Galaxy Salad

I have been working recently with galaxy data available from HyperLeda. Things have really changed since I got my first set of professional deep-sky catalog data on CD about 17 years ago. Back then, I ordered a set of CDs from the ADC and had to get a friend to let me use his CD drive to extract data - I didn't have a CD drive yet! Now days, oodles of data is available online and is updated constantly. Using the data wisely, of course, is the key.

I have been intrigued with the huge variation in magnitude and size data reported in some of the astronomical software I use. It's just not clear sometimes what data is reported by a given product. In the case of PGC data, most objects have size and B magnitude info, and some have B-V info that can be used to compute a V magnitude. I have one product that shows V magnitude if possible and B otherwise. It takes detective work to discern which is used for
magnitude filtering. The situation with size information is even more adventuresome. We have sizes in arcseconds, arminutes to tenths, arcminutes to hundredths; it's all over the place. The metric used for size in the catalog is a logarithm based on where the object fades out to 25th (B) magnitude. I have to wonder how meaningful size reported to arcseconds is when the surface brightness of many of these objects is above 23 mags/square arcsecond, but at least it's a consistent metric.

Maybe the most entertaining find of the day is that NGC 7009 is listed in HyperLeda as a galaxy. I've observed this object many times, mostly with 8 and 20 inch aperture telescopes, and found the usual classification of planetary nebula to be pretty plausible. Blinking an OIII filter does what you might expect with a planetary. It will take more research to understand why HyperLeda lists the Saturn Nebula as a galaxy...

A new version of OpenAstronomyLog, also known as OAL, was released on 1 October 2009. This release is the first for the project under its new moniker, OpenAstronomyLog. OpenAstronomyLog is an effort to define astronomical observations in an open and platform-independent manner so that observing logs can be exchanged among observers. It is released under the Apache License Version 2.0.

The project began several years ago and was released with the name COMAST. That effort was developed by team members from Germany and Belgium, preceding participation by Knightware.

This version has taken many months of effort to develop, with cooperation being the key. Several applications will support observation import and export using OAL 2.0 soon. These include:

• a free web application (DeepSkyLog.org) that currently houses thousands of observations in several languages
• a free cross-platform application (Observation Manager) written in Java
  
• commercial applications Eye&Telescope and Deep-Sky Planner
• other application developers have indicated interest but release plans are not yet available
  

Knightware's role has been to develop support for importing and exporting data using OAL while enhancing the logging capabilities in Deep-Sky Planner. Months of research into many facets of observation logging have culminated in extensive enhancements to Deep-Sky Planner's logging capability, but have also benefited the OAL project.

While several technical debates arose during the process, the team worked with the guiding principle of cooperation to deliver the result. Some concerns were recognized and addressed, others accepted as compromise.

In the end, it has been a very rewarding experience and a pleasure to work with an international team dedicated to solving the longstanding problem of observation preservation and exchange.

Learn more about the project at:
http://groups.google.com/group/openastronomylog

Logging Update and New Videos

Knightware has published yet another video series, this time concerning deep-sky observation planning. In particular, features found in Deep-Sky Planner's Advanced Deep-Sky document and report are described in a six-part series. Please visit the video library to watch the series or any individual video.

As mentioned in this blog in January, Knightware has participated in an international effort to develop and publish an observation data file format that is freely available, ostensibly to astronomy application developers. The effort is called OpenAstronomyLog, or OAL for short. Its home on the web is located at http://groups.google.com/group/openastronomylog. Support for the OAL standard in Deep-Sky Planner has been under development for some months and is nearly complete. The OAL group needs to agree that a new version (2.0) of the standard is ready for release, and Deep-Sky Planner will support it thereafter. Please watch for further news on this topic.

Sleepy Summertime

Despite the usual summertime distractions (kids & vacation), work at Knightware rolls on...

A new video series has been published describing logging work flows in Deep-Sky Planner 4. Visit the video library to watch these videos.

A nice review of SQM Reader Pro appeared in the July/August issue of Astronomy Technology Today magazine. Author Jack Huerkamp put Unihedron's SQM-LE through its paces using SQM Reader and SQM Reader Pro.

I hope you had the opportunity to observe the impact site on Jupiter this week. The impact site is at 210 degrees longitude (system 2). You can use Deep-Sky Planner's Detailed Planet Ephemeris report to display the system 2 longitude on the central meridian of the planet at any time (see below).

Deep-Sky Planner Videos

The first series of video tutorials for Deep-Sky Planner have been posted in the video library at the Knightware website and on the Knightware channel at YouTube. The videos are short (~5 minutes each) and can be watched online from either location. Enjoy!

The first series demonstrates using Deep-Sky Planner's Show Chart function with planetarium programs TheSky6, Redshift 7 and Starry Night 6. The latter is posted below as an example. Please stay tuned as more videos will be added to the library over the summer.

Thanks for watching!

Now Playing on YouTube

Customers have requested tutorial videos for our software products, so we have created a channel on YouTube for these videos. You can access the channel at http://www.youtube.com/knightwareontube.

The first series of videos covers the new SQM Reader Pro product. You can watch these either on the Knightware website (http://www.knightware.biz/community/public/sqm1/video.htm) or on Knightware's YouTube channel. For those new to YouTube, you don't need an account to watch, just visit either web page and click play on the video player.

Your comments on the videos are welcome. You can send them via e-mail, post a comment at YouTube, or post to the product's Yahoo Group.

More videos will be published soon so please stay tuned. Thanks for watching!

SQM Reader Pro Introductory Price Expires Soon

SQM Reader Pro has been on the market now for a few months. The introductory price for digital download and CD versions will increase on June 15, but the prices will remain extremely reasonable. SQM Reader will remain available by digital delivery at no charge.

Why the increase in a soft economy? As you might expect, there are many reasons. First, there were investments in several software products used to develop and support the new product. Those expenses need to be recovered to make way for further product development at Knightware. Furthermore, and very fortunately, demand has exceeded expectations. The product is already in use on every continent except Africa and Antarctica. Users' feedback on functionality and ease of use has been very positive.

Many of the new technologies used in SQM Reader Pro are finding their way into Deep-Sky Planner. This includes more than just reading the meter. Look for more on this in future posts. In the meantime, if you're thinking about getting a copy of SQM Reader Pro, you may want to grab one before the increase takes effect.