DSP Mobile: Viewing Plans

Once a plan is stored on your device, you can open it and view it. As with Deep-Sky Planner Desktop Edition, you can set a time and place for the plan, and filter and sort the listing by several criteria.

Setting Time and Place

Astronomical calculations require a time and a place to produce accurate results. The Localize tab of the Plan window provides these functions. You can select your location from the database and the date/ time for your observations as shown below. There are several options for calculating special times of day (sunset and so forth) for the location on the chosen date. You may also download images for objects in the plan from Digitized Sky Survey servers.

[Note: Screenshots for this post were taken on a 10" Android tablet with the Charcoal Gray app style.]

Localize: Location, Date/ Time, DSS Images

Viewing Object Data

Once you have the correct location and time set for your observations, you can view the Objects tab to view object information.

Objects: Object selection and detailed information

The Objects tab is where you find the detailed information for each object in a plan. Some of the data is static and stored in the plan file, but some is ephemeral - calculated for the time and place of your observation. This means that data like Altitude and Azimuth are calculated (and refreshed) as you work. Visibility modeling is also available so that you have an assessment of whether you can view the object given your equipment and conditions.

Filtering and Sorting the plan are important features that will be covered in our next post. Stay tuned!