Summary

This project is an observation planning spreadsheet implemented in Microsoft Excel (2003) suitable for beginner or intermediate deep sky observers. The spreadsheet contains a catalogue of approximately 3,100 deep sky objects and regions which can be sorted and filtered by whether they are currently visible in the observer's local horizon system. This deep sky object ("DSO") observing spreadsheet will be of interest to instructors of introductory college astronomy courses, astronomy club lunar party organizers, and intermediate and beginner observers. By using the full power of Excel's drill-down data filter feature, a variety of interesting DSO tours can be developed, e.g. - by open cluster age, by bright star MK spectral class, by binary star separation, by galaxy type, by Milky Way structure association, etc. For beginners, purchasing a commercial observation planner product like Astroplanner software by Paul Rodham (iLanga, Inc.) is a better alternative. But beginner observers who wish to experiment with observation planning without an initial capital outlay may find this spreadsheet useful for learning observation planning technique. This author uses Astroplanner in conjunction with the spreadsheets provided here.

Quick Start

• Download the main catalogue spreadsheet in MS-Excel (13.2Mb). Open the spreadsheet and allow macros to run.
• In worksheet "SettingsObserver" in the blue highlight cells, enter your age and observing experience.
• In worksheet "SettingObservingPoint" in the blue highlighted cells, enter the terrestrial longitude and latitude for your observing point in integer degrees, minutes and seconds.
• In worksheet "SettingSessionObservingRange" in the blue highlight cells set the altitude range you desire to observe with using a telescope and/or binoculars.
• In worksheet "SettingSkyBrightness" enter the anticipated sky brightness at your observing site in the blue highlighted cells B21:C21. Use magnitudes and magnitudes per square arcsec (MPSAS). The calculator in cell B15 will convert magnitudes to MPSAS.
• In worksheet "SettingObservingTime" in the blue highlighted cell B5, enter your UTC offset.
• In worksheet "SettingObservingTime" in the blue highlighted cells B30:B31 and C30:C31, enter the beginning and ending times for your anticipated session. In general, limit your self to a 3 or 5 hour observing session.
• Entering a new observing time in cells B30:B31 forces recalculation of the entire spreadsheet. Wait approximately 30 seconds for the entire spreadsheet to recalculate.
• Go to worksheet "MainCatalogue". This worksheet contains a catalogue of approximately 3100 deep sky objects with 80 fields (columns) of characteristics for each object. Use the full power of Excel's data filter feature to drill-down to the desired object. While there 80 columns of characteristics to choose from, that offers endless ways to drill-down to desired objects, some of the basic filter fields are:
• Filtering for "TRUE" on column E ("IsVisZenithalSessionDuring") filters for objects that will be in the zenithal observing zone during your observing session. Filtering for "TRUE" in column G ("TransitsSessionDuring") filters for objects that will transit during your observing session.
• Column H filters for object type.
• Column I filters for apparent magnitude. If there is no known magnitude for the object. This field is set to magnitude "99.0".
• External content hyperlinks to CDS Simbad to research an object in more depth is available in column F ("Cat_IdSimbad_Link") of "MainCatalogue".
• If desired, in worksheet "SettingsTelescope", enter the characteristics of your current telescope eyepiece combination.
• Some characteristics were added to the far right-hand columns after a section of working variable columns. See "MainCatalogue" worksheet at columns DB through DH.
• Columns BW to DA in "MainCatalogue" are computation fields used by the catalogue and should not be changed.
• The spreadsheet catalogue is set to automatic recalculation. Recalculation is normally triggered by changing the beginning observing time in worksheet "SettingObservingTime", Cell B31.

The spreadsheet is currently filled-out nearly to the practical computation limits of Excel - about 3,100 rows - constrained by user-friendly recalculation time. At this volume of computation, recalculation takes about 15-20 seconds. Allow the spreadsheet to fully recalculate before filtering the primary catalogue worksheet "MainCatalogue". The standard MS-Excel menu command "Tools | Options | Calculation | Manual / Automatic" can be used to toggle to manual recalculation.

• If on first start-up, the spreadsheet does not recalculate and gives a "Value" error in many fields, see the help notes on forcing recalculation.
• If when opening dependent spreadsheets, like the HTML generator component (see "Download components" below), the spreadsheet that is dependent on and linked to ObsSpdt.xls does not link, use the Excel menu options "Edit | Links | Change Source" to refresh the link between the spreadsheets.

Optional Quick Start

• Optionally, download the Cartes du Ciel compatible external file that marks the contents of this catalogue in Cartes du Ciel (51kb). If you have GOTO capability installed within Cartes, this external Cartes file will enable to quickly point to any object of the 3,000 objects in this catalogue.
• Optionally, download the MS-Excel HTML Table Generator (22Mb). When the main Excel catalogue file is open, this spreadsheet will integrate with the catalogue contents and enable you to quickly generate observing lists in HTML for distribution over the internet.

Static copy grab

• Instead of downloading dynamic Excel content, a static copy of the list can also be downloaded in a raw Excel to HTML dump (8.4Mb). This HTML version of the list of 3,089 objects contains all coded charactertistics. Must modern spreadhsheets can import raw HTML.

Purpose

Development from a beginner into an intermediate and then an advanced observer depends on in part on maximizing the amount of time spent at the eyepiece. In the time-deprived post-industrial life-style, getting to the eyepiece consistently to view 3 or 4 objects a night is difficult. One way to increase the amount of time spent at the eyepiece is efficient observation planning. With modern observation planning techniques, it is possible to quickly select three or four targets for any clear night, appropriate either for dark sky sites (galaxies, clusters and nebula) or light-polluted urban settings (bright doubles and variable stars and the Moon).

To observe the efficiently is dependent on having a good catalogue of interesting objects and the ability to determine the current location of objects above the observer's local horizon by object type. Typically, this may involve reviewing several books and guides for appropriate targets applicable to a particular night, such as Burnham's, Harrington's Touring the Universe with Binoculars, Mullaney's Celestial Harvest, or Peterson's Field Guide to the Stars and Planets, just to name few options. Finding the right targets is confounded by the repetitous and out-dated designations. Various DSO lists are familiar to most amateurs, such as Messier, Caldwell, the Herschel 400 and R.N. Clark. Expert astronomer recommended object lists are another source for the ideal narrowed DSO list. Prominent among such lists for deep sky objects (DSOs) are Steve Gottlieb's list of 662 DSOs incorporated into the chips of many digital setting circles such as the Skywizard, Lumicon's "Sky Vector" and Celestron's "Astromaster", Appendix E to R.N. Clark's classic book Visual Astronomy of the Night Sky, the Alan Dyer's Finest NGC List, the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Deep Sky Challenge List, Messier's list (at the Astronomical League), Caldwell's catalogue (at SEDS), and Bill Arnet's implementation of the Herschel 400 (also available at the Astronomical League).

After using such guides and lists for a few years, it became apparent that many of the guides involve a core of common objects around which a lifetime observing program could be built. Using commercial observing planning software, it was possible to get at parts of a core observing list, but this involved loading catalogues containing numerous entries beyond the reach of most amateur telescopes of 10 inches or less aperture. Loading such catalogues also involved numerous duplicate records that had to be resolved in order to reach a final list for a particular night.

