This software is a simple target selection tool to select targets (variable stars or stellar clusters) based on it's position on the sky, the observatory location, and some filters.
It will print a catalog with the best targets to observe along with some info and a formatted list that's easy to use with this another tool:
http://catserver.ing.iac.es/staralt/
To install it in a conda environment with conda use:
$ conda install --file requirements.txt
- Activate the conda environment
- Enter the script folder
- Run it with
$python target_selector.py - Input the required info
This is a simple script script, therefore does not contain safe guards to take into consideration the cyclical nature of this task (that 24h = 0h). So sometimes this will make the script give targets on the first half of the night when asked for targets on the second half and vice versa.
Therefore ALWAYS CHECK with the visibility plot
This happens when the terminal font is too large for the table to be rendered on the available columns.
Is this case simply decrease the font size and run again.
- Cantat-Gaudin+, 2020 -> For a catalog of open clusters
- Samus+, 2017 -> For a catalog of field variable stars (GCVS 5.1)
- ESA, 1997, The Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues, ESA SP-1200 -> For neighbor checking