Equipment Database

Overview

DSO Planner supports two user databases of optical instruments: telescope database and eyepiece database. Telescope and eyepiece data is used for visibility calculation and for depicting eyepieces field of view on the Star Chart.

Select necessary telescope before filtering objects based on their visibility in either Select Conditions module or Settings module.

DSO Planner Star Chart module draws the field of view for each selected eyepiece of the selected telescope; the Details screen shows object's visibility for each of them as well.

Telescopes List

• Figure 12: Telescopes List module screenshots
• 

  (using bright theme)

• 

  (editing telescope's data field)

The telescopes list shows names and brief descriptions of your telescopes, on the right side there are checkboxes to indicate which telescope is currently active (Figure 12). Press on checkbox to make a new selection.

• Add new instrument... button helps you add a new telescope to your telescopes list.

Context menu

• Edit — Edit telescope parameters.
  • Name — Telescope name.
  • Aperture (mm) — Telescope aperture in mm.
  • Focal length (mm) — Telescope focal length.
  • Pass through (%) — The amount of light passing through the telescope. 70% is a usual benchmark for reflectors.
  • Short text note — Brief comment if required.
• Assign Eyepieces — Assigned eyepieces are used for Star Chart eyepiece ring drawing and visibility calculations. An eyepiece may be assigned to several telescopes.
• Remove — Remove telescope from the list.
• Remove All — Clear telescope list.

Main Menu

Provides access to export/import operations.

Eyepiece List

• Figure 13: Eyepiece List module screenshots
• 

  (using bright theme)

• 

  (editing eyepiece data field)

The Eyepieces List shows the names and brief descriptions of your eyepieces (Figure 13) and CCD camera sensors. The Add new eyepiece button adds an eyepiece to your eyepieces list, open the Main Menu to add a new CCD. When adding a new eyepiece you can either enter your own eyepiece parameters or select an eyepiece by its name from the integrated list of more than 500 popular eyepieces data available.

Context menu

• Edit — Edit eyepiece parameters:
  • Name — Arbitrary short eyepiece name.
  • Focal length (mm) — Eyepiece focal length in millimeters.
  • AFOV — Eyepiece apparent field of view in degrees.
  • Short text note — Arbitrary note (longer description) if required.
• Remove — Remove selected eyepiece from the list.
• Remove All — Clear the eyepieces list.

Main Menu

• Provides access to export/import operations with the list.
• Add CCD — Open the CCD Add dialog window.
  • Name — Arbitrary short name for the CCD.
  • Horiz.size (mm) — Width of the CCD (N-S) in millimeters.
  • Vert.size (mm) — Height of the CCD (E-W) in millimeters.
  • Short text note — Arbitrary note (longer description) if required.