FEATURES

Visually select targets from 28,000+ objects in 28 catalogs

Create single or multi-target imaging plans for export into popular automation programs such as CCDAutoPilot and ACP Expert

Advanced scheduler optimizes imaging sequence for technical results

Fully automatic guide star selection and exposure calculations with ‘EZ-Guide’

Interactive ‘Preview’ positioning for perfect compositions

Graphs show rise, transit and set times of targets and Moon interference

The next “Dark Cycle” of the Moon is shown and 12 months of dark cycles can be viewed and exported to a calendar program

A session graph shows the real-time allocation of each target selected for imaging and allows the user to adjust the allocations

View DSS plates and SIMBAD data for any target based on your cameras field of view auto-guider positioning

Local horizon lets you know when obstructions will interfere with a target

Establish and review goals and results for targets, automatically import results from CCDAutoPilot5 or update them manually

Daily email notifications of critical session times for one or all of your imaging sites with lists of available targets and, if available, a Clear Sky Chart graph for each site

Supports unlimited numbers of cameras and sites.

The Advanced Imager's Catalog

CCDNavigator uses “The Advanced Imager’s Catalog” which consists of objects imaged by some of the world’s best imagers and includes a thumbnail of each object.

The Advanced Imager’s Catalog is comprised of images from the following astrophotographers:

The Deep Sky Explorer Catalog

The following Catalogs are available with thumbnails for every target in either Color or B&W:

  • Abell Galaxy Clusters (ABELL)
  • Abell Planetary Nebula (A)
  • Arp Peculiar Galaxies (ARP)
  • Barnard Dark Nebula (B)
  • Berkeley Open Clusters (BER)
  • Caldwell Catalog (C)
  • Cataclysmic Variable Star Catalog (CV)
  • Cederblad Bright Diffuse Nebula (CED)
  • Dunlop Catalog (D)
  • Eclipsing Binary Star Catalog (EB)
  • Gum HII Regions (GUM)
  • Herbig-Haro Catalog (HH)
  • Herschel 400 Catalog (HER)
  • Hickson Compact Galaxy Groups (HCG)
  • Index Catalog (IC)
  • Lynds Bright Nebula (LBN)
  • Lynds Dark Nebula (LDN)
  • MASH Planetary Nebula (G)
  • Messier Catalog (M)
  • Melotte Open Clusters (MEL)
  • Mandel-Wilson Integrated Flux Catalog (MW)
  • New General Catalog (NGC)
  • Palomar Globulars (PAL)
  • Perek-Kohoutek Planetary Nebula (PK)
  • Planetary Nebula (PNG)
  • Quasars (QC)
  • Rodgers-Campbell-Whiteoak Catalog (RCW)
  • Sharpless HII Regions (SH2)
  • Galactic SNR Catalog (SNR)
  • Terzan Globular Clusters (TER)
  • Van Den Bergh Reflection Nebula (VDB)
  • Selected PGC, UGC and MCG galaxies

Advanced Management of Your Imaging Sessions

After selecting targets for a session, you can adjust the real-time allocation of each and see the total session plan graphically or in text format. The exposure and LRGB sequence type can be varied for each target so you can “tune” the session for the selected targets. Various series for CCD imagers can be initialized by CCDNavigator including LRGB, CRGB, RGB, NB (NarrowBand), and Bi-color for wide and narrow band. You can adjust these initial values however you like.

Export and import individual targets or lists of targets from prior sessions so you can quickly setup a session placing the targets at the same exact position and rotation angle as used previously. Clicking on a thumbnail anywhere will bring up an Information window for the target and retrieve an image with the precise the FOV of your camera including rotation.

Maintain a personal list of Favorite targets that you want to image in coming months or years. And for each Favorite, set your Goals and track your Results. Receive daily email notification with critical session times, a Favorites list for the night for all of your observing sites as well as a Clear Sky Chart for each site. An unlimited number of Cameras and Sites are supported and site locations can be directly imported from TheSky.

Export Your Imaging Plan

CCDNavigator will export your imaging plan into popular image automation programs:

For those not using automation applications, CCDNavigator exports plans for:

  • TheSky Camera Add-on or CCDSoft by Software Bisque
  • MaxImDL by Diffraction Limited