The following commands (#hashtags) and options supported by the observatory's Mastodon, Text Messaging, Email, and the Communicator App interface. See the Processing Command Reference page for the image processing commands.
When you send a command via a Mastodon post, be sure to include @BGO@observatory.social in the message so that the observatory is notified of your message by Mastodon.
Except for the #help, #hello and #human commands, more than one command can be included in a single Mastodon Post, Mastodon Direct Message, Facebook Messenger message, SMS text, or the body text of an email. Only one command is processed by Communicator App messages.
Some commands need additional information (parameters) in the form of xxx=yyy. If yyy needs to include spaces, surround the entire parameter in double-quotes (eg. "parameter=this is a parameter value". Anything other than a hashtag or parameter is ignored.
- #help
- #human
- #hello
- #status
- #sunstatus
- #moonstatus
- #weather
- #forecast
- #satellite
- #domecam
- #filters
- #request
- #myrequests
- #edit
- #delete
- #addobject
- #lookup
- #send
- #process
- #renew
- #password
- #whoami
This sends a message which directs you to this website. If this command is received, any others are ignored. This command can be used even if you are not an authorized observer.
This sends your message to a human by email - include what you need help on within the message. If this command is received, any others are ignored. This command can be used even if you are not an authorized observer.
This is a good "test" message - the observatory replies by introducing itself! If this command is received, any others are ignored. This command can be used even if you are not an authorized observer.
This sends the status of what the observatory is doing (or not doing) now. An example response is:
I am starting up the observatory...
This sends the status of whether the Sun is up, the sky is in twilight or if its fully dark. It also predicts when the observatory will startup and begin and end observing on the current day. An example response is:
The Sun is presently up! If clear, the observatory will begin to start up today at about 19:21:09 and observations will start at about 19:54:51. Observations will end at about 06:04:11 tomorrow morning.
This sends the status of whether the Moon is up or not. It also gives the Moon's phase (in degrees and by the phase's name) and the Moon's age in days. An example response is:
The Moon is not presently up! Its phase is 318.34 degrees (Waning Crescent) and its age is 26.39 days.
This sends a brief report from the observatory's cloud sensor. A graph showing the last 24 hours of cloud sensor data is also included. An example response is:
The sky is CLOUDY (temp=25 deg C, wind=3 km/h)
Operators are also sent the cloud sensor's sky temperature and clear/cloudy threshold values and can set the threshold with the "threshold=" parameter.
This sends the current Environment Canada weather forecast for the observatory. Forecasts are updated at 5am, 11am, and 4pm daily. An example response is:
Sunday night: Mainly cloudy. 30 percent chance of rain showers changing to 30 percent chance of flurries near midnight. Wind west 50 km/h gusting to 70. Low minus 4. Wind chill minus 14 overnight.
This sends either a current IR (default) or visible light satellite image centered on the observatory's location. Specify a visible light image using the parameter "type=vis" - not including this parameter or specifying any other value selects an IR image. An example response is (not including the image):
Here is the IR satellite image (courtesy NASA/NOAA). BGO is near the centre!
This command cannot be used if sent from as a Text Message.
This sends an image showing the inside of the observatory's dome. An example response is:
Here is the current domecam image!
This command cannot be used if sent from as a Text Message.
This returns a link to the list of available filters on the cameras.
This command requests the telescope take an image of an astronomical object. The request is placed in the telescope's observation queue. Certain checks are done before the request is accepted. In particular:
- The object must be observable from Nova Scotia within the next month's time.
- Most users are limited to having 3 observations in the queue at a time. Users given special permission may have up to 15 observations in the queue.
- You can't request the same object twice (unless using a different filter or exposure). An exception is made for special observations and solar system objects.
The parameters accepted are as follows:
object=objectname
objectname is required in every request and must be the name or catalog number of an astronomical object (without any spaces). The telescope knows how to find lots of celestial objects, including:
- The Messier Catalog - a list of bright star clusters, nebulae and galaxies (eg. M1 or M33)
- Common object names (eg. OrionNebula, ClownFaceNebula, etc.)
- Any object in the Saguaro Astronomy Club Deep Sky Database. This includes about 10,000 bright star clusters, nebulae and galaxies. Specify the object's catalog number (most off these will be an NGC)
- Any galaxy in the Principle Galaxy Catalog (eg. PGC65086)
- Stars (by their common name (eg. Vega), or by their HD, HR, SAO, HIP, TYC, GSC, or USNOA2 catalog number). Stars brighter than magnitude 6.5 are not allowed.
