrival via email or bring your data with you, the target information will be submitted by your TO. Please check with them at the beginning of the night that your data is available to them (note; it will likely be your TO that uploads the data if you bring a thumb drive so please have it available for them). Regardless of the chosen method of submission the formatting requirements are the same and the files should be saved with the .eph file extension.
Data Format
The date columns are: Year, Month, Day, Hour, Minute, Seconds, RA (hours min sec), and Dec(deg min sec), with the following format
yyyy mm dd hh mm ss αh αm αs.ss ±δd δm δs.s
Sample Data Format
2014 09 27 09 40 00 20 56 58.82 -19 55 39.4
2014 09 27 09 42 00 22 56 58.78 -19 55 39.4
The files should contain nothing except those columns: no column headers, and no meta data. For this reason, you should inform your TO of the Reference Frame for the data. Our system assumes Apparent coordinates, but the frame type can be set by the TO each time a new target is selected.
On Site Data Generation
(Detailed notes on the data generation process maybe found here)
You may have your ephemeris data created from the Horizons database by your TO during your observing run. In all cases it is highly recommended that this process be completed before you are on sky for the night. The box below lists the information that you will need on hand to generate these data.
Required Information
- Target ID or name - the interface requires either the Horizons ID number of the record of interest or the name of the target. If you plan to provide the name you will need to ensure correct formatting of the name (including white spaces e.g., 2014 RC – note the space, without this no target will be found), you will need to inform the TO of the object type (asteroid, comet, satellite, etc...), and in the case of multiple records you will need to select the desired solution.
- UT Start and UT End - for these you will want a desired start and end time in hours and minutes as well as a date.
Data generated in this way are generated in Apparent Coordinates, thus the apparent RA and Dec is what will appear in your image headers. Similarly the epoch will be reported as the current decimal year.