Last Updated: June 2008
I ♥ Observing Stars!
Observatories | Weather | Exposure Time Calculators | Astrometry | Finder Charts | Astronomy Tools | Manuals | Standards
Here are some useful time-saving links/tools for observation planning. If you know of any other great sites, please email them to me!
The WIYN Observatories on Kitt Peak, where I do most of my observing.
| Astrometry tools and catalogs | ||
| Site | Contents | |
| For a discussion on Coordinates and Spherical Trig. | ||
| WCStools | Skycoor task is great for changing between degrees and h:m:s, also for computing distances | |
| National Virtual Observatory | Matches point sources between catalogs | |
| Webda | The open cluster database--a real treasure trove! | |
| 2MASS Point Source Catalog | Good astrometry | |
| USNO Catalogs | Good astrometry | |
| Simbad | A great starting point, also good for cross references. | |
| NED XY2SKY | X/Y offset to RA/DEC conversion, if only I'd found this sooner! | |
| Astronomy Tools by J. R. Thorstensen and B. Casey | ||
| Tool | Purpose | |
| The full list of Astronomy Tools. | ||
| Hourly Airmass Table | Outputs airmasses at local time, UT, and LST | |
| Astronomical Sky Calendar | Sunrise, sunset, and twilight times | |
| Daily Almanac | Tells number of observable hours on a given date. | |
| Rise and Set times | Quick and easy to use | |
| Skycalc | Astronomical calculator program for command line use | |
| JSkycalc | Java/gui version of Skycalc. Looks useful! | |
| Observing Manuals | ||
| For Data Acquisition and the WIYN Observatories | ||
| Observatory | Manual | Contents |
| For a more complete listing, visit Telescope and Instrument Documentation | ||
| NOAO/KPNO | Direct Imaging Manual for Kitt Peak | Exposure times, Color transformations, Filters |
| Calibrations, CCDs | ||
| An Observer's Guide to Taking CCD Data with ICE | Overview of data acquisition | |
| Observe/IRAF commands | ||
| KPNO Automatic Observing Logs | Making, viewing, and printing autologs | |
| WIYN | WIYN HYDRA AND BENCH SPECTROGRAPH | Tips for designing Hydra configurations and choosing fops |
| Basic commands needed to setup fields, flats, and comps. | ||
| WHYDRA | Help with running whydra and the hydra simulator | |
| WIYN 0.9m | WIYN 0.9M OBSERVING MANUAL | Tips for using the TCS and guiding |
| Startup and Close down checklists | ||
| NOAO/KPNO Mosaic | How to use the ARCON controllers and Mosaic specific observing commands | |
| Fields for Photometric Calibrations | ||
| Site | Contents | |
| Remember to get a range of colors and airmasses! | ||
| WIYN Standard Fields (Landolt & Rubin) | Finding charts, colors, and exposure times for Equatorial fields for UBVRI Calibration | |
| Landolt Standard Fields | Finding charts, colors, and exposure times for Equatorial fields for UBVRI Calibration | |
| Bright Star Catalog | Good for telluric corrections and pointing checks | |
| Stetson Photometric Standards | Standard fields and clusters | |
| CCD Standard Sequences | Standard fields and clusters | |
| Northern JHK Standard Stars for Array Detectors | Hunt et al. NIR standard stars w/ K~8-13 | |
Last Updated: June 2008
I ♥ Observing Stars!