ESASky target lists

The ESASky target list feature accepts .txt file format. To add text or comments to your target list (which will be displayed in the target list menu below the player buttons), put the following in your text file:

<TARGET OR COORDINATES>@desc@<DESCRIPTION>

for example:

M31 @desc@The Andromeda Galaxy, M31, is a spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years away.
M33 @desc@The Triangulum Galaxy, M33, is a spiral galaxy approximately 3 million light-years away.
M51 @desc@The Whirlpool Galaxy...

The feature accepts also coordinates in the RA/DEC or l/b format, with all the options described in the help for the search field feature. The application will use the equatorial (J2000 RA/DEC) or the galactic coordinate (l/b) frame to interepret the numeric values in the target lists, regardless whether the coordinates