Now that the Framing and Mosaic Wizard is bundled in v3.0, it would be very useful if the same target lookup functionality was added to the Target Settings dialog box. That is, after entering a target name, eg M13, in the Name field, I would like to be able to click a lookup button to do the same Simbad lookup as the FMW performs to retrieve the target’s RA and DEC coordinates. Once the RA and DEC are retrieved, I would then want to be able to edit the name field to make it more descriptive, if desired.
My particular interest is for photometric work. I want to enter the name of a variable star, like Beta Tau, and automatically retrieve its RA and DEC. Also for exoplanet work, I want to enter Kepler-5b and get its RA and DEC. This insures the retrieved target coordinates precisely center my images on the target – this is something you can’t actually do in the FMW as it requires you to draw a target rectangle that is not automatically centered on the target’s coordinates even when you are not trying to do mosaics.
For beginning imagers, the ability to just enter M13 or NGCxxxx, etc. and click lookup to get a target setup would greatly simplify getting started. Many times I just want my camera centered on the target.
Charlie