SALT Target Visibility Calculator
Last update: 11 March 2014
Latest version: 4.0.2
Download the Visibility Calculator:
- Microsoft Windows
- Mac OS X (read here if you get an error when opening the dmg)
- Other operating systems
Version History
- Version 4.0.2 fixes a sign error when running the Visibility Calculator from the command line.
- Version 4.0.0 allows you to look up target coordinates from SIMBAD/NED/VizieR.
- Version 3.9 lets you create csv files with the visibility windows for target data exported from the PIPT. It also shows coordinates in a more human-friendly format.
- Version 3.8 has a single input field for entering target coordinates, to facilitate cut-and-pasting. It remembers the tab you selected last time you used the Visibility Tool.
- Version 3.7 includes a view showing the remaining track length as a function of time.
- Version 3.52 fixes bugs which render the Visibility Tool non-responsive.
- Version 3.51 adds a warning that the actual track time may be shorter than the value shown.
- Version 3.5 lets you choose an arbitrary year, and it fixes a rare bug in the annual visibility plot.
- Version 3.31 fixes memory leaks.
- Version 3.2 fixes a crucial bug.
As of version 3.1 the Visibility Calculator is distributed for Windows and Mac OS X as a standalone application and for Linux as a jar file. (You still need Java on your computer, though.) The installation works in the same way as that for the PIPT Manager; see the PIPT installation instructions.
Version 3.0 of the Visibility Calculator fixes a bug in the SAST axis of the annual visibility plot. Version 2.9 fixes a serious GUI rendering problem for low screen resolutions. Version 2.8 fixes a more general GUI bug.
Note that from version 0.63 onwards, the PIPT includes the Visibility Calculator, so that you may check the visibility of a sidereal target from within the PIPT.
You may calculate the visibilities for a list of targets provided in a file; see the item “Checking visibility of multiple targets” on the Tips & Tricks page.