108 replies to this topic

[Cey42]

The latest version for SharpCap, released 2 days ago, has added deep sky image annotation. This is a great feature to see added. I know that when I am watching my image stack, I am wondering about other objects that I may be seeing. Now SharpCap can add the annotation in real-time.

 

Can't wait to try this out.

 

You can read more on the SharpCap forums, https://forums.sharp...opic.php?t=4977

[roelb]

Yes a nice add-on.

Up to now I always saved a fit file to import in ASTAP.

The number of objects is limited. One can add objects but that is a bit cumbersome.

[alphatripleplus]

Sounds interesting. It is stated the built in catalog includes 13000 IC and NGC targets, so for anyone hoping for faint small galaxies to be included you may want to add something like the PGC.

[Mark Lovik]

COOOOOOOOOL

 

It's a feature I have wanted for a while.

• Great for outreach -- think of the discussions this can promote for different ranges of interest!
• Great for me -- I am often clueless of the context around the objects I observer.  Think running man nebula and Orion.  It was in the December challenge, viewed it quickly in mono (clear dark skies were a problem for me in December ... but I digress).  Looked back at multiple old EAA views of M42, and the running man was in every one of my views.  Automation to help me handle my chronic EAA ailment - EAA tunnel vision!

Edited by Mark Lovik, 12 January 2022 - 08:21 PM.

[Cey42]

I agree that the database is a little small. It is great that he has the ability to add more catalogs.  Once one of us makes a new one, we can share it with all. I am in the process of making the PGC catalog. I have the data for about 52,000 galaxies from https://vizier.u-strasbg.f. It does not have PosAngle, but I think it still will work fine.

 

 

Once I get a chance to test it out and confirm it is good, I can share it here for others to use.

[Cey42]

I figured out this feature can be used with the Folder Monitoring feature. What one needs to do is start folder monitor then go to Tools/Plate Solve(solve only). After it solves, then you can go to Tools/Deep Sky Image Annotation. This will making testing custom catalogs a lot easier.

 

 

[MartinMeredith]

I agree that the database is a little small. It is great that he has the ability to add more catalogs.  Once one of us makes a new one, we can share it with all. I am in the process of making the PGC catalog. I have the data for about 52,000 galaxies from https://vizier.u-strasbg.f. It does not have PosAngle, but I think it still will work fine.

 

 

Once I get a chance to test it out and confirm it is good, I can share it here for others to use.

I have position angle data for the PGC catalogue so if you can't get it do let me know. One issue is that when I last visited (March 2021) the catalogue contained 3.4 million entries so it will be necessary to select a subset unless you want to go really deep.

 

Martin

[alphatripleplus]

Good to hear of these efforts. I have only scraped most of the PGC ( a few tens of thousands of entries) for a project, so if someone builds a bigger catalog for SharpCap I am sure it will be of interest to many of us.

[GaryShaw]

Hi Folks,

You guys seem to have a great grasp of what the new SC annotation feature can do so may I ask a specific question:

 

Could I enter a list of stars ( variables and exoplanet star candidates ) into SC that would result in SC annotating these stars when they show up in a plate-solved image? If so, could I continually add stars to that list as more of these targets are identified?

 

Thanks for your responses!

Gary

[nic35]

If you have ASTAP, you can do off line annotation.  And if you include the hyperleda database, you add 2.2 million extragalactic objects, mainly galaxies.  You need to do an offline plate solve first, which is easiest if you use a 16 bit FITS file.

[Cey42]

Gary, yes you should be able stars to your custom catalog. And yes you could keep adding to your catalog.

 

 

One potential issue is that Robin says to limit the custom catalog to under 100K because of potential performance issues.

 

 

Nic, can you add a custom catalog to ASTAP offline annotation feature? I already use it offline and it would be great to be able to add more.

[MunichAtNight]

Hello!

 

I just did some test with annotation with Sharcap.

 

 

 

 

Great what Robin is doing with his software and what Sharpcap is able to do for us!

