{"dataset":{"slug":"observing-suite","title":"Professional Observatory Planning Suite","description":"The observing planners (tonight, visibility, target, Moon, planet, deep-sky, season, twilight, darkness, altitude, meridian-transit, equipment, astrophotography, session) built on the platform's real computed live-sky data and its observing equipment, sites and techniques, and the architecture-ready data integrations (weather, seeing, transparency, cloud cover, Bortle sky brightness) that await connected providers.","version":"1.0.0","lastGenerated":"2026-06-29","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","entityCount":19,"sources":["nasa"]},"entities":[{"id":"observing_planner:altitude-chart-planner","name":"Altitude Chart Planner","type":"observing_planner","domain":"science","description":"How high a target rides through the night — its altitude against time — so an observer can catch it near the meridian, above the murk of the horizon.","entryPath":"/observing/altitude-chart-planner"},{"id":"observing_planner:astrophotography-planner","name":"Astrophotography Planner","type":"observing_planner","domain":"science","description":"Plans an imaging session — the target's framing against the sensor, the Moon and darkness windows, and the capture technique — reusing the real camera, mount, and image-stacking entities.","entryPath":"/observing/astrophotography-planner"},{"id":"observing_integration:bortle-integration","name":"Bortle Sky-Brightness Integration","type":"observing_integration","domain":"science","description":"An architecture-ready interface for light-pollution and Bortle-class sky-brightness data by location — which sets how faint an object a site can reach. Wired into the deep-sky planner; a site's darkness is reported only from a connected light-pollution source.","entryPath":"/observing/bortle-integration"},{"id":"observing_integration:cloud-cover-integration","name":"Cloud Cover Integration","type":"observing_integration","domain":"science","description":"An architecture-ready interface for cloud-cover forecasts and satellite cloud maps. Wired into the tonight planner; cloud data is shown only when a provider is connected.","entryPath":"/observing/cloud-cover-integration"},{"id":"observing_planner:darkness-planner","name":"Darkness Planner","type":"observing_planner","domain":"science","description":"The window of real darkness on a given night — after astronomical twilight ends and while the Moon is down. The hours that matter most for faint targets.","entryPath":"/observing/darkness-planner"},{"id":"observing_planner:deep-sky-planner","name":"Deep-Sky Planner","type":"observing_planner","domain":"science","description":"Plans a tour of galaxies, nebulae, and clusters by season, constellation, and difficulty, matched against the night's darkness and the target's altitude. The deep sky, night by night.","entryPath":"/observing/deep-sky-planner"},{"id":"observing_planner:equipment-planner","name":"Equipment Planner","type":"observing_planner","domain":"science","description":"Matches targets to gear — which objects suit binoculars, a small refractor, or a large Dobsonian — using the platform's real equipment catalogue and the target's brightness and size.","entryPath":"/observing/equipment-planner"},{"id":"observing_planner:meridian-transit-planner","name":"Meridian Transit Planner","type":"observing_planner","domain":"science","description":"When a target crosses the meridian — its highest, sharpest point in the sky — the ideal moment to observe or image it. Computed from its right ascension and the local sidereal time.","entryPath":"/observing/meridian-transit-planner"},{"id":"observing_planner:moon-planner","name":"Moon Planner","type":"observing_planner","domain":"science","description":"The Moon's phase, illumination, and rise and set for a chosen night — the single biggest factor in deep-sky observing. Computed, not assumed.","entryPath":"/observing/moon-planner"},{"id":"observing_planner:planet-planner","name":"Planet Planner","type":"observing_planner","domain":"science","description":"Which planets are visible tonight and where, from the platform's computed planetary positions and their altitudes through the night. Jupiter and Saturn to Mercury's fleeting apparitions.","entryPath":"/observing/planet-planner"},{"id":"observing_planner:season-planner","name":"Season Planner","type":"observing_planner","domain":"science","description":"What each season brings — the constellations overhead, the meteor showers, and the signature deep-sky objects — so a year of observing can be planned in advance.","entryPath":"/observing/season-planner"},{"id":"observing_integration:seeing-integration","name":"Seeing Integration","type":"observing_integration","domain":"science","description":"An architecture-ready interface for atmospheric seeing — the steadiness of the air that sets how fine a detail a night can show. Wired into the astrophotography planner; seeing values appear only from a connected forecast source, never invented.","entryPath":"/observing/seeing-integration"},{"id":"observing_planner:session-planner","name":"Session Planner","type":"observing_planner","domain":"science","description":"Assembles a full observing session — an ordered list of targets timed to their best moments through a single night — from the visibility, altitude, and darkness plans. Exportable as a calendar or a printable plan.","entryPath":"/observing/session-planner"},{"id":"observing_planner:target-planner","name":"Target Planner","type":"observing_planner","domain":"science","description":"Builds an observing list from the graph's real objects — stars, deep-sky objects, planets — and checks each against the night's visibility. A bridge from the catalogue to the eyepiece.","entryPath":"/observing/target-planner"},{"id":"observing_planner:tonight-planner","name":"Tonight Planner","type":"observing_planner","domain":"science","description":"What is worth observing tonight from a given place, drawn together from the platform's computed twilight, Moon, and planet positions. The plan updates with the observer's clock and location, which stay on the device.","entryPath":"/observing/tonight-planner"},{"id":"observing_integration:transparency-integration","name":"Transparency Integration","type":"observing_integration","domain":"science","description":"An architecture-ready interface for sky transparency — how much haze and moisture dim faint objects. Wired into the deep-sky planner; transparency is reported only from a connected source.","entryPath":"/observing/transparency-integration"},{"id":"observing_planner:twilight-planner","name":"Twilight Planner","type":"observing_planner","domain":"science","description":"The civil, nautical, and astronomical twilight times for a given place and date — when true darkness begins and ends. Computed from the Sun's position.","entryPath":"/observing/twilight-planner"},{"id":"observing_planner:visibility-planner","name":"Visibility Planner","type":"observing_planner","domain":"science","description":"When and whether a target clears the horizon and the twilight for a given night, from its coordinates and the observer's latitude. Built on the computed rise, set, and twilight times.","entryPath":"/observing/visibility-planner"},{"id":"observing_integration:weather-integration","name":"Weather Integration","type":"observing_integration","domain":"science","description":"An architecture-ready interface for local weather forecasts — the first thing that decides whether a session happens. The interface is defined and wired into the session planner, but no forecast is shown until a weather provider is connected; nothing is assumed.","entryPath":"/observing/weather-integration"}]}