ObsTools

For now, just a code for me to approximately plan my observing night.

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Disclaimer: Error handling is very premature. The program may quit suddenly if the wrong input is selected. Please let me know about these, and I will eventually code in all the right catches.

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What it needs:

• A list of targets (Simbad-resolvable names)
• Corresponding list of exposure times (stay tuned for exposure time calculators)
• Site location or name, e.g., 'lco'
• Year, month, and day (local) that your observations start

What it gives:

• A visibility plot of your targets that you can interact with on the command line
• Experiment with your targets' placement throughout the night to maximize your time efficiency
• Add targets, undo, print, and even go on to the next consecutive night interactively
• Prints an approximate observing plan based on your input

How to use it:

First install these:

• matplotlib
• numpy
• scipy
• astropy (there may be a version problem here)
• astroquery
• timezonefinder
• pytz

Then call the planner with: obs = Plan(site='lco', year=2023, month=1, day=28, targets=targets, exptimes=exptimes).

There is an example file included to show you how it works. Just call python example.py!