The solution of reviewing several guides and preparing an intermediate-sized life-time list of less than 3,000 objects accessible by smaller aperture telescopes appeared to be an appropriate solution. An "intermediate-sized" observing list here means more than the 400 in the Herschel 400 but less than the 10,000 objects that can be found in a typical modern galaxy catalogue. Appendix "E" in R.N. Clark's Visual Astronomy of the Deep Sky (approx. 620 objects) is in a similar vein, as was Steve Gottlieb's Non-stellar and Stellar observing catalogues (approx. 1,200 total) incorporated into many hand-controllers, and Mullaney's Celestial Harvest (500 objects). In short, review multiple guide books and build one list, in order to spend as much time in the future at the eyepiece. With such a catalogue, regardless of whether an observer is in an urban light polluted or rural dark sky setting, a few interesting objects could be quickly located on any given after-work night.

This project's DSO observing spreadsheet also was created out of a desire to have an observing tool that was more generic and flexible than commercial observation planning products and that could be carried around with the user on a data device like a jumpdrive. I was also interested in study astronomical math algorithms. The implementation vehicle chosen was Microsoft Excel. Excel is widely distributed in office environments. Thus, during a workday break, it is possible using this spreadsheet to quickly select a few objects for after work observing or to plan an astronomy club party.

Other features included in this DSO observing spreadsheet are a means to quickly move target lists to HTML tables for redistribution over the web.

Catalogue Description

The DSO observing spreadsheet catalogue contains approximately 3,100 objects. Spreadsheet Tab MainCatalogue. The catalogue was developed by the following means. CDS Simbad database was as the preferred source for object positions and names. Object names and positions located in various reference lists were checked against the Simbad J2000 position.

• DSO extended objects: Several popular guides were reviewed for showcase item lists. These included Clark, Herschel 400, Barnard, Caldwell, Messier, Burhnam's, and Harrington's TUBA. A consolidated non-duplicative list of approximately 1,200 DSO objects was created from these lists. Supplemental items were added according to the author's interest and personal knowledge. A major deviation from the general intent of this project was the inclusion of Arp's Peculiar Galaxy catalogue of 343 galaxies and all of Barnard's 348 Dark Clouds regardless of visibility. This deviation was based on the author's personal preference. The following table summarizes the sources:
Table 1 - DSO Source Catalogues providing object entries

Source catalogue	Count of catalogue objects from
R.N. Clark's DSO Catalogue Appendix E (Includes all Messier's list)	611
Herschel 400 - Supplemental objects not in Clark	187
Barnard Dark Clouds	348
Caldwell's List - Supplemental objects not in the above	18
O'Meara's DSO list - Supplemental objects not in the above	3
Mullaney's Celestial Harvest - Supplemental objects not in the above	13
Quasers visible to amateurs - McGaha, J. March 2006. The Outer Limits: Observing Quasers at High Redshifts. S&T. 111(3):69-72	4
Arp Peculiar Galaxies (of special interest to this author)	343
Hubble Famous Photographs - selected by this author	20
Molecular Clouds Complexes - Dame (1987), Perrot (2003) and others	18
Milky Way Dwarf Galaxies - recent discoveries	2

• DSO type distribution:
Table 2 - Distribution of 1419 DSOs by major type

Type	Count
Galaxy	683
Globular Cluster	87
HII Region	18
Molecular cloud	10
Neb Bright	8
Neb dark	353
Open Cluster	196
Planetary Nebula	57
Radio source	2
Supernova Remnant	5
Grand Total	1419

• Supplemental characteristic coding of DSO extended objects: The following supplemental characteristics were coded in the catalogue for DSO objects:
1. Distance: Based on the following sources:
Table 3 - Supplemental sources for distances in the catalogue



Source	External hyperlinks
Cox, Arthur (ed). 2000. Astrophysical Quantities (4th ed.). Springer.	http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2000asqu.book.....C
Acker, 1992. Strasbourg-ESO Catalogue of Galactic Planetary Nebulae	http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/Cat?V/84
Table 22.2 - Nearby galactic open clusters in Allen's Astrophysical Quantities (ed. 2000) - from (adjusted) Lynga, G. Catalogue of Open Clusters Data, 5th ed.	http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2000asqu.book.....C
Table 23.6 - The Local Group in Allen's Astrophysical Quantities (ed. 2000) - after van den Bergh, S. 1992 MNRAS, 255, 29pp and Tully, R.B. 1987, Nearby Galaxies Catalog (Cambridge Univ. Press)	http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2000asqu.book.....C
Table 23.7 - Bright galaxies in Allen's Astrophysical Quantities (ed. 2000) - after de Vaucouleurs, G. et al. 1990. Third Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies (Univ. of Texas Press) and Tully, R.B. 1987, Nearby Galaxies Catalog (Cambridge Univ. Press)	http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2000asqu.book.....C
Dame, T.M. et al. Nov. 1987. Molecular Gas within 1 kiloparsec of the Sun. Table 2 in A composite CO survey of the entire Milky Way. 1987ApJ...322..706D	http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1987ApJ...322..706D
Dias, W.S. et al. July 2002. New catalogue of optically visible open clusters and candidates. 2002A&A...389..871D	http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2002A%26A...389..871D
Fich1984: Fich, M. & Blitz, L. 1984. Optical H II regions in the outer galaxy. 1984ApJ...279..125F	http://cdsads.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1984ApJ...279..125F
Harris W.E. 1997. A catalog of parameters for globular clusters on the Milky Way. 1996AJ....112.1487H CDS Catalogue VII/202	http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/Cat?VII/202
Hilton, J., Lahulla, J.F. 1995. Distance measurements of LYNDS galactic dark nebulae. 1995A&AS..113..325H CDS Cat. no. J/A+AS/113/325	http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1995A%26AS..113..325H
Kerr, F.J. 1969. The Large-Scale Distribution of Hydrogen in the Galaxy. (Review) 1969ARA&A...7...39K	http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1969ARA%26A...7...39K
Paturel, G. et al. HYPERLEDA Catalog of Galaxies, Version 2003 CDS Catalogue VII/237 (Catalogue of Principal Galaxies)	http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/Cat?VII/237
Lynds, B.T. Jan. 1962. Lynds-Barnard Cross-Reference, Table 1 in Catalogue of Dark Nebulae. 1962ApJS….7….1L	http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1962ApJS....7....1L
Skiff, Brian. 1999. Observational Data for Galactic Globular Clusters. NGC/IC Project Website.	http://www.ngcic.org/gctext.htm
Taylor, J.H., Corders, J.M. Jul. 1993. Pulsar distances and the galactic distribution of free electrons. 1993ApJ...411..674T	http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1993ApJ...411..674T
Tully, R.B. 1988. Nearby Galaxies Catalogue. Cambridge. Univ. Press. CDS Cat. VII/145	http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/Cat?VII/145

2. CDS Simbad object type
3. RC3 Galaxy Type
4. Arp Interacting Galaxy Type
5. Computed Magnitudes Per Square Arcsecond (MPSAS): Per the method described in Clark' Appendix E.
6. Catalogue cross-references: Clark, Arp, Messier, Herschel400, Barnard, Lynd's Dark Nebula, PGC and Bennett's list of southern hemisphere showcase objects, including Principal Catalogue of Galaxies id number for "The Sky" users.
7. Open cluster age: After Allen's Astrophysical Quantities.


