When I select an imaging project from either a comet or asteroid list I lose the ability to zoom the map in Composition and Tiles. The Zoom buttons appear to be disabled.
Is this expected behaviour?
Thanks
Bob
Imaging Projects are timeless. When you use the project in the Scheduler, only then is a date and time assigned to the project, and only on the Scheduler. The problem is that comets and Asteroids move, so there isn't any way to depict them in a meaningful way on the sky. As a result, it is the expected behavior that the chart on the Composition tab doesn't work for them. In the case of Comets and Asteroids, the imaging project is setting the exposure goals, and things like tracking, but you need to wait until the scheduling step to do the composition.
So I completed a schedule for tonight for a comet. All looks fine in the Scheduler, but I still do not have access to anything in the Composition tab (except the Camera Rotation Angle which is working).
Hello. Let me clarify something for you about your Imaging Project. Scheduling the project won't actually change anything since Imaging Projects, including the Composition tab, don't have any specific date or time associated with them. This means they can't accurately track the position of a moving object like a comet. Sorry if I didn't explain that clearly before.
You can use the full charts to preview your comet image. To do that, right-click on the line in the schedule where your comet observation appears. Select View Interactive Atlas. This will open the Atlas with the comet project centered in the view at the time of your observation. It will display the FOV of the project, and if you click the Camera View, and, making sure you have the correct filter and exposure time, it will display a simulated view of what you will see in the eyepiece.
Note that rotating the FOV in the atlas will not change the orientation in the project, nor can you reposition the view to offset the comet from the center. If you want to change the FOV rotation angle, left click on the corner of the FOV where the handle is and rotate it. Once positioned, right-click to see the rotation angel. Note that down, and go back to the Composition tab and enter it there.
Offsetting the position of the comet from the image center is a difficult thing to do, because the position of the comet is determined by the orbital elements, and most control systems have no way to add a constant offset from the comet position. There is a feature on the Composition tab that can be used to make an offset in some cases, but it is complicated. Let me know if you need to do that.