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

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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