Figure 1 - Age Distribution of Open Clusters and Clusters of Stars in a subset of approx. 823 DSOs in the catalogue

The galactic year, the time it takes the Sun to complete one revolution around the Milky Way's core, is approx. 220 million years or 8.34 log10(years). Half of all open clusters disperse in just under one galactic year (8.13 log10(years) or 218 million years). The third quartile of open clusters disperses in just under two galactic years (8.6 log10(years) or about 430 million years).

Popular old clusters and moving groups that have survived more than two galactic years and into the fourth quartile include M044 (Beehive Cluster), M048, M067, M073, M093, the Hyades Moving Group, and the Coma Berenices Star Cluster.

The youngest clusters in the catalogue are aged around 6.7 log10(years) or approx. 5 million years old. The youngest three are the Tau CMa Cluster a.k.a. the Northern Jewel Box (NGC2362, Caldwell 64); NGC1980 surrounding iot Orion in the Orion stellar nursery region; and, NGC2239, a star cluster associated with the Rosetta Nebula stellar nursery in Mon.

Table 4 - Frequency of Open Clusters by V magnitude and major axis size (arcmins)
Mag/Size	1-9	10-14	15-24	25-54	55-94	>95	Unknwn	Total
2-5	4	6	11	13	5			39
6-7	26	14	26	9	1			76
8-9	28	7	7	1			1	44
10-11	8				1			9
12>	1						1	2
Unkwn	5	2	3	3	1	1		15
Total	72	29	47	26	8	1	2	185

Notes: Excluding one cluster in the Tarantula Nebula for a total of 186
8. Globular cluster characteristics
• Globular cluster Fe/H ratio: After Allen's Astrophysical Quantities.

• Globular clusters populations


Figure 2 - Metallicity Distribution of Globular Clusters in a subset of approx. 823 DSOs in the catalogue

There are two populations of globular clusters divided by metallicity. Zinn (1985). The smaller population has high metallicity, is redder in color, is within 7 kpc of the galactic core and is flattened in shape. The larger second population has lower metallicity, is bluer in color, generally is beyond 7 kpc of the galactic core and is spheroid in distribution. Both populations were formed across a span of 13 to 9 billion years ago, with some bias towards the high metal population being formed more recently. Chaboyer (1996). How the two populations of nearly equal-aged globulars formed in the Milky Way with differing metallic contents still remains under investigation. There are competing hypotheses. Pulliam (Mar. 2006, S&T); Brook (2003) (hierarchical consolidation); Martin (2004) (Canis Major Dwarf galaxy accretion); Forbes (2004) (not Canis Major Dwarf galaxy accretion).

• Globular cluster magnitude and size

Table 5 - Frequency of Globular Clusters in a subset of approx. 823 DSOs in the catalogue by V magnitude and major axis size (arcmins)

Mag/Size	<5	5-10	>11	Total
<7		5	8	13
7-8	7	19	3	29
9-10	30	5	1	36
11>	4			4
None	3	1		4
Total	44	30	12	86

9. Planetary nebulae magnitude distribution:
Table 6 - Frequency of Planetary Nebula magnitudes and size in a subset of approx. 823 DSOs in the catalogue by V magnitude and major axis size (arcmins)

Mag/Size	<2	2-10	12-60	60>	Total
<10	7	1	1		9
10-11	9	2	1		12
12-13	5	1	1		7
14-15	5		3	2	10
16>	1	1	2		4
Unknwn	5				5
Total	32	5	8	2	47

Planetary nebula ages are not coded in catalogue, but have been measured to 40 million years. Xilouris (1996). Planetary nebulas begin with their characteristic end-view circular shape seen in M57 (M57 at SEDS), M27 (M27 at SEDS) or the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293 at SEDS). As time progresses, interstellar wind or the effects of nearby bright stars degrades this shape and they dissipate into the interstellar medium. See Xilouris (1996).

While planetary nebula may be spherical in their early stages of mass loss, they may not remain so. In later stages, they can become elongated symmetrical tubes, as illustrated by a Hubble Space Telescope picture of the PN MyCn18. Space Sci. Instit. 1996. Planetary Nebula McCn18: An Hourglass Pattern Around a Dying Star. Photo STScI-PRC1996-07. This nebula has a strikingly similar appearance to M57 and the Helix nebula, but is viewed from a side angle instead of "end-on."

10. Dark nebula opacity: Barnard's Dark Cloud Catalogue was cross-referenced with Lynds's dark nebula designations. Where matched, Lynds's opacity index for the cloud was included in the catalogue entry:


Figure 3 - Distribution of dark cloud opacity

11. Galaxy distribution by type, size (arcsec) and magnitude: Where both magnitude and a major diameter size in arcsecs are available, galaxies in the catalogue have the following distribution:
Table 7 - Frequency of Galaxy magnitude and size in a subset of the catalogue by V magnitude and major axis size (arcmins)

Mag/Size	<0.5	<1	<2	<3	<5	<10	> 10	Total
<10		1	1	6	4	21	15	48
<11			7	5	27	22	9	70
<12		3	32	46	56	17	3	157
<13		12	51	44	20	13	1	141
<15		25	97	50	38	2		212
<16	6	25	21	5				57
>= 16	3	0		2			2	7
Total	9	66	209	158	145	75	30	692


Figure 4 - Distribution of 685 galaxies by Magnitudes per Square Arcsecond (MPSAS)

Table 8 - Distribution of 705 Galaxies with known R3C (modified de Vaucouleurs system) assigned morphology codes

Type	Description_______________	No stage	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Grand Total
E	Elliptical	16	13	12	11	8	5	7	3				75
L	Lenticular	28	1										29
LA	Lenticular non-barred	14	1										15
LAR	Lenticular non-barred with inner ring	7	5										12
LAS	Lenticular non-barred s-shaped	3	5										8
LAT	Lenticular non-barred mixed	1	1										2
LB	Lenticular barred	4	2										6
LBR	Lenticular barred inner ring	6	1										7
LBS	Lenticular barred s-shaped	6	6										12
LBT	Lenticular barred mixed	2											2
LX	Lenticular mixed	2	3										5
LXR	Lenticular mixed inner ring	2											2
LXS	Lenticular mixed s-shaped	3	3										6
LXT	Lenticular mixed mixed	1											1
S	Spiral	23	1	5	2	16	2	2	2		3		56
SA	Spiral non-barred			1		1		1				1	4
SAR	Spiral non-barred inner ring			1	4	2	1	3					11
SAS	Spiral non-barred s-shaped		2	3	8	15	6	23	7	3	1	2	70
SAT	Spiral non-barred mixed			1		6	13	8					28
SB	Spiral barred	9		1		3					1	3	17
SBR	Spiral barred inner ring		1	1	5	7	7	2					23
SBS	Spiral barred s-shaped		4	8	1	13	5	10	5	7	4	10	67
SBT	Spiral barred mixed		1	3		4	6	9	2	2	2	1	30
SX	Spiral mixed					1	1	1	2				5
SXR	Spiral mixed inner ring			1	2	3	5	3					14
SXS	Spiral mixed s-shaped		1	2	3	7	5	8	2	3	1	3	35
SXT	Spiral mixed mixed		1	3	3	9	19	16	11				62
RING	Ring		2										2
RINGA	Ring non-barred		4										4
RINGB	Ring barred		6										6
I	Irregular	1	10									9	20
IB	Irregular barred											14	14
IX	Irregular mixed											2	2
P	Peculiar	53											53
Grand Total	n/a	181	74	42	39	95	75	93	34	15	12	45	705

