Target Coordinates Format Specification |
|---|
| Target coordinates should be specified as right ascension and declination in succession. Both RA and Dec can be specified in sexagesimal format (hours/minutes/seconds for RA, degrees/arcminutes/arcseconds for Dec) using either spaces or colons (:) as separators, or in decimal degrees. In addition, RA can be specified in decimal hours by appending either "H" or "h" (do not type the double quotes) to the decimal value. If the RA is specified in sexagesimal format then the Dec value must be separated from the RA value by a comma or a plus or minus sign, or the degree (or decimal degree) part of the Dec must have a "D" or "d" appended to it, or all three hours/minutes/seconds values must be included. In all other cases, trailing zero values for minutes/seconds (RA) or arcminutes/ arcseconds (Dec) may be dropped. Extra whitespace is always ignored. |
| Examples: | |
| String entered | Translation |
| -------------- | ----------- |
| 23 59 59.9999 -89 59 59.999 | 23 59 59.9999 -89 59 59.999 |
| 23:59:59.9999 -89:59:59.999 | 23 59 59.9999 -89 59 59.999 |
| 23.7654, +0.6857 | 01 35 03.6960 +00 41 08.520 |
| 09h 16m 54.28s 32d 15' 6.1" | 09 16 54.2800 +32 15 06.100 |
| 10.9876h, +14 | 10 59 15.3600 +14 00 00.000 |
| 0, 0 | 00 00 00.0000 +00 00 00.000 |
| 14 12, 16 10 | 14 12 00.0000 +16 10 00.000 |
| 14 12 +16 10 | 14 12 00.0000 +16 10 00.000 |
| 14 12 16d 10 | 14 12 00.0000 +16 10 00.000 |
| 14 12 16 10 <--- AMBIGUOUS will be treated as 14 12 16.0000 +10 00 00.000 |