I'm working with the BAMBOS 600 list, with the intention of observing objects that I've never observed that are below DEC -50 as I have a rare opportunity in Chile the next two nights.  I'm encountering some odd behaviors.

When I set all objects with log entries to "Observed", and then uncheck "Show Observed", several objects with log entries appear, which weren't appearing when all "Show All" was current status.  It took some wrangling, but I was finally able to get all the logged objects to "Observed".  I'm not even sure what steps I took at this point.


Thanks,

Bram

Looks like in a few hours (00:28:06CDT) this very small rock will make a very close pass (24,261Km).
The only place I've been able to find elements was at:
https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/...id=2023+VA
Only 23 observation over less than 24 hours. Uncertainty = 8.
It appears that it might reach 12th magnitude and be moving 5724"/m (1.6°/m) low in the north from Houston.

Just thought I would throw this out there, but due to the high uncertainty, late notice, low altitude (~20°), and speed, it might be very difficult to locate.

This is truly one where you need very close osculating elements from Horizons.

Kenneth Drake

I used SkyTools Imaging 4 (ST4) to plan for and enjoy a very successful imaging session, recording the classical 4 Galilean satellites of Jupiter, the fainter inner body Amalthea and 8 of the fainter outer, irregular satellites.
 
Celestron C9.25 Edge HD F10 at prime focus (2350mm).
ASI2600MM Pro (Bin 2x2) for the outer, fainter moons. 60 sec exposures, Gain=0, Offset=15. (The Sky X Pro Camera Add On).
Player One Saturn SQR (Bin 1x1) for the 4 Galilean satellites and Amalthea. (SharpCap).
Bortle 7 skies.
 
I used SkyTools Imaging 4 (ST4) to locate and GoTo all the satellites, other than Leda, whose data I obtained from the JPL Horizons website. ST4 provided the following information for my location in Brisbane, set for the mid-time of my session.
 
Name                  Mag      PA°        Sep"
Io                         4.8         247.4    95.1
Europa                5.1         75.8       156.8
Ganymede         4.4         226.8    53.6
Callisto                5.4         281.0    72.3
Amalthea           13.9       230.8    9.5
Himalia               14.6       223.6    3538.0
Elara                    16.6       98.7       1682.8
Pasiphae            16.8       277.4    12164.8
Sinope                18.1       273.4    2576.9
Lysithea              18.2       168.9    1982.4
Carme                 17.8       236.3    8051.9
Ananke               18.7       76.2       7649.4
 
Sinope was the most affected by the spill over of unwanted glare from the Jovian disc, so I had to place it towards the edge to lessen the impact. The whole project was made so easy through being able to obtain all the bodies data (apart from Leda) in ST4 and use ST4 to slew to each body in turn. I grabbed between 10 and 15 frames of 60 secs each which easily recorded these brighter satellites.
 
The positional data for Leda was obtained from the JPL Horizons website and I slewed to the RA and DEC coordinates to locate it. I grabbed 56x60 sec frames for the much fainter Leda. The recorded position is a good candidate when compared to the JPL position but to be certain, I would probably have to image it again to see if it has moved.
 
2023-Oct-20 15:00UT.
RA=02 38 05.41 DEC=+13 51 51.0.
Magnitude 20.068.
01 27 25 AEST
 
******** ASTROMETRIC SOLUTION RESULTS ********
Scale: 0.6460 arcseconds/pixel
Size (pixels): 3124 x 2088
Angular Size: 0° 33' 38" x 0° 22' 29"
Position Angle: 0° 49' from north through east
Mirror Image: No
RMS: 0.68 (X: 0.56 Y: 0.38)
Number of Stars Used in Solution: 102 (100%)
FWHM: 3.29 pixels, 2.13 arcseconds
**********************************************
 
I used Player One Saturn SQR (Bin 1x1) for the Jovian disc and Amalthea, with the 4 Galilean satellites of Europa, Callisto, Io and Ganymede as it had a higher framerate of 42 fps.
 
The 4-panel frames are full res crops where I have overlaid the text from ST4 over the BYW image, as a colour Layer in PS CC, to identify the satellites.
 
Dennis

   

   

   

   

I have a list that I want to filter based on a range of DEC so that I can identify a subset for observing by changing the observed status to "not yet observed".  I can sort the list by DEC, but cannot find a way to click select the group I want either.

Thanks,

Bram

I really like the functionality of having an obstructed horizon file. As I start using ST4 to plan observations from other sites, I'm wondering if each site can have its own horizon file. Likely this has been discussed somewhere, but i can't find it.

If not, I guess a workaround could be to create a home_horizon.txt, darksite_horizon.txt, vacation_horizon.txt, etc. and then copy one to horizon.txt depending on where one is.