 

Thanks to Robin Glover C.E.O. of sharpcap! MunichAtNight - Ewald

[nic35]

Cey

 

I don't know about custom catalogs.  Why not post on his forums, or pm him here on CN .  He's han.k.

 

j

[wmorrison58]

Robin has done it again!

Is there a way to call this in a sequence?

Wes

[Cey42]

With today's release he has added a bunch more cool features

• Can select and highlight objects
• Can choose which catalogs to show
• Can see what other objects are just outside of FOV
• And much more

 

Read this post on SharpCap forums for more details

[MunichAtNight]

Thanks Cey!

 

I can't wait to test it! Great! Unbelievable good features!

 

MunichAtNight - Ewald

[BrentKnight]

Nearby sounds like a great feature for the Virgo Cluster....

[alphatripleplus]

In addition to annotation, the "Center in View" button that Robin has added is a nice feature that I have occasionally wanted as an alternative to nudging a target into the centre of the frame.

[Ptarmigan]

That looks like a useful feature.  

[GaryShaw]

Robin has rolled many of the great ‘sequencer’ and ‘framing’ features from NINA together with the plate solve and annotation features of nova.astrometry.net, into his already-fantastic Sharpcap Pro application.

 

He’s already single handedly enabled the entire practice of EAA that gives us all such pleasure. As soon as he works it out so we can have access to all the individual darks and flats that precede the masters, he’ll deserve the ‘Triple Crown’ of all Astronomy Applications….

 

The very least those of us who use SC and enjoy EAA can do, is to subscribe annually to SC Pro….and never blink if he increases the subscription fee.

Gary

[Northernguy]

I really enjoyed his YouTube video on the physics of astrophotography cameras and how to calculate the optimal sub durations. Entertaining, educational, and practical!

[mikenoname]

I agree that the database is a little small. It is great that he has the ability to add more catalogs.  Once one of us makes a new one, we can share it with all. I am in the process of making the PGC catalog. I have the data for about 52,000 galaxies from https://vizier.u-strasbg.f. It does not have PosAngle, but I think it still will work fine.

 

 

Once I get a chance to test it out and confirm it is good, I can share it here for others to use.

 

 

I have position angle data for the PGC catalogue so if you can't get it do let me know. One issue is that when I last visited (March 2021) the catalogue contained 3.4 million entries so it will be necessary to select a subset unless you want to go really deep.

 

Martin

I very much look forward to a good PGC catalog! Let me know if I can help.

 

One way to cull the larger PGC catalog would be to eliminate anything fainter than mag 18.

[nic35]

Re catalogs, ASTAP allows you to use the hyperleda data for annotation.  

 

http://leda.univ-lyon1.fr/intro.html

 

Seems to include 5.3 million extragalactic objects, of which 1.7 million come from the PGC catalog.

Edited by nic35, 28 January 2022 - 07:54 AM.

[GaryShaw]

John, does this in some way allow us to invoke the hyperleda catalog entries and field data to appear as annotations to our SC images? If we could add our own objects of study to hyperleda and then pull the annotations onto our sky images, this could be a big help in locating variable stars and exoplanet stars that don’t respond to search queries. 
 

When first going after variables or exoplanet stars, I spend a lot of time cross- comparing my exposure test images with Aladdin images, looking for star patterns that help me locate the target in often, very crowded star field. It would be ideal to be able to enter the target name, RA, Dec into some database that SC reads and have the object location identified by annotation in Sharpcap. Is this possible with hyperleda?
 

Gary

[MartinMeredith]

I very much look forward to a good PGC catalog! Let me know if I can help.

 

One way to cull the larger PGC catalog would be to eliminate anything fainter than mag 18.

The PGC catalogue I prepared in 2021 has 3.44 million galaxies, of which 842466 are under mag 18.

 

Since there is actually a non-trivial amount of work involved in producing the catalogue (from formulating the appropriate SQL query to getting the data into a useful form) I'm quite happy to share it or any subset. Just specify the columns and other criteria. Here's a fragment of the under-18 set