PIER-02 How our scheduling software works

This is just a simple crib sheet with some simple do’s and don’ts for our software in all reality

Our scheduling software is automated and works on a combination of preset
elevation, priority and moon avoidance parameters in order to decide
what objects meet the current requirements for imaging.

Priorities:

Comets = Priority 3
Luminance filter = Priority 2
RGB Filters = Priority 1
Narrowband = Priority 0

The priority system places narrowband as the lowest priority as it is the
easiest data to collect, whilst luminance is by far the hardest for normal data collection because
of the moon.

Comets have a special priority level of all, due to time dependency and the changing nature of the object. We also image comets at a much closer distance to the moon because of these reasons and by nature the shorter exposures required.

Minimum elevation for our syndicate piers are as follows:

Pier-1 = 30º[/*]
Pier-2 = 30º[/*]
Pier-3 = 30º[/*]
Pier-5 = 25º[/*]
Pier-14 = 20º[/*]

Moon avoidance settings:

Lum - 120 & 7
G,B & OSC 120 & 5
Red - 110 & 5
OIII - 110 & 5
SII - 100 & 5
HA - 85 & 5
Comets - 95 & 5


Link to Moon avoidance parameters page with graphics here: Here

Do’s & Don’ts:

Placing jobs on syndicate piers is very easy and all you need to do is follow a few basic rules to get the best out of the pier

Do

• Check to make sure your chosen object is visible from our location[/*]
Always make sure the object rises above the minimum elevation for more than 1hr[/*]
Pick objects that are rising on the East side not setting or well over into the west[/*]
Plan ahead - and pick objects rising many months in advance as the software catches objects earlier than you realise[/*]
Remember the sky is a dome so use all rising areas from the North East to the
South, not just the south east area only, The software will reward you
with more data I assure you[/*]

Dont

Pick objects that are directly overhead or setting in the West like you would at home[/*]
Don’t pick objects that barely hit our horizon limits or only reach them for a short amount of time[/*]
Don’t pick objects that are setting in the early evening[/*]
Don’t pick objects all in one quadrant of the sky[/*]