12. Galaxy estimated size (kpc): Where a distance estimate is available based on a rough half-angle formula computation.
13. Milky Way object size (pc): Where a distance estimate is available based on a rough half-angle forumla computation.
14. Milky Way object structural arm association: By Milky Way Arm, based on a SEDS list and this author's algorithm from arm centerlines defined by Taylor (1993) and a Rho of 8.5 kpc after Kerr (1986).
15. Galaxy group association after nomenclature in Tully (1988): For galaxies within 40 Mpc.
16. Bibliographic source: For primary astrometry or unique feature.
17. Selected comments: From source catalogues like Herschel, Barnard, Arp and Clark.

1. Single bright stars: For single bright stars, the bright alignment stars of for the SkyScan hand-controller was used as the base list. This base list was supplemented with non-duplicative objects from the following sources:
   Table 9 - Bright Star Source Catalogues providing object entries

   Catalogue	Count of catalogue objects from
   Alignment bright stars from Skyscan controller list	90
   Declination drift method alignment stars on celestial equator (this author)	29
   Spectral - HR Diagram stars from Kaler's Stars & Their Spectra - Supps	75
   Mullaney's Celestial Harvest Carbon Stars & Misc - Supps	18
   Garrison 1996 Spectral Stars with known absolute magnitudes - Supps	4

2. Double Stars and Multiple Systems: For double stars and multiple star systems, the 6th Orbit Catalogue and the UNSO Selected 2006 Double Stars from the online Astronomical Almanac were used as the base. This base list was supplemented with non-duplicative objects from the following sources:
   Table 10 - Double and Multiple Catalogues providing object entries

   Catalogue	Count of catalogue objects from
   6th Orbit Catalogue	155
   USNO 2006 Selected Doubles - Supp	53
   Belmont Society Colorful Doubles List - Supps	145
   AstroLeague Double Star Observing List - Supps	51
   Mullaney's Celestial Harvest - Supps	28
   Garrison 1996 Spectral Stars with known absolute magnitudes - Supps	4
   Complex systems supps - brighter mag 11 w more 5 or more members (this author extracted from the CCDM)	31
   Argyle's High Precision Resolution Test Stars - 090mm scopes. In Observing and Measuring Visual Double Stars. Springer.	4
   Argyle's High Precision Resolution Test Stars - 150mm scopes	3
   Argyle's High Precision Resolution Test Stars - 200mm scopes	9
   Argyle's High Precision Resolution Test Stars - 300mm scopes	13
   Argyle's High Precision Resolution Test Stars - 400mm scopes	6

3. Variable Star: For variable stars, The AAVSO master catalogue ("united.txt") filtered for selected stars with a period of less than 14 days was used as the base list. This intentionally biased catalogue variables towards short-period variables instead of the usual focal on long-period variables. This bias was incorporated into the catalogue on the assumption that beginning variable star observers would like to observe stars that will change over the course of an evening, two evenings or a week. Inspired by short-period observing, such beginners may move onto traditional long-period variable observing - where changes occur over months. The variable base list was supplemented with non-duplicative objects from the following sources:
   Table 11 - Variable Star Catalogues providing object entries

   Catalogue	Catalogue objects from
   Variables - Short Period AAVSO master catalogue united.txt	381
   Variables - Long Period - AAVSO Easy Variables	74
   Variables - Long period - Mullaney's Celestial Harvest - Supps	6

4. Supplemental characteristic coding of stellar objects: The following supplemental characteristics were coded in the catalogue for stellar objects:
• Catalogue cross-referencing: Catalogue ids were cross-referenced as applicable between the following catalogues: Flamsteed, Bayer, Henry Draper, Harvard Bright Star, Atkins Double Star, Catalogue of Components of Double and Multiple Systems, Washington Double Star Catalogue, 6th Orbit Catalogue and the AAVSO variable catalogue.
• Common names
• Stellar magnitude in the Johnson V passband: Using the Simbad record as the baseline.


Figure 5 - Distribution of magnitudes of stars

• Distances: Distances were obtained principally from Ochsenbein (1987) and Garrison (1996). For stars whose distance was not listed in those sources, the parallax distance was computed from the Tycho2 catalogue for those stars whose parallax was known with a 30% or greater confidence. Miscellaneous sources for distances are noted in the comments column of the main catalogue. The distribution of stellar objects with known distances is as follows:


Figure 6 - Distribution of distances to stellar objects

• CDS Simbad object type
Table 12 -Distribution of 1185 stellar types with CDS-Simbad morphology codes

CDS-Simbad Type	Total
*	27
**	142
*i*	157
*iC	7
*iN	2
a2*	3
Al*	117
bC*	7
Be*	5
bL*	18
BY*	5
C*	19
cC*	139
Ce*	11
Cl*	1
DN*	7
dS*	15
EB*	12
El*	2
Em*	15
Fl*	13
FU*	1
HXB	1
Ir*	1
LXB	1
Mi*	60
NL*	1
No*	3
OH*	1
Or*	2
pA*	1
PM*	43
PN	1
Pu*	4
RC*	4
RI*	1
RR*	36
RS*	26
RV*	2
S*	2
SB	2
SB*	78
sr*	18
Sy*	4
TT*	1
V	9
V*	118
V*?	1
WD*	7
WR*	1
WU*	19
WV*	8
ZZ*	4
Grand Total	1185

• Spectral class: from Simbad record
Table 13 - Distribution of 1330 stars with known MK spectral class

Spectral Class	Count
WC	5
WN	2
WR	1
O	48
A	224
B	201
F	320
G	200
K	129
M	111
R	2
N	42
S	7
C	23
D?	1
DA	9
DB	1
DC	1
DO	1
DZ	2
Grand Total	1330

• Atomized spectral class: The spectral class broken down into its components: The MK spectral class (OBAFGKMCNR), the MK luminosity class type (I-VI), and supplemental peculiarity letter codes. This allows filtering of stellar tours of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram either vertically by MK spectral class or horizontally by MK luminosity type. See Figures 3.8 and 4.2 in Kaler's Stars & Their Spectra.
Table 14 - Distribution of 826 stars with known MK Spectral Type and MK Luminosity Class

Spectral	Ia	Ib	II	III	IV	V	Grand Total
O	3	2	2	2	0	8	17
A	2	2	2	14	22	93	135
B	11	2	4	22	35	94	168
C	1	0	15	0	0	0	16
F	15	22	45	17	35	58	192
G	12	18	7	41	9	37	124
K	4	5	14	59	8	14	104
M	7	1	5	48	0	8	69
N	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Grand Total	56	52	94	203	109	312	826

