Bug 443653

Summary:	Find Object in Pointing Menu Can't Find Objects Loaded by User with Only One Letter Preceding Constellation
Product:	[Applications] kstars	Reporter:	Bob Miller <rmiller61k>
Component:	general	Assignee:	Jasem Mutlaq <mutlaqja>
Status:	RESOLVED LATER
Severity:	normal
Priority:	NOR
Version First Reported In:	3.5.5
Target Milestone:	---
Platform:	Ubuntu
OS:	Linux
Latest Commit:		Version Fixed/Implemented In:
Sentry Crash Report:
Attachments:	CSV Small Catalogue 1.8k load Test description

Description Bob Miller 2021-10-13 01:51:36 UTC

KStars gives the user the ability to load a user created catalog via Configure KStars. If star names are loaded with only one letter identifying the star, e.g., R And, S Ant, the stars do not appear in the Pointing -> Find Object menu. If the object has two letters (SS Ant), that object does appear in Find Object. The reason for this importance is that the first variable star in a constellation always starts with the single letter R.

STEPS TO REPRODUCE
1. Create a CSV file with star names, RA/Dec, other useful info, like magnitude
2. In the Settings -> Configure KStars -> Catalogs page, select "Manage Deep Sky Catalogs." Although this is supposedly for Deep Sky objects, you can use this function for any object you wish.
3. Create a catalog, like a CSV copy of the variable star catalog, where some of the stars have only one letter before the constellation abbreviation (e.g., R And) and other stars have two letters before the constellation (RR And).
4. Go through the steps to load the user defined CSV catalog. Process is very straightforward.
5.While still in the Create Catalog page, look for the single letter star. It's there.
6.Go to Pointing -> Find Object page. Look for that star. Cannot be found.
7.Go back to the Create Catalog page. Change the star name, e.g., make R And -> RQ And
8.Return to pointing menu. RQ And can be found.

OBSERVED RESULT

EXPECTED RESULT

SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS

Latest versions of KDE, Qt etc via Ubuntu
Running kstars-bleeding

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Comment 1 Jasem Mutlaq 2021-10-24 11:08:21 UTC

Can you upload a sample of such catalog so we can reproduce the issue?

Comment 2 Bob Miller 2021-10-25 02:16:10 UTC

Created attachment 142840 [details]
CSV Small Catalogue

Approx 75 entries in CSV format.

Comment 3 Bob Miller 2021-10-25 02:17:33 UTC

Created attachment 142841 [details]
1.8k load

Comment 4 Bob Miller 2021-10-25 02:18:56 UTC

Created attachment 142842 [details]
Test description

Comment 5 Bob Miller 2021-10-25 02:25:01 UTC

I've attached three files The first two are samples of the file I was trying to load. The third file lists the "one character" stars that I could find, or nor find, after loading each a catalogue.

As you can see, what is visible when clicking on the Pointing -> Find Object field varies upon catalogue size. For the larger sample, note that all "two star" searches yield resuts for all the loaded constellations.

Don't hesitate to call me for more test results.

Comment 6 Bob Miller 2021-10-25 02:27:05 UTC

This bug reporting format on KDE can be restrictive. If you want to ask me a question on the INDI forum, please do.

Comment 7 Bob Miller 2021-10-25 02:30:48 UTC

This got cutoff when I was first responding.

Problem first detected on my desktop in New Mexico. Now replicating on my laptop in Virginia.

Both are running Ubuntu 20.04 LTS with KStars-bleeding.

Comment 8 Jasem Mutlaq 2021-10-25 08:22:44 UTC

Don't some of these stars already exist in KStars? R AND --> Rho Andromeda ?

Comment 9 Bob Miller 2021-10-25 15:49:06 UTC

Most of the stars do have other names, but it's not as simple as R And -> Rho And. R And is HD1967 in the Henry Draper Catalog.

These star names are from the variable star catalog, which contains about 57k entries. The first variable star in a constellation gets designated R <3 letter constellation name>. The ninth star in a constellation is Z <3 letter constellation name>, and then the next star is RR <3 letter constellation name>. When taking data on variable stars we're usually given the name from the variable star catalog, so having the ability to do a query in the Pointing dialogue, then have the scope go to that star is helpful.

Comment 10 Jasem Mutlaq 2021-10-26 05:45:22 UTC

Which catalog is this? We had variable star dialog before in KStars, and I believe this is the best way to go about this instead of relying on the find dialog.

Comment 11 Bob Miller 2021-10-26 13:30:35 UTC

The catalog is a CSV adaptation of the gcvs5 catalog from Russia.

http://www.sai.msu.su/gcvs/index.htm

Having a native variable star catalog in KStars would be a great addition. Skychart (Cartes du Ciel) has a variable star catalog embedded in its program.

Comment 12 Jasem Mutlaq 2021-10-26 13:40:02 UTC

I can't access that website, is the data + description hosted elsewhere?

Comment 13 Bob Miller 2021-10-26 14:21:56 UTC

Jasem,

Try this website. Click on gcvs,cat.dat.  It's the same text file that's on the Moscow site.

http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/ftp/cats/B/gcvs/

I do notice that in the copying they've managed to drop the first two lines of the catalog which are R And + S And.