- Variable Stars - any star in the General Catalog of Variable Stars (eg. ZLeo or V0456Cyg)
- Double Stars - any star in the Washington Visual Double Star catalog (eg. STF2578)
- Planets (by their name) - note that planets will not look that good as we are all used to seeing planet images taken with space probes!
- Moon - use 'Moon' as the name. Because the Moon is too bright, it will not be imaged when its phase is close to full.
- Comets - any comet presently considered observable by the IAU. Use their full name or their shortened designation (eg. "C/1997B1" or "125P")
- Asteroids - any "numbered" asteroid (also called minor planets) brighter than about 17th magnitude (that usually means 1000s of them!). Use their proper name (eg. "Vesta") or their number designation (eg. "(94)" which is Aurora)
- Any object added to the observatory's database with the #addobject command.
Alternatively, a custom object can be specifying using its equatorial position as follows:
ra=hours
This is the object's Right Ascension in decimal hours or in the format hh:mm:ss.s (J2000 epoch).
dec=degrees
This is the object's Declination in decimal degrees or in the format +dd:mm:ss (J2000 epoch).
type=objecttype
This is an optional parameter that specifies the type of astronomical object. Values from 0 to 17 represent the following object types:
0 is a star
1 is a galaxy
2 is a globular cluster
3 is an open cluster
4 is a nebula
5 is a planetary nebula
6 is an “other” type of deep sky object (this is the default setting)
7 is a solar system object
8-12 are not used
13 is a double star
14 is a variable star
When a custom RA & Dec is given, the object= parameter must still be used. In the object= parameter, include the name of the object or name the region that is being requested (e.g. #request "object=Ring Nebula Region" ra=18:53:35 dec=+33:01:45 type=5).
comment=comment_text
This adds your comment to the observation. If more than one word is needed, enclose the whole parameter in double-quotes (eg. "comment=Andromeda Galaxy"). As an example of how it might be used, you might use this feature to give another name for your request or the reason for the request.
exposure=seconds
This specifies the exposure time, in seconds, for the observation. The shortest values accepted are 0.1 seconds and the longest is 300 seconds (5 minutes). When the telescope takes the image, it actually splits the exposure into parts 60 seconds or less and automatically combines the parts into one image before it is sent to you. Users given special permission are allowed up to 900 seconds (15 minutes).
If this parameter is left out, 180 seconds (3 minutes) is used for brighter object types and 300 seconds is used for fainter object types (galaxies, nebulae, comets, etc.).
For some bright objects (the Moon and the planets) the specified exposure is overridden to hopefully provided better images for these objects. See the 'override' option below.
filter=filtername
This specifies which colour filter is placed in front of the camera. It is optional - if left out, the CLR filter is used (this is clear or un-filtered). Our camera takes black and white images - colour images are made by combining separate images taken in red, green and blue filters. The valid filters names are here. Choosing a specific filter also chooses which camera is used to take the image. See this FAQ for more information about choosing an appropriate filter.
Normal Special Observations:
special=filtername,subexp,numexps,filtername,subexp,numexps,...
This specifies that the observation be done as a special exposure, which allows advanced control over how the exposures are taken and multiple filters to be observed together in a single request. You need special permission to use this feature.
Up to 10 groups of 3 parameters (separated by commas), each specifying the exposure details for a filter, are to be provided as follows:
filtername - this is the same as described above for the filter= option, except for an additional "filter" called "time". The "time" filter is used to insert a time delay between observations. Note that when choosing multiple filters, all filters must be associated with the same camera.
subexp - this is the sub exposure in seconds, from 0.1 to 300 seconds
numsubs - the number of sub exposures taken and combined into a single image (1 to 20). The total exposure of numsubs x subexp cannot exceed 900 seconds
The total overall maximum exposure for all filters is 1,800 seconds.
The example below takes 10 minute exposures in RED, GRN, BLU filters:
special=RED,60,10,GRN,60,10,BLU,60,10
If this option is used, the filter and exposure options are ignored.
Time-Series Special Observations:
special=TS,min,max,filtername,subexp,numexps,filtername,subexp,numexps,...
This specifies that the observation is to be done as repeating time-series ("TS") of Normal Special Observations for a minimum of min and a maximum of max minutes duration. You need special permission to use this feature.
The min and max values are used as follows:
min - for an observation to be done, the object must be observable (object above "minalt", below "maxalt", on a specified side of the meridian, above the observatory's local horizon restrictions, and enough time left in the night before morning twilight) for at least "min" minutes.
max - when the observation is underway, it will continue for a duration "max" minutes, as long as the object remains observable (see "min" above).
Min and max can range from 1 to 480 minutes, provided max is greater than or equal to min. min should be set to the shortest time-series that will be accepted and max to the preferred longest time-series length.