• Computed color index: The Simbad record B-V value
• For double stars: The CCDM was used as the base source for binary and multiple star system characteristics:
• The V-band magnitude of primary per the source doubles catalogue
• The V-band magnitude of secondary per the source doubles catalogue
• The period of orbit in days per the source doubles catalogue
• The epoch of the separation measurement per the source doubles catalogue
• The separation in arcsecs of primary and secondary:
Table 15 - Distribution of 454 Doubles by Magnitude of 2nd Component and Separation (Arcsecs) Cohorts

Mag. of 2nd component	Sep. " < 1	2	4	8	16	32	64	128	256	512 >	Total
0							1				1
2					1						1
3	1			1							2
4				1						2	3
5		4	2	1	1	1	1			1	11
6	8	7	5	9	9	4	3	1	2		48
7	11	9	6	13	12	12	3	2	3		71
8	14	7	13	8	7	9	6	3	1		68
9	12	7	6	19	8	6	13	8	1		80
10 >	5	15	15	18	15	34	37	18	11	1	169
Total	51	49	47	70	53	66	64	32	18	4	454


Figure 7 - Unequal Double Resolution (N~130) for a 3" refractor after Peterson, H.H. Sept. 1954. S&T. p. 396 and C. Lord, Telescopic Resolution of Unequal Doubles. (1994).

About 70% of the doubles in the observing list require an enlarged separation to resolve due to the faintness of the 2nd component between magnitude 8 and 10.

Table 16 - Distribution of 461 doubles by magnitude of primary and secondary

Primary/Secondary Magnitude	< 0	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10 >=	Total
< 0									1		1
1		1							3	9	13
2			1		1	1		2		1	6
3	1		1	1	1	7	2	2	2	15	32
4				2	4	7	4	5	5	32	59
5					6	16	18	19	12	39	110
6						18	30	14	23	50	135
7							18	9	14	11	52
8								17	8	9	34
9									12	2	14
10 >=										5	5
Total	1	1	2	3	12	49	72	68	80	173	461

Table 17 - Distribution of 453 doubles by magnitude difference and separation cohort

Contrast Index	Magnitude difference	Sep arcsecs < 1	2	4	8	16	32	64	128	256	512 >=	Total
100%	0	1						1				2
57%	1	38	20	9	20	11	11	7	3		2	121
27%	2	3	4	6	13	17	10	7	1	2	1	64
12%	3	4	5	12	13	6	13	7	4	4		68
5%	4	1	6	5	6	2	4	6	3	2		35
2%	5	1	5	5	4	4	3	6	1			29
1%	6	1	3	1	2	5	2	5	10	3		32
0%	7	1	2	2	3	2	10	7	2	2		31
0%	8	1	2		2	3	3	7	3	1	1	23
0%	9		2	4		1	2	3	2	3		17
0%	10			3	6	2	8	8	3	1		31
	Total	51	49	47	69	53	66	64	32	18	4	453

• Variable star period and type: In days, where it is listed in the source catalogue:


Figure 8 - Distribution of periods (days) of 452 variable stars

Table 18 - Distribution of 455 Variables with AAVSO type codes

Class	Description	Count
CEP	Cepheid type pulsating variable	23
DCEP	Delta Cepheids	134
DSCT	delta Sct type pulsating variable	13
E	eclipsing binary system	163
IS	rapid irregular variable, no apparent connection with diffuse nebulosity	2
L	irregular	1
LB	slow, irregular late spectral type variables	2
M	Mira type variables	53
N	nova type eruptive systems	1
RCB	R CrB type eruptive variable	4
RR	RR Lyr type pulsating variable	25
RS	RS CVn type eruptive variable	4
RV	RV Tau type pulsating variable	1
SR	semiregular pulsating variable	12
SXPHE	SX Phe type pulsating variable	6
UG	U Gem type eruptive variable (dwarf nova)	3
UV	UV Cet type eruptive variable; flare star	3
X	x-ray source, close binary system with one component a hot, compact object	2
Z Cam	Z Cam type nova type eruptive systems	3
Total	Grand total	455

• Extra-solar planets: Count = 8. Where a star had been previously listed in the catalogue by the above process, and the star is listed in the California and Carnegie Planet Search Table of "Masses and Orbital Characteristics of Extrasolar Planets", the Comments field in the catalogue was tagged with the text "extrasolar planet".
• Milky Way object structural arm association: By Milky Way Arm, based this author's algorithm from arm centerlines defined by Taylor (1993) and a Rho of 8.5 kpc after Kerr (1986).
• Bibliographic source: For primary astrometry or unique feature.

1. Useful regions markers: Useful regions were assembled from various sources:
   Table 19 - Useful regions markers included in catalogue

   Catalogue	Count of catalogue objects from
   Limiting Magnitude Areas - Int'l Meteor Org.	46
   Photometry - Landolt standard star fields	24
   Asterisms per SEDS with supps	50
   Meteor shower radiants - Int'l Meteor Org. - Meteor Shower Calendar 2006	51

2. Fiducial points: Fiducial points were for the most part computed or obtained from online coordinate conversion calculators:
   Table 20 - Fiducial points included in catalogue

   Catalogue	Count of catalogue objects from
   Parapegma - Ecliptic marker - Greek regular 30 deg constellations	12
   Parapegma - Galactic plane IAU constellations - chart take-offs by this author	18
   Structure - Ecliptic plane marker 30 deg - computed this author	2
   Structure - Galactic plane marker 30 deg - computed this author	17
   Structure - Supergalactic plane marker 30 deg - after the NEDS's coordinate converter	14

3. Milky Way Structure points: Milky Way structural points were constructed from the following sources:
   Table 21 - Milky Way Structure - misc points of interest

   Description	Count
   Orion Arm spinward anti-spinward apexes - after Walkey (1946)	2
   Galactic spiral arms - distances - after Taylor (1993)	7
   Gould's Belt after Grenier (2004)	5
   Misc. OB Associations within 1 kpc - after Dame (1987)	10
   Olano's Ring - Associated Molecular Clouds - after Olano (2001)	3
   Olano's Ring - Associated OB Associations - after Olano (2001)	14

This process yielded approximately 3,100 object entries.

• Main catalogue spreadsheet in MS-Excel (13.2Mb) - ObsSpdht.xls: Contains the main catalogue and bibliography.
• Ciel externes database (51kb) zip file - cat.zip: Contains the Cartes du Ciel database to plot the main catalogue in Cartes.
• MS-Excel HTML Table Generator (22Mb) - ObsExportHTML.xls: Generates HTML table code for turning your observing list of selected objects in the main catalogue into a web-shareable document. Assumes beginner level knowledge of HTML document coding.
• HTML Template (1kb) HTML DSO Template (1kb) HTML Bibliography Template (1kb)
• HTML Stellar Sample (12kb) HTML Combined Stellar DSO Sample (12kb) Bibliography sample (182kb)
• MS-Excel orthogonal plot generator (5.9Mb) - ObsOrtho.xls: Displays 2-D plots of objects selected in the main catalogue.
• MS-Excel observing log (13kb) - ObsLogs.xls: A rudimentary set of observing log columns that ties back to the astrophoto planner worksheet in the main catalogue.
• MS-Excel XML generator spreadsheet (13.6Mb) - ObsExportXML.xls: Generates XML records from objects you selected in the main catalogue.
• XML Sample
• XSL Template
• MS-Excel VRML generator spreadsheet (7.1Mb) - ObsExportVRML.xls: Generates VRML records specific for this author's VRML astronomical plotting world.
• Sample VRML World (391kb) - VRML.zip: Sample VRML world that plots a subset of 823 DSOs in the main catalogue.
• View sample VRML World with Cortona player: Requires authorizing Cortona VRML Active-X control to run.
• MS Visual Basic for Applications Code: Astronomical utilities written in VBA that drive the spreadsheets.
• Module1.bas: Basic astrometry utilities.
• Module2.bas: Stellar magnitude utilities.
• Module3.bas: Astrophotography utilities.
• Module4.bas: Solar and lunar position.

