Abstract
To automate the process of planning and curating multi-target observation sessions, pysky application builds on the astroplan Python package to identify visible objects during an observation window and produce relevant information about those objects in visual and graphical form. The package calculates object visibility based on a provided time window and observing location as well as maximum airmass and limiting magnitude requested by the user. The pysky application images of the target objects with identifying and astrometric data to provide context for the images. In addition, pysky creates polar plots of each object’s horizontal coordinates, and the images and plots are designed to be shown side-by-side. The package also generates an HTML table of the selected target objects with their related data to relay the entire target list as one. The pysky application draws on a variety of Python packages to collect and process data from databases such as JPL Horizons and SIMBAD. Results for a test event were verified by hand using database web interfaces. The pysky application provides a platform for further integration of automated observation planning with websites and apps to enhance multi-target observation sessions.
Highlights
Astronomical observation of specified objects requires advance planning to identify the objects available during the time frame of observation
To automate the process of planning and curating multi-target observation sessions, pysky application builds on the astroplan Python package to identify visible objects during an observation window and produce relevant information about those objects in visual and graphical form
The package generates an HTML table of the selected target objects with their related data to relay the entire target list as one
Summary
Astronomical observation of specified objects requires advance planning to identify the objects available during the time frame of observation. The program designer usually seeks to curate an array of observation targets to present to program participants, and visualization is an important component to support participants’ astronomical learning [4]. The pysky application seeks to fill the need for multi-target observation planning and curation by: 1) automating the identification of available observation targets within a time window given observational constraints; 2) collecting pertinent data about the targets; 3) formatting and visualizing these data for session planning as well as public event promotion and presentation
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