Comment 14 Bob Miller 2021-10-26 14:27:51 UTC

Byte-by-byte Description of file: gcvs5.txt
Bytes	Format	Units	Label	Explanations
1- 2	I2 	--- 	Constell 	[1/88]Constellation numeric code
3- 6	I4 	--- 	Number 	Star number within the constellation
7	A1 	--- 	Component	*Component identification
9- 18	A10 	--- 	GCVS 	*Variable star designation
19	A1 	--- 	NoteFlag 	[*] Remarks
21- 22 	I2 	h 	RAh 	Hours RA, equinox J2000.0
23- 24 	I2 	min 	RAm 	Minutes RA, equinox J2000.0
25- 29 	F5.2 	s 	RAs 	Seconds RA, equinox J2000.0
31 	A1 	--- 	DE- 	Sign Dec, equinox J2000.0
32- 33 	I2 	deg 	DEd 	Degrees Dec, equinox J2000.0
34- 35 	I2 	arcmin 	DEm 	Minutes Dec, equinox J2000.0
36- 39 	F4.1 	arcsec 	DEs 	Seconds Dec, equinox J2000.0
40 	A1 	--- 	u_DEs 	*[:] position accuracy flag
42- 51	A10 	--- 	VarType 	Type of variability
53	A1 	--- 	l_magMax 	[<>(]">" if magMax is a faint limit; "<" if magMax is a bright limit
54- 59	F6.3 	mag 	magMax 	Magnitude at maximum brightness
60	A1 	--- 	u_magMax 	Uncertainty flag (:) on magMax
63- 64 	A2 	--- 	l_magMinI 	[<(]"<" if magMinI is a bright limit
"(" if magMinI is an amplitude
65- 70	F6.3 	mag 	magMinI 	Minimum I magnitude or amplitude
71	A1 	--- 	u_magMinI 	Uncertainty flag (:) on magMinI
72- 73	A1 	--- 	n_magMinI 	*Alternative photometric system for magMinI
74	A1 	--- 	f_magMinI 	[)] ")" if magMinI is an amplitude
76- 77 	A2 	--- 	l_magMinII 	[<(]"<" if magMinII is a bright limit
"(" if magMinII is an amplitude
78- 83	F6.3 	mag 	magMinII 	Minimum II magnitude or amplitude
84	A1 	--- 	u_magMinII 	Uncertainty flag (:) on magMinII
85- 86	A1 	--- 	n_magMinII 	*Alternative photometric system for magMinII
87	A1 	--- 	f_magMinII 	[)] ")" if magMinII is an amplitude
89- 90	A2 	--- 	magCode 	*The photometric system for magnitudes
92-102	F11.5	d 	Epoch 	*Epoch for maximum light, Julian days
103	A1 	--- 	q_Epoch 	*[:+-] Quality flag on Epoch
105-108	A4 	--- 	YearNova 	Year of outburst for nova or supernova
109	A1 	--- 	q_Year 	[:] Quality flag on Year of outburst
111	A1 	--- 	l_Period	*[<>(] Code for upper or lower limits
112-127	F16.10	d 	Period 	Period of the variable star
128	A1 	--- 	u_Period 	Uncertainty flag (:) on Period
129-130	A2 	--- 	n_Period	*[*/N)]
132-134	A3 	% 	M-m/D 	*Rising time (M-m) or duration of eclipse (D)
135	A1 	--- 	u_M-m/D 	Uncertainty flag (:) on M-m/D
136	A1 	--- 	n_M-m/D 	*[*] Note for eclipsing variable
138-154	A17 	--- 	SpType 	Spectral type
156-160	A5 	--- 	*Ref1 	Reference to a study of the star
162-166	A5 	--- 	*Ref2 	Reference to a chart or photograph
168-178	A12 	--- 	*Exists 	*Cases of non-existence of the variable etc.
180- 185	F6.3 	arcsec/yr	PMa 	Proper motion RA
187- 192 	F6.3 	arcsec/yr	PMd 	Proper motion DE
194-201 	F8.3 	yr 	Epoch coor 	*Epoch of the coordinates
203 	A1 	--- 	u_Ident 	*Uncertainty flag (?) on identification
205- 213 	A12 	--- 	Ident 	*The source of astrometric data
215- 224	A10 	--- 	VarTypeII 	*The new type of variability
226- 235	A10 	--- 	GCVSII 	*Variable star designation

Comment 15 Jasem Mutlaq 2021-10-26 14:48:12 UTC

I added an issue to KStars to support this catalog: https://invent.kde.org/education/kstars/-/issues/139

Comment 16 Bob Miller 2021-10-26 14:59:01 UTC

Fantastic. 

On the Moscow website, there is this request when citing their catalog.

Whenever you use our catalogs, please, give full reference:
Samus N.N., Kazarovets E.V., Durlevich O.V., Kireeva N.N., Pastukhova E.N.,
General Catalogue of Variable Stars: Version GCVS 5.1,
Astronomy Reports, 2017, vol. 61, No. 1