• Spreadsheet ObsSpdht.xls:

1. Worksheet SettingsObserver:

   Enter your age and experience scalar. This is used in limiting magnitude computations in later worksheets.

2. Worksheet SettingObservingPoint:

   Enter the degrees, minutes and seconds for the latitude and longitude of your observing point. The spreadsheet automatically computes the decimal equivalents that are used in later worksheets. A storage area for your common observing points is provided.

3. Worksheet SettingSessionObservingRange:

   Enter your usual degree altitude range for telescope and binocular observing. This is used in later spreadsheets for computing the visibility of objects.

4. Worksheet SettingSkyBrightness:

   Estimate your sky brightness in the magnitude and MPSAS systems. External content links to International Meteor Organization visual limiting magnitude areas are provided in Section 1. Sections 2 and 3 provide means to convert your Naked-Eye Limiting Magnitude Estimate into Magnitudes Per Square Arcsec (MPSAS). Enter these final values in Section 4. In later worksheets, this information is used to estimate whether an extended Deep Sky Object (DSO) will be visible. A storage area is provided for your common observing points.

5. Worksheet SettingRefernce-TimeZones:

   Lookup your UTC offset value. Links to rules for applying Daylight Savings Time are provided. Tables for North America are provided.

6. Worksheet SettingObservingTime:

   This is the key worksheet that controls recalculation of all other worksheets, in particular the Main Catalogue. Enter your current UTC offset in Cell B5. Cells B30:C31 control computation of the rest of the worksheets. Enter a beginning and ending observing time range using UTC, not local time. Typically use a 2 to 4 hour range. Worksheet main catalogue indicates whether an object is visible within this time range. To force recalculation of all worksheets, change the time value in Cell B31. Time must be entered in the format "HH:MM:SS". A scratch pad for converting local to UTC time is provided by Cell F31. After recalculation, this worksheet provides for the current and planned beginning observing time: Julian Day, Local Sidereal Time, Rising LST, Setting LST, Solar position and Lunar position.

Again, remember Cell B31 in this worksheet. It forces recalculation of all the remaining worksheets.

7. Worksheet MainCatalogue:

   This is a key worksheet of approx. 3,100 objects used for planning a night's observation. Columns in this worksheet include:

   • Column A - Selected:

     Enter a marker in this column to select and filter a list of objects that you want to follow on a particular night. This is a scratchpad column. This column is linked to dependent worksheets, like ObsHTMLExport.xls and ObsOrtho.xls. It is how a list of selected objects is filtered and displayed in these other linked spreadsheets.

   • Column B - Tours:

     17 pre-programmed tours are provided.

   • Column C - Catalogue:

     Source catalogues listing the source of objects. Is useful for filtering by major classes of objects.

   • Columns E to G - Is visible and transits:

     Used to filter for which objects will be visible during your planned observing session and observing range.

   • Column H - Type:

     CDS Simbad object type.

   • Columns I-L - Magnitude and contrast:

     Shows the magnitude of the current object. The other columns estimate whether the stellar or extended object is visible using the current telescope. For stellar objects, the difference between object magnitude and a telescopic limiting magnitude of the current scope is shown. For extended and stellar objects, a rough contrast index between the extended object and the night sky brightness (that you entered above) is shown. Useful for filtering based on brightness of visual observing or for photography. useful for planning by filtering for bright objects visible at a light polluted site.

   • Columns N-O - Cat Id:

     Catalogue Id with hyperlink to external CDS Simbad content.

   • Column P - Con:

     Constellation.

   • Columns Q-R - Coords:

     Coordinates in the equatorial and local horizon system. Altitude and azimuth are based on the observing point and beginning observing time that you entered above.

   • ColumnS S-AJ:

     Extended object catalogue cross-referencing. Useful for filtering for showcase and objects of interest.

   • Columns AK-AR:

     Stellar object catalogue cross-referencing. Useful for filtering for showcase and objects of interest.

   • Column AT - Common names:

     Common names..

   • Columns AX - Type:

     object type listed in source catalogue.

   • Columns AY-BB - Spec:

     Spectral type, both condensed and atomized by spectral and luminosity classes. Useful for filtering for spectral star tours.

   • Column BC - Color index:

     Color index for stellar objects.

   • Columns BE - BL - Magnitude and double characteristics:

     V band magnitude and for double stars and variable stars, separation, position angle and period.

   • Column BM - Opacity:

     For dark cloud objects, the opacity, as opposed to the magnitude, of the object.

   • Columns BN-BO - Major and minor axis diameters in arcmins:

     Size data.

   • Column BM - Opacity:

     For dark cloud objects, the opacity, as opposed to the magnitude, of the object.

   • Column BP-BS - Contrast computations:

     Used to control computation of object contrast based on the object type, e.g. Stellar with color index, stellar without color index, Extended, Unknown, Not applicable.

   • Column BT - Distance:

     Distance to object in kiloparsecs.

   • Column BU-BT - Comments:

     Biblographic references and notes.

   • Column BW-DA - Working fields:

     Computation fields that should not be modified.

   • Column BZ,CA, CI & CJ - Object position:

     When adding new entries, these fields contain in decimal form, an objects equatorial RA and Dec and proper motion. All positional data in this worksheet is derived from these columns. Other than for making a new object entry, do not modify these columns.

   • Column DB - OpClAgelogt:

     Open cluster age as log_10. Useful for filtering open cluster tours by cluster age.

   • Column DC - OpClAbsGlat: - Open cluster galactic latitude:

     Self-explanatory.

   • Column DD - Glob[Fe/H]:

     Metallicity of globular cluster. Used to determine which of two populations a globular cluster belongs to.

   • Column DE - Galaxy_size:

     Computed estimate of the physical diameter of a galaxy in kiloparsecs based on its distance.

   • Column DF - MilkyWay_DSO_size_est_pc:

     Computed estimate of the physical diameter of a Milky Way DSO based on its distance, in parsecs.

   • Column DH - RC3_GalaxyClassification:

     Galaxy morphology code in the Third Revised Bright Galaxy Catalogue.

8. Worksheet ReferenceGreekLtrsConst:

   Reference table of Greek letters and constellation name abbreviations.

9. Worksheet UtilityFilterFactor:

   Utility for looking up or computing the filter factor for a filter.

