What's New?

June 21, 2006

sdphot

sdphot now remembers previously entered values. For example, you only have to tell it once (per directory) the base name of your files. (Incidentally, if you want it to remember in a different directory, copy the params.sd file to the new directory before you start.) It also doesn't ask how sensitive you want it to be in checking for magnitude jumps after the first file. (It assumes you want to be consistent throughout one night.)

Additionally, sdphot scans the .mag.1 files to figure out where you left off to reset the coordinates file. It will also check for coordinates files based on the number of the file you are starting on. For example, if you are re-starting on file number 4, sdphot will look for files called ds9-4.reg, ds94.reg, ds4.reg, d4.reg, or 4.reg.

rcoo

BUGFIX:
rcoo used to default to coo.sd (the coordinates file that sdphot writes) if you just hit enter, even though it said it would default to ds9.reg... This caused some problems, as coo.sd is written in a slightly different format than files saved in ds9, resulting in the coordinates all being lined up at the top of the roated file. It no longer looks for coo.sd, so it should work fine. (If you encounter similar problems, load your regions in ds9 and re-save the file. This will put it in the format that rcoo understands.)

Setup File

The setup file is now much smarter when searching for your login.cl (to task the scripts into iraf). It tries to find your home directory and search for it there (first it searches the directory it's in). Then, if it still can't find it, it will ask where it is, and give you advice on where it thinks it should be.

June 5, 2006

sdphot

     sdphot will now give instructions for how to reset the coordinates file, if you type "h", "help", or "?" when it recommends it.

     When it finds an INDEF, it will tell you which star had the problem. It also won't compute a meaningless magnitude jump for that star if you choose to continue after an INDEF.

BUGFIX:
     It used to get stuck in an infinite loop on occasion if your filenames were too long. That is no longer an issue.

June 3, 2006

sdphot

     sdphot no longer requires so many answers. It will now guess at your filename. If it's right, you can just hit "enter" and move on. If you're starting on a file other than the first one, you can just enter the number (with or without the leading zeroes). Then it will check to make sure that file exists before continuing.

     You also get to specify how sensitive you want it to be when it checks for magnitude jumps. (If you don't know, just hit "enter" and it will default to about 0.5 mags.)

     It also makes recommendations when there is a magnitude jump. That is, it will tell you if it thinks it's just a bad point or if it thinks it's lost the stars. I can't guarantee how accurate this will be; I've set the parameters based on what I've noticed with the data I've been reducing. I would love any input.

     Also, when stopping for any sort of error, regardless of the error, you get to choose whether to continue, skip the file, or quit (to reset the coordinates file).

mkcmds

     All the changes to mkcmds this time have to do with the coordinates file (RaDec.txt). If you ask it to add new coordinates, and it can't read/write to RaDec.txt, it will simply tell you that it was unable to update the file, but then continue on creating the commands file (it used to die if it couldn't find RaDec.txt).

     It will also place Messier objects, SA fields, and NGC objects in numerical order in the file, so that it will be less likely to confuse (for example) "33" and "3", when both are listed.

     Oh, I almost forgot: It is also very flexible now when asking for those coordinates. R.A. and Dec. can each be entered on one line now, if desired, separated by colons (such as 22:38:56.23), or you can enter hours, hit enter, minutes, hit enter, etc. It will also convert from decimal forms. You will know it understood right by whether it prompts you for more information or not. (Incidentally, leading zeroes are unnecessary, but acceptable.)

     The coordinates for DY Her have now been added to RaDec.txt

sdbscripts.tar.gz

(i.e. "Entire Package")

rcoo is now included in the package.

Setup File

Setup will now let you decide what fields to txdump after sdphot has finished photing.

It will also task rcoo into your login.cl

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