FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

How can I contribute?

Just Contact us. There is no login portal. Photos, drawings, visual descriptions of objects, corrections and suggestions for improvement are welcome. See Wishlist what we need. Files can be submitted via email, Dropbox, Google Drive or whatever is easiest. Changes will be made by the editors.

How much does the Deep-Sky Corner cost?

The Deep-Sky Corner is free. However, donations are gladly accepted, because operation and maintenance costs a lot of time and some money, too. See Imprint.

How to use the Deep-Sky Corner?

The DSC is optimized for smartphone, tablet and laptop usage. The finder charts are optimized for the Telrad Finder and the close-ups with 1° or 2° field of view for long focal length eyepieces. You'll get the best observation experience by learning the constellations under a dark and clear sky. Select a constellation that is high in the sky and select it in the DSC. You'll get a tiled list of all deep-sky objects in that constellation. Go to the one you like the most, find it using the charts. If you have seen it long enough, simply select the next nearby object.

Is there a dark mode?

No. Buto on an Apple iPad or iPhone one can easily create a red colour filter using a shortcut for the home button and dim the screen brightness. This is convenient for other applications, too. There may be a similar feature on tablets from other vendors.

Is there a printed or offline version?

There is no printed or offline version, but you can download the entire website (circa 750 MB, 5500 files) using SiteSucker (available for MacOS and IOS) or similar tool (e.g. GNU Wget). It converts the website to localized static HTML and you can use it without internet connection. The DSC is designed to work perfectly on a laptop, tablet and smartphone.

Which file formats are preferred for uploading?

Preferred image formats are JPEG, PNG, or WEBP with a maximum size of 2000x2000 pixels, so that the DSC works smoothly on a smartphone, even from a mountain, and not everyone gets images in print quality right away. File names should not contain spaces or special characters. For each image, a textfime (.TXT oder .YAML) with same name containing acquisition data is required, like the following example:

title: Messier 31
caption_de: Andromeda-Galaxie. Ausschnitt aus dem Originalfoto.
caption_en: Andromeda Galaxy. Crop of original photo.
equipment_de: Nikon D850, Nikkor 300 mm 2.8D, Vixen GPD2 Montierung, FS2 Steuerung
equipment_de: Nikon D850, Nikkor 300 mm 2.8D, Vixen GPD2 mount, FS2 controller
exposure: L 29*30s + D 16*30s, ISO 800
location: Bözberg, Aargau
date: 2020-07-10