10. Worksheet SettingsTelescope:

    This is a key worksheet. In Section 1, enter the characteristics of the current telescope, barlow and eyepiece. This data is used in numerous worksheets to compute visibility, projection magnification and limiting magnitude. In Section 2, enter the characteristics of an observed star for the purpose of determining the telescopic limiting magnitude. Section 5 shows various resolution characteristics for the current telescope-eyepiece combination, e.g. the FWHM angular and linear sizes, the Airy disk radius, Dawes limit and Rayleigh's limit. A storage area is provided for data on your telescopes and binoculars.

11. Worksheet SettingsSkySeeing:

    Record your estimate of the current seeing condition in terms of the FWHM seeing disk. This data is used in later astrophotography estimation worksheets. Includes reference tables for Pickering's scale and Antonaidi's scale.

12. Worksheet EstimateSkyRefraction:

    Estimate refraction at the observing altitude.

13. Worksheet EstimateSkyExtinction:

    Estimate extinction at the observing altitude by observing Standard Landolt stellar magnitude areas and zenithal stars.

14. Worksheet Object-CurrentAstroPhotExp:

    This is a key worksheet for astrophotography planning. Enter information about the current object. In Section 5, 6 and 7, projection magnification needed to match your CCD detector or film grain size to the current telescope is recommended.

15. Worksheet Mount-Polarmisalignment:

    Estimate your polar misalignment. Usually your GOTO's hand-controller will report this amount. Includes external content link to aligning your telescope using the drift method.

16. Worksheet Mount-Periodic Error:

    Estimate your periodic mount error.

17. Worksheet UtilityProjectExposCalc:

    This is a key worksheet for astrophotography planning Estimate the effect of changing exposure times and positive or negative magnification.

18. Worksheet UtilityAstrophotoConstraintEval:

    A theoretical planning graphic based on the preceding worksheet.

19. Worksheet UtilityEquivalentExposureCalc:

    Equivalent exposure math calculators, e.g. - if the focal length is changed, how should the exposure time change? If the ISO speed is changed, how should the exposure time change? If a new filter is used with a different filter factor, how should the exposure time change?

20. Worksheet UtilityEquivAfocal2DirectProj:

    Estimate the equivalent barlow for a proposed afocal projection setup.

21. Worksheet RefrenceObjectCategBrigthness:

    Estimate an object MPSAS and photograph B value for planning exposure times. Lists the NELM, MPSAS and B for typical objects from Covington, Berry and others.

22. Worksheet UtilitySchaeferLimitingMagCalc:

    A scratch-pad Schaefer telescopic limiting magnitude calculator. Unlike worksheet "SettingsTelescope", the values in this scratch pad calculator are not linked to other worksheets.

23. Worksheet Utility-UnequalDoubles:

    Estimate the visibility of unequal doubles using a crude decision-tree. Determine if a double meets Atkin's double star test.

24. Worksheet UtilityEyepieceTFOV_Calculator:

    For all your telescopes and lens combinations, make a table of the TFOV. Recommends appropriate targets by eyepiece-telescope-magnification combination.

25. Worksheet UtilityUsefulMagnificationsList:

    Knisley's useful magnification criteria by magnification-per-aperture-inch. Is used by the preceding TFOV calculator worksheet.

26. Worksheet Utility-SizeEstimate:

    Estimate the physical size of objects using the half-angle formula and the sine formula.

27. Worksheet ReferenceHRDiagram:

    Plots an HR table for stars in the main catalogue that have a known absolute magnitude and color index.

28. Worksheet ReferenceStellarCharacteristics:

    Reference list of the star characteristics by MK spectral and luminosity class, e.g. - color index, star radius, solar masses, effective temperature, peak emission wavelength and lifetime in billions of years.

29. Worksheet ReferenceObjAges:

    Plots age of open clusters and metallicity of globular clusters in the main catalogue.

30. Worksheet UtilityMagnitudeCalculators:

    Absolute magnitude, apparent magnitude and distance calculators. E.g.- Based on the distance and apparent magnitude of a star, estimate its absolute magnitude. Based on the apparent magnitudes of two stars and the distance to one star, what is the distance to the second star? Based on the luminosity of two stars, what is the difference in their apparent magnitudes at the same distance? What is the distance modulus of a star?

31. Worksheet UtilityEstCCD_ISOSpeed:

    Theoretical worksheet on estimating the ISO speed of a CCD from exposure times and sky brightness.

32. Worksheet UtilityEstCCD_ISOSpeedAnalysis:

    Theoretical worksheet on estimating the ISO speed of a CCD from exposure times and sky brightness.

33. Worksheet UtilityEstCDD_ISOSessions:

    Theoretical worksheet on estimating the ISO speed of a CCD from exposure times and sky brightness.

34. Worksheet UtilityKeplerLaws:

    Calculator for Kepler's Third Law. From the estimated masses of double's components (based on their MK spectral and luminosity classes) and an observed period, what might the orbit look like?

35. Worksheet UtilityResolutionTestChart:

    After printing a resolution test chart from the internet, like a USAF 1951 chart, determine how many yards away to place the chart inorder to test the resolution of binoculars and small refractors by line pairs/mm. Use such charts to line pair resolution test your eyes.

36. Worksheet Biblio_Links_Resources:

    A reference list of about 770 articles, books and online sources.

    Do not change the urls in the first seven rows of the bibliography. This urls are used in the Main Catalogue to automatically generate external content links for objects.

• Spreadsheet ObsExportHTML.xls:

For this spreadsheet to work, ObsSpdt.xls must be in the same directory as this worksheet. ObsSpdt.xls must first be open on the desktop before opening this spreadsheet.

1. Worksheet ExportHTML_SimpleListCombined:

   After the spreadsheet links to the Main Catalogue in ObsSpdt.xls, use Column A - Selected - to filter down to your session's selected objects. Then hide columns you do not want to display. Copy Columns B to AP into a text file. This is the code for an HTML table. Typically, a custom filter is used on Column A. Search for the value "Header Row" OR for observing session marker. This will also display the table header row for copying into a test file.

2. Worksheet ExportHTML_DSOs:

   Works the same as worksheet "ExportHTML_SimpleListCombined", above, but the columns are more suited to a list containing only DSOs.

3. Worksheet ExportHTML_Stellar:

   Works the same as worksheet "ExportHTML_SimpleListCombined", above, but the columns are more suited to a list containing only stellar objects.

4. Worksheet ExportBiblio:

   Works the same as worksheet "ExportHTML_SimpleListCombined", above, but the worksheet is linked to bibliography worksheet in spreadsheet ObsSpdt.xls.

5. Related HTML templates:

   These HTML export worksheets are used with the following HTML document templates:
   • HTML Template (1kb) HTML DSO Template (1kb) HTML Bibliography Template (1kb)

• Spreadsheet ObsOrtho.xls:

1. Worksheet MainCat_Link:

   Works like Worksheet ExportHTML_SimpleListCombined in spreadsheet ObsExportHTML.xls. Filter on linked column "Selected". A 2-D orthogonal projection of the selected objects in the galactic x-y and y-z planes appears in the charts in the following worksheets.

2. Worksheet 50pc through 4 Bpc:

   Displays the selected and filtered objects in worksheet MainCat_Link in rectangles of sizes beginning at 50 parsecs to 4 billion parsecs.