I managed to grab the 9 brighter moons of Saturn on 1st Oct 2023 from our back garden in Brisbane with my Tak Mewlon 210 F11.5, Tak x1.6 Extender and ASI2600MM Pro camera.
 
To cater for the varying brightness levels, I grabbed a series of test exposures ranging from 01 sec to 30 secs and used the following data sets to generate the final composite image using Layers In PS CC to blend the 3 sets of images together.
 
05 secs x 30 frames 11:00pm to 11:04pm AEST (UT+10).
15 secs x 30 frames 11:11pm to 11:20pm AEST(UT+10).
02 secs x21 frames 11:28pm to 11:30pm AEST(UT+10).
 
SkyTools 4 Imaging provides the following details for 11:15pm AEST (UT+10).
 
Saturn at Magnitude: 0.54
 
Satellites:
Name      Mag   PA°    Sep"
Mimas     13.0 271.9   27.5
Enceladus 11.8 100.6   33.4
Tethys    10.3 275.0   44.6
Dione     10.5  91.5   53.2
Rhea       9.8 269.6   69.4
Titan      8.4 118.5   79.0
Hyperion  14.3 287.0  128.9
Iapetus   11.2 100.9   65.1
Phoebe    16.6 240.1  600.3
 
The image of the inner moons is a full res crop and the wider view has been resampled down to fit in Phoebe, some way away from the planet. The image of Saturn was taken with my ASI662MC and blended in over the blown out Saturn.
 
SkyTools 4 Imaging proved very useful as I could monitor the changing positions of Enceladus and Mimas in real time, as Enceladus was being increasingly swamped as it entered Saturn’s glare on the E and Mimas began to emerge from the planetary glare on the W.
 
Dennis

Full res crop of inner moons
   

Down sampled wider view to include Phoebe
   

And this is what gave me certainty that I had succeeded.
   

Hi,
even after watching some of the tutorials, I am at odds on how Skytools work. I was under the impression that I would identify a number of targets, say emission nebulae, load them up at once into the scheduler and Skytools would propose suitable targets for tonight, or any other requested night.
However, I do not seem to find a way to do this. Am I required to build a project for each and every target, even though my requirements are equal for all those targets with an export or import feature, for instance?
Thanks,
Rita

Hello everyone,

I have some sad news. One of our members, known here as blakesphere, has passed away. Blake Nancarrow was a long-time friend of SkyTools and of myself. To my wife he once described our relationship as being sort of "penpals," as we had known each other for many years without ever having met in person. He was a long-time member of the SkyTools email list that preceded these forums, more than once was an important beta tester, organized SkyTools classes for the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC), played a pivotal role in obtaining SkyTools 3 at a discount for club members, and it was he who ensured a place for the RASC Finest NGC Objects observing list in SkyTools.

In April of this year my wife and I decided to head up to Toronto as part of attending NEAIC/NEAF in New York. My wife suggested that I reach out to Blake to see if he'd be available to finally meet in person. We met Blake for breakfast in downtown Toronto, a city he clearly loved. It was during breakfast that he revealed his cancer diagnosis, and I recall looking into his eyes across the table knowing that it was terminal, and that he knew that I knew. We didn't speak of it again. During the day we spent together, Blake was a wonderful and gracious host, taking us up the CN tower where he pointed out the interesting buildings, so many of which he had taught classes in. It was a beautiful spring day, and I was impressed with how large Toronto is, stretching into the distance. He proudly referred to it as the center of the universe.

I'll never forget racing across town in our rented Tesla on a sort of treasure hunt, not sure exactly what he was up to. First to a RASC member's home to pick up keys, and then off to the historic David Dunlap Observatory, where he gave us the grand tour. DDO is one of the great observatories constructed in the 1930's. I love astronomy history and relished the chance to visit. Before I knew it, Blake was teaching a class - instructing me how to set up and put away the telescope! He asked that I not tell anyone or post to social media about it, because he had called in some favors and we were kind of there on the sly.  I don't think I can get him into trouble now.

Blake was a terrific guy and a wonderful teacher. I am so grateful for his friendship and especially for the day we spent together, only a few months ago. I will always cherish both.

   

Hello,

I have only been using skytools for 2 days, so forgive me if my questions are idiotic.
I have a fair bit of the sky obstructed at home, and the clear bit is roughly west-north-northeast, that would correspond to 270-0-70 degrees (horizontal coordinates of Alt/Az).
It is, therefore, important when selecting new targets that I have that into consideration.
For now I haven´t introduced the data for the obstruction.
What is the best way to do so? When I choose to display in target list some vey obvious objects like Arcturus or Altair, the Alt/Az coordinates displayed do not seem correct. There is probably some tweaking I am missing.
Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Rita

I'm going to be at Okie-Tex next Saturday through Tuesday. I'd love to see some of you there and hear your perspectives on amateur astronomy. I am also doing the first talk on Tuesday.