How do you Find an Object?
Begin by displaying the find
an object dialogue box (or use the quick search area in the Control
Panel). Do this by using the Find… command in the Edit
menu (you can also use the F2 key). You can search for three different types of
object:
Stars
- If you know the name of the star you want
to find, you can select one of the names in the predefined list of star
names (in the top right of the Stars area). Then just left-click on
the Find button (which is in the same area).
- If you know the SAO
number of the star sought, first select the keyword SAO in the list in the
top left of the Stars area then enter the SAO number in the small
input box to the bottom right of this list. To launch the search just
left-click on the Find button (which is in the same area).
- If you know the Tycho-2
identifier of the star sought, first select the keyword Tycho-2 in the list in the top left of the Stars area then enter the identifier (for example
" 153-2120-1 ") in the small input box to the
bottom right of this list. To launch the search just left-click on the Find
button (which is in the same area).
- If you know the Hipparcos
identifier of the star sought, first select the keyword Hipparcos in the
list in the top left of the Stars area then enter the identifier
(for example " 66375 ") in the small input box
to the bottom right of this list. To launch the search just left-click on
the Find button (which is in the same area).
- If you know the UCAC3 identifier of the star sought,
first select the keyword UCAC3 in the list in the top left of the Stars
area then enter the identifier (for example " 005-116375 ")
in the small input box to the bottom right of this list. To launch the search
just left-click on the Find button (which is in the same area). The
UCAC3 identifier must be constructed in the following form: "zzz-nnnnnn"
where zzz is the number of the UCAC3 area (between 1 and 360 from
the South pole to the North pole) and nnnnnn a 6 figure identifier
which identifies the star in the area.
- If you know the UCAC4 identifier of the star sought,
first select the keyword UCAC4 in the list in the top left of the Stars
area then enter the identifier (for example " 645-116375 ")
in the small input box to the bottom right of this list. To launch the search
just left-click on the Find button (which is in the same area). The
UCAC4 identifier must be constructed in the following form: "zzz-nnnnnn"
where zzz is the number of the UCAC4 area (between 1 and 900 from
the South pole to the North pole) and nnnnnn a 6 figure identifier
which identifies the star in the area.
- If you know the GCVS
identifier of the star sought, first select the keyword GCVS in the list
in the top left of the Stars area then enter the identifier (for
example " V1969 Cyg ") in the small
input box to the bottom right of this list. To launch the search just
left-click on the Find button (which is in the same area).
- If you know the Gliese identifier of the star sought,
first select the keyword Gliese in the list in the top left of the Stars
area then enter the identifier (for example " 56
") in the small input box to the bottom right of this list. To
launch the search just left-click on the Find button (which is in
the same area).
- If you know the WDS identifier
of the star sought, first select the keyword WDS in the list in the top
left of the Stars area then enter the identifier (for example " 00404+5624 ")
in the small input box to the bottom right of this list. To launch the search
just left-click on the Find button (which is in the same area). Beware:
the identifier of a WDS object absolutely must be a code of 10 characters
and have the form "aaaaaxdddd" where "aaaaa" is the
right ascension of the identifier in hours, minutes and seconds, ,"x"
the "+" or "-" sign and "dddd" the declination
of the identifier in degrees and minutes. If the identifier doesn’t have
exactly this form, the WDS object sought will not be found.
- If you want to find a particular star in
a constellation, use the Constellations in the find
object dialogue box. First select a Bayer designation from the
first drop down list (alpha to omega) the select a constellation name from
the second drop down list in the area. To launch the search just
left-click on the Find button (which is in the same area). If you
do not specify a Bayer designation, it is usually the star alpha in the
constellation which is found (it is worth noting that not all
constellations have a star alpha).
Deep sky objects catalogues
Searching in a catalogue of deep sky objects
is only possible if you have selected the catalogue in the Deep
sky tab of the Options
dialogue box. (Alternatively, you can SHIFT+right-click on the map –
this method lets you quickly select a database for display, without going
through the Options dialogue box.)
You must begin by selecting the catalogue in
which the object you are looking for appears. Four choices are available in the
drop-down list on the left of the Deep sky area of the find
object dialogue box: NGC, IC, Messier and
PGC. Once the catalogue has been selected, you must insert the identifier of
the object sought in the adjacent text box. Then just click the Find
button (which is in the same area) to display the object you are looking for in
the centre of the current view.
Objects in the BT-Atlas
You can search for an object in the BT-Atlas only
if the BT-Atlas is selected in the Dep
sky tab of the Options
dialogue box. (Alternatively, you can SHIFT+right-click on the map –
this method lets you quickly select a database for display, without going
through the Options dialogue box.)
It is very easy to search for an object in the
BT-Atlas. As the BT-Atlas combines numerous objects from different catalogues,
you must first select the catalogue containing the object you want to find. To
do this, use the drop-down list at the top of the BT-Atlas area in the Find
object dialogue box. All the catalogues included in the BT-Atlas
are arranged in alphabetical order.
Once a catalogue has been selected, C2A
updates a small list just below the list of catalogues. This list contains all
the objects in the selected catalogue which are included in the BT-Atlas. You
then just have to choose one of the objects in the new drop-down list and
left-click the Find button (which is in the same area).
The NGC catalogue (many of whose
objects are included in the BT-Atlas) is a special case. You may first wish to
type a number in the input box at the bottom left of the BT-Atlas area to
update the drop-down list of referenced objects. This procedure lets you limit
the number of objects in the dropdown list, and so improves the system response
time.
You can also directly type the name of an
object in the BT-Atlas in the input box in the bottom left of the BT-Atlas
area (for example: M31).
Note that some objects which do not appear in
specific catalogues are gathered under the heading “Misc” (accessible in
the list of catalogues).
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