The IGRINS observing planner is a GUI written in Python that interfaces with DS9 and is designed for creating finder charts either before or during observations. It has many useful features including finding guide stars.
Download the latest version by cloning or pulling the git repo on github: https://github.com/kfkaplan/IGRINS_observing_planner
Requirements:
Python 3 (anaconda recommended)
XPA (download here https://sites.google.com/cfa.harvard.edu/saoimageds9/download?authuser=0)
Make a finder chart
Enter your target. You can easily lookup your target coordinates using simbad by putting a simbad searchable name into “Simbad name” and then clicking “Lookup. ” You can also directly enter target coordinates in the “RA (J2000)” and “Dec (J2000)” fields in sexagesimal format as follows “18 36 56.3363 +38 47 01.280” .
If you want to use the proper motion when making the finder chart, check the box labeled “Use proper motion?”. A simbad lookup should automatically fill the proper motion fields, but you can also manually enter proper motion in mas per year. Set the “epoch” field to the epoch of the night you want the finder chart to represent (for example 2025.5 for the middle of 2025).
Set the position angle of the IGRINS slit in the “PA (deg)” field. The IGRINS rotator setting for the PA entered is shown directly below and will automatically update.
There are two options for the imaging survey used for making finder charts that can be set with the “Survey” menu. “2MASS K-band” is a good representation of what you will see in the IGRINS slit-view-camera image since the slit-view-camera uses a K-band filter. POSS2 IR is an older photoplate survey taken at ~1 micron that can be used as a backup if the 2MASS image server is down. POSS2 IR images seem to load faster if you want a large FOV such as when trying to check your pointing.
Set “Image FOV (arcmin)” to how large of an area want to see on sky. 6 arcmin is fine if your pointing is good, but you can make it larger if you are unsure where you are pointed and want to see the surrounding star field better. Beware that a larger FOV means it will take longer to load the image when making a finder chart.
When you are finished filling everything out, click the “Make Finder Chart” button. The finder chart should automatically load in DS9. It might take a minute for the image to fully download.
The green rectangle represents the 1”x15” IGRINS slit on the 2.7 m Telescope at McDonald Observatory. The blue compass shows your orientation on the sky. The green outline shows the field of view of the IGRINS slit-view-camera and the image inside of it is representative of what you will see in a slit-view-camera iamge.
Save and load your settings
The settings for a finder chart can easily be saved and loaded from the menu. Saved files are in the .json format. Everything, including information on the guide stars is saved. This means you can create all your finder charts before an observing run, save them, and then quickly load them as needed when observing.
