The star charting feature has been enhanced to include new features and inter-operation with a new planetarium program: Cartes du Ciel 3. Support for Redshift 6/7, Starry Night 5+, TheSky6 and Cartes du Ciel 2.76 has been continued. When Software Bisque releases TheSkyX Pro for Windows, adding support for TheSkyX in Deep-Sky Planner 5 will become a very high priority.
The Show Chart command that is accessed by right-clicking on any celestial object in any report allows you to send a 'Center On' request to any supported planetarium program. With Deep-Sky Planner 5, this request can include a change in the field of view displayed by the planeterium program when it centers on an object. Most of the planetarium programs supported by Deep-Sky Planner 5 also support this feature.
There are several options that determine how the field of view is changed. First, you might select a fixed field of view. This is convenient for matching a finderscope field of view or just personal preference. If you are used to a printed atlas that presents the sky in a certain size, this option can accomplish this.
Another option allows you to adjust the field of view based on the size of the object you have selected. Most planetarium programs adjust the amount of detail shown as the field of view changes. If you select a small object in Deep-Sky Planner 5, the planetarium program may need to show a very small field of view to display the object at all. You might also like to see the surrounding context of an object, so you could choose a scaling factor that changes the field of view to a multiple of the object size.
The final option permits you to adjust the field of view based on the equipment that you are using for viewing or imaging. You can choose a multiplier that is applied to the field of view for the optical system you have selected in the Equipment Bar. Visual observers might use this to starhop to a target or help identify an object in a crowded field. An imaging observer might use this to frame the context of an image.
Another enhancement allows you to minimize Deep-Sky Planner 5 when you select Show Chart if you wish. If your planetarium program is the next program window on the Windows desktop, it is exposed when Deep-Sky Planner is minimized. This option effectively allows you to switch to the planetarium view instantly.
These two enhancements used together can make your favorite planetarium program display a celestial object centered in an intelligently sized field of view with just one click or key press.
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