3. Worksheet MilkyWayGalaxyArmData:

   A reference table used for plotting the arms of the Milky Way Galaxy. Do not change this worksheet.

4. Worksheet MilkyWayFeatureData:

   A reference table used for plotting the features in the Milky Way Galaxy link Gould's Belt. Do not change this worksheet.

• Spreadsheet ObsLogs.xls:

  A very crude observing log spreadsheet for recording data on astrophotographs.

• Spreadsheet ObsExportCiel.xls:

  Works like Worksheet ExportHTML_SimpleListCombined in spreadsheet ObsExportHTML.xls. Filter on linked column "Selected". Makes a Ciel external datafile of plot objects.

• Spreadsheet ObsExportXML.xls:

  Works like Worksheet ExportHTML_SimpleListCombined in spreadsheet ObsExportHTML.xls. Filter on linked column "Selected". Makes an XML datafile of the selected objects' characteristics.

• Spreadsheet ObsExportVRML.xls:

1. Worksheet Settings:

   Sets the plotting scale of objects for a VRML world.

2. Worksheet MainCat_Link:

   Works like Worksheet ExportHTML_SimpleListCombined in spreadsheet ObsExportHTML.xls. Filter on linked column "Selected". Makes a VRML datafile of the selected objects. Provided for completeness only. If you are really interested in 3-D plotting, contact the author via email. Generally is unsupported.

Milky Way Structure and Supergalactic Structure - Index with Internet Casebook Reader

Learn about history of astronomy, the structure of the Milky Way, how astronomers discovered the structure of the Milky Way, and the structure of the supergalactic universe by reading astronomical journal articles, websites and some hard copy books. Get a sense of how astronomical scientific knowledge is incrementally discovered through the scientific process. Although most of the journal articles contain higher level math that is beyond the average amateur, many journal articles contain narrative conclusions and figures that are within the range of most amateur readers. NASA ADS Services redistributes - for single download, personal reading - astronomical journal articles - many of which are subject to copyright protection. The Reader-Bibliography is an index to landmark journal articles and books and other resources with external content links to the NASA ADS and other websites. To learn more about Milky Way structure and astronomy history, start reading here . . .

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The content of this website and the data contained herein are distributed without charge in the hope that it will be useful, but without any warranty, including without any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, to the extent permitted by applicable law. The content of this website and spreadsheet data contained herein are distributed "as is" without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied. The entire risk as to the quality and performance of the software and data are with you, including any general, special, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use the website and spreadsheet data contained herein.

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Download a local copy of this site.

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Report errors and broken links fisherka@csolutions.net

• May 3, 2007: Substantial revisions and upgrades to calculators. Miscellaneous changes to catalogue. VRML changed to emissive mode due to runtime rendering incompatability between Cortona Player and IE 7.0.
• August 6, 2006: Revised Schaefer Telescopic Limiting Magnitude worksheet (UtilitySchaeferLimitingMagCalc) to better support recording and graphing of telescopic limiting magnitude data.
• July 14, 2006: If when opening dependent spreadsheets, like the HTML generator component (see "Download components" above), the spreadsheet that is dependent on and linked to ObsSpdt.xls does not link, use the Excel menu options "Edit | Links | Change Source" to refresh the link between the spreadsheets.
• July 14, 2006: When opening the spreadsheet on a new system, the spreadsheet recalculates manually, but displays the "VALUE#" error message in all computed fields. This is probably caused by Excel not binding to user-defined functions. The following are a short-fix and longer-fix series of obtuse steps that are designed to force Excel to re-bind to all of the user-defined functions. It needs to be done only once. Do the short-fix first. If it does not work, then do the long-fix.
1. Short-fix: Make sure autocalculation is set to "on" and force recalculation.
• On the menubar and in following dialogues select: Tools | Options | Calculation | Automatic
• The radio button "Automatic" should be selected.
• In worksheet "SettingObservingTime" in the blue highlighted cells B30:B31 and C30:C31, change the beginning observation hour by one minute. This forces recalculation.
• Press F9 to manually force a recalculation. This takes about 30 seconds. The "VALUE#" error will still display.
• Close and save the spreadsheet.
• Reopen the spreadsheet.
2. Longer-fix: Force a recompile of the VBA Code to restore references to all user defined functions.
• On the menubar and in following dialogues select: Tools | Macros | Visual Basic Editor
• Excel's Visual Basic Editor will open.
• In the Project Explorer, select: Modules | Module1
• After the Words "Option Explicit" type a space.
• On the menubar, select: Debug | Compile
• Close the "Microsoft Visual Basic" to return to the Excel spreadsheet.
• In worksheet "SettingObservingTime" in the blue highlighted cells B30:B31 and C30:C31, change the beginning observation hour by one minute. This forces recalculation.
• Press F9 to manually force a recalculation. This takes about 30 seconds. The "VALUE#" error will still display.
• Close and save the spreadsheet.
• Reopen the spreadsheet. On reopening, Excel should rebind to the user-defined functions and automatically recalculate all values. This should clear the fields that display the "VALUE#" error.
• July 14, 2006: When opening dependent spreadsheets and the main ObsSpdt.xls spreadsheet, open only one dependent spreadsheet at a time. ObsSpdt is at filled to the memory limits of MS-Excel.
• July 14, 2006: Closing a dependent spreadsheet, the MS-Excel error message "Insufficient resources to save all external links" is normal and does not affect the dependent spreadsheet.

Acknowledgements

Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg - Simbad: This project has made use of the SIMBAD database, operated at CDS, Strasbourg, France.

Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg - Catalogue Service: This project has made use of numerous catalogues redistributed through the CDS Astronomer's Catalogue Service, operated at CDS, Strasbourg, France. Catalogues that were utilized are listed in Bibliography and the Distance Bibliography. The use of those sources are by this reference is acknowledged and appreciated.

NASA Astrophysics Data System/Computation Facility at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics - NASA ADS Abstract Services: This project has made use of NASA's Astrophysics Data System.

Nigel Henbest and Heather Couper: This project was inspired by the N. Henbest & H. Couper's 1994 book The Guide to the Galaxy. Cambridge Univ. Press. (1994gtg..book.....H).

Salt Lake Astronomical Society: At the time this site author was created, the author was a member of the Salt Lake Astronomical Society (SLAS). While SLAS neither participated in nor endorses this project, the use of SLAS's 16 inch Ealing Telescope at SLAS's Harmon's Observatory in the Stansbury Park Observatory Complex (SPOC) at Tooele, Utah remains a continuing inspiration, which is acknowledged here.

voluntary donation request

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This site is not an alpha version of a software product intended for future commercial distribution. These catalogue will not be distributed commercially.

Like many hobbies, amateur astronomy relies on the goodwill and fraternal desire of its participants to freely share without charge. This author remains committed to that standard of conduct in the amateur astronomical community. But in this instance, the many nights and weekends over a five month period needed to develop the underlying spreadsheet database, to review professional astronomy journals for the reasonably current and accurate distance information, and to develop VRML rendering scripts, ethically appeared to justify an entirely voluntary donation request.

Prepared by: K. Fisher 7/2006 fisherka@csolutions.net