The example below takes 2 minute exposures in B and V filters and a delay of five minutes for a minimum length of 60 minutes and maximum of 3 hours:
special=TS,60,180,B,60,2,V,60,2,TIME,60,5
If this option is used, the filter and exposure options are ignored.
If this option is used in conjunction with the epoch option below, the max time series duration is adjusted by the difference in time that the observation actually starts (earlier or later) vs. the programmed time.
Live Observation Session:
special=LIVE,duration
special=LIVE,minimum_duration,maximum_duration
This form of the special parameter requests a live observation session of a specified duration at the date and time specified by the epoch parameter. The live session will only take place if there is enough time between the session start and the beginning of dawn, given the specified (minimum) duration. The duration (in minutes) can be specified either by the single parameter "duration" or a "minimum" and "maximum" duration. The maximum allowed live session is 30 minutes for regular observers or 5 hours for those who have the time-series privilege. You need special permission to use this feature.
fullsize=yes (or no)
This is optional and when set to 'yes' causes the image to cover the largest sky area possible for the camera used. The default size, which fits most common objects, is smaller.
minalt=degrees
This specifies the minimum altitude (in degrees) above the horizon that the observation will be done at. The default value is 25 degrees. Images taken at higher altitudes will generally give better images (sharper and clearer), but setting larger values reduces the number of hours per night that an object can be observed, so setting a high value may mean your request takes longer to fulfill. The smallest value allowed is 20 degrees and it must be less than "maxalt".
maxalt=degrees
This specifies the maximum altitude (in degrees) above the horizon that the observation will be done at. The default value is 90 degrees. Setting smaller values may reduce the number of hours per night that an object can be observed, so setting a low value may mean your request takes longer to fulfill. The value specified must greater than "minalt".
som=E or W or not set
This specifies the side of the meridian (E=east, W=west, not set=not checked) that the observation will be done on. The default value either side of the meridian.
maxmoon=percent
This specifies the maximum moon illumination (as 0 to 100 percent) that the observation will be done at. The default value is 100%. The Moon is a major source of light pollution - images taken when the Moon is up and bright will not (generally) be as good as images taken when the Moon is not up or not as bright (eg. crescent phases). If the Moon is lower than 5 degrees in altitude (or not up at all) when the observation is taken, this value is ignored.
override=no
For some bright objects (the Moon and the planets) some of the settings above are overridden to hopefully provided better images for these objects. You can override this by including 'override=no'.
epoch=type,...
This advanced parameter is used to precisely constrain when an observation request will start. It is intended to be used to:
- observe during an "interesting" time of a periodically changing object, for example, the eclipse part of an eclipsing binary star's orbit or the transit of an extra-solar planet. It can also be used to constrain the time of night that an observation takes place.
- start an observation at a specified time of a specified date and time (using local or universal time). At the specified data and time, plus the effect of the adjustment parameter, the Sun must be at least 6 degrees below the horizon (civil twilight), however observation don't start until the sun is 15 degrees below the horizon.
- start an observation now.
Note that all other conditions must be met before the observation will start (eg. 'minalt' and 'maxmoon' parameters). The observation also competes with other observation requests in the queue - the priority option can be used to help ensure that the observation starts when needed.
The 'epoch' parameter as three forms:
Julian Date:
type - the type of Julian Date (jd below) used, which is either: JD (Julian Date based UT time) or HJD (Heliocentric Julian Date, which has been corrected to the centre of the Sun).
jd - the Julian Date of a reference point in time when the observation should take place at a multiple of period. This is usually a date in the past.
period - the number of days between observations (this is added or subtracted in multiples from jd to calculate valid observation times).
adjustment - the number of minutes to adjust the calculated valid observation times forward or backward. Values of -1440 to 1440 are accepted (which is +/- 1 day). This is intended, for example, to allow the observation to start before the "interesting" time that the hjd and period refer to. The actual time that an observation takes place is also affected by "overhead" activities, for example, the time it takes to move the telescope to the object. This can be a few minutes, so should be considered when setting an adjustment value.
tolerance - the number of minutes, up to 1440 (1 day), early or late from the time determined by the hjd, period, and adjustment values, that an observation will take place. Observations will rarely happen exactly when an observer wants them to. This is most often caused because the telescope is completing another request. If larger values are used, the observation is more likely to take place but may start an proportionally amount of time before or after the ideal time.
Date and Time:
type - use LT for local civic time at the observatory (Atlantic Time) or UT for Universal Time.
yyyy,mm,dd,hh,mm - the year, month, date, hour, and minute that the observation is to start.
adjustment - the number of minutes to adjust the specified date and time forward or backward. Values of -1440 to 1440 are accepted (which is +/- 1 day). This is intended, for example, to allow the observation to start before the "interesting" time that the LT or UT date and time refer to. The actual time that an observation takes place is also affected by "overhead" activities, for example, the time it takes to move the telescope to the object. This can be a few minutes, so should be considered when setting an adjustment value.
tolerance - the number of minutes, up to 1440 (1 day), early or late from the specified date and time and the adjustment value, that an observation will take place. Observations will rarely happen exactly when an observer wants them to. This is most often caused because the telescope is completing another request. If larger values are used, the observation is more likely to take place but may start before or after the ideal time.
Now (the time of submission):
type - use NOW to specify the current date and time as adjusted by the optional adjustment and tolerance parameters. This epoch type is intended to be used most often in conjunction with a Live Observation Session, but can also be used with any other observation type.
adjustment (optional) - the number of minutes to adjust from the current date and time. Values of 0 to 1440 are accepted (which is +1 day). For example, if it were presently 8pm and you wanted to start an observation at 10pm, you could use: 'NOW,120'
tolerance (optional, but if specified, the adjustment parameter must also be specified) - the number of minutes, up to 1440 (1 day), early or late from the the current date and time and the adjustment value, that an observation will take place. Observations will rarely happen exactly when an observer wants them to. This is most often caused because the telescope is completing another request. If larger values are used, the observation is more likely to take place but may start before or after the ideal time. If not specified, 60 minutes is used.
focus=steps
This is an advanced parameter that de-focuses the telescope by the specified "steps". It is intended to be used when performing photometry of bright stars to reduce overexposure OR to increase photometric precision by blurring stars over more pixels - this can reduce errors caused by how light falls and is recorded by each pixel. The allowable range of steps is -5000 to 5000 (the default is 0). If the specified value causes the focus position to go past its limited range, the observation will be skipped.
offset=offsetra,offsetdec
This parameter offsets the telescope's position from its catalog position by the specified amounts in right ascension (offsetra) and declination (offsetdec). The values are specified as the percentage of the field of view (see the fullsize parameter above) and can range from -500 to 500 percent. Positive values of offsetdec move the position north and positive values of offsetra move the position east.
This parameter has several uses, for example:
- building larger images using a mosaic of separate fields,
- offsetting a comet's nucleus to a corner of the field so more of the tail can be recorded,
- and placing a variable star off-centre so that reference/check stars are in the field of view.
priority=points
This specifies the priority given to the observation request. You need special permission to use this feature. The points value can range from -100 (lowest priority) to 100 (highest priority). The default value is 0. The observatory plays a "points" game when deciding the order to observe requests in its queue. It considers a number of factors - the priority setting essentially "rigs" the points game to favour or disfavour your request. A priority of -100 disables the observation.
interval=days
This optional feature sets the minimum amount of time between observations of the same object taken by the same observer using the same exposure parameters (filter and exposure, or special parameter values). It has two modes. The first mode is used to space out observations within a single night. The second mode is used to space out observations by an integer number of nights. If the interval value is set to 0 or omitted, it is disabled.
- Single Night Mode: the interval can be set to any number greater than 0 and less than 1 day (eg. 0.0208 is 30 minutes). In order for the observation to run, at least one other observation must have already been taken that night and the specified time interval elapsed since the most recent observation. This option may be useful for creating a minimum mime gap between observations of comets or minor planets on the same night. By way of example, for three observations of minor planet Vesta separated by at least one hour, you would use these 3 requests:
#request object=Vesta
#request object=Vesta interval=0.042
#request object=Vesta interval=0.042
- Multi Night Mode: the interval can be set to any integer number of days from 1 to 30. In order for the observation to run, a minimum of the specified number of nights must have elapsed since a previous observation either earlier on the same night OR on previous nights. If no previous observations are found, the observation runs anyway. This option may use useful for spacing out observations of slowly varying variable stars. By way of example, for weekly observations you could use these 2 requests and resubmit the 2nd one about once a week.
#request object=ZAnd
#request object=ZAnd interval=7
repeat=yes (or no)
When your observation has completed successfully, this optional feature causes it to be automatically re-submitted to the queue. You need special permission to use this feature.
hide=yes (or no)
This causes your observation to not be displayed on the Completed Observations index page. Do not assume that this means your observation will be private because it won't be.
If non-recognized parameters are present, they are ignored. If an error is detected, you will receive reply message indicating the nature of the error, otherwise you will receive a reply like:
Object M42 is in my #request queue as ID 00006 (exposure=120 seconds filter=HA)
Note the ID (00006 in this case) - that is the request ID assigned uniquely to your observation request.
Here are some examples:
#request object=M36
Requests an observation of star cluster M36 (exposure time would be default of 3 minutes and unfiltered (the "LUM" filter) with normal image size)
#request object=NGC7331 exposure=300
Requests an observation of galaxy NGC7331 (exposure time would be 300 seconds and normal image size)
#request object=M27 filter=OIII exposure=30
Requests an observation of planetary nebula M27 (exposure time would be 30 seconds using the Oxygen III filter and normal image size)
#request object=M42 filter=HA fullsize=yes
Requests an observation of nebula M42 (exposure time would be default of 3 minutes using the Hydrogen Alpha filter and full image size)
#request object=M5 minalt=40
Requests an observation of globular cluster M5 (exposure time would be default of 3 minutes unfiltered at a minimum altitude of 40 degrees and normal image size)
This command sends you the number of requests in observation queue and a link to web page showing your requests. An example reply is shown below.
You have 2 requests in the queue. The details are here: https://observatory.smu.ca/~bgo/sm/requestqueue.php?observerid=36
This command allows you to edit an existing observation request. The advantage of editing an observation vs. deleting and re-requesting it is that its place in the queue is maintained.
The following example changes the exposure of request ID 1927 to 300 seconds:
#edit id=1927 exposure=300
An example reply is:
Observation request ID 1927 (C/2013US10) has been edited.
The following options, described in the #request command, can be edited: comment, exposure, filter, special, fullsize, maxmoon, minalt, maxalt, som, hide, and priority. The target object cannot be changed. You can include multiple attribute changes in the same #edit command.
If the parameters maxmoon, minalt, maxalt, or som are changed, the observation may not be observable (and this is not checked).
This command deletes one of your requests from the observation or processing queues. The request ID is to be provided as in the following example:
#delete id=00005
You can only delete your own requests. If you don't know the ID, use the #myrequests command or consult the website queues.
This command adds a new object to the object to the object database that can be accessed by #request command. You need special permission to use this feature.
The parameters accepted (some are optional) are as follows:
object=objectname
objectname is the name you wish to refer the object by. It is augmented by the observatory's code (BGO) and your unique observer ID. This ensures that your object names are unique and won't interfere with other observers or the built in object database. The assigned name will be sent to you.
ra=hours
This is the object's Right Ascension in decimal hours or in the format hh:mm:ss.s (J2000 epoch).
dec=degrees
This is the object's Declination in decimal degrees or in the format +dd:mm:ss (J2000 epoch).
mag=magnitude
This is the object's brightness in magnitude units (this is an optional parameter).
type=objecttype
This is an optional parameter that specifies the type of astronomical object. Values from 0 to 17 represent the following object types:
0 is a star
1 is a galaxy
2 is a globular cluster
3 is an open cluster
4 is a nebula
5 is a planetary nebula
6 is an “other” type of deep sky object (this is the default setting)
7 is a solar system object
8-12 are not used
13 is a double star
14 is a variable star
Here are a couple of examples:
#addobject object=Cluster205 ra=12.345 dec=-5.3432
#addobject object=UMaSN1 ra=05:35:01.1 dec=+62:10:35 type=1 mag=17
An example reply is:
Object BGO-2-UMASN1 has been added to my database
This command queries the telescope's object database. If found, it also determines whether or not the object can be observed in the near future, and therefore be used by the #request command.
The parameters accepted are as follows:
object=objectname
objectname is the name of the object you wish to search for.
Here is an example:
#lookup object=BGO-2-UMASN1
An example reply is:
This command sends the jpeg image (if available) for a completed or processed observation.
The request ID is to be provided as in the following example:
#send id=599
Use this command to renew your observer account. Accounts typically expire after one year.
Here is an example:
Please #renew my account. I need it to continue my research.
An example reply is:
Use this command to set or change your observer account password. Passwords are used to authenticate the Communicator app and an observatory web-app that is currently under development.
The required parameter is as follows:
pw=your_password
The password must be 7-20 characters long. Do not use a password that you use for other important accounts, as we cannot guarantee its security. Do not set the password using a public medium such as a public Mastodon post, or it will be exposed publicly!
Here is an example:
#password pw=iloveastronomy12
An example reply is:
Your password has been updated.
This command returns your name, observer ID, assigned observer group, and a web link providing more info about your observer account.
Here is an example:
#whoami
An example reply is:
You are 'Tiffany Fields' (ID=1356) in the 'Manager' observer group. Your account does not expire. More info: http://observatory.smu.ca/~bgo/sm/observer.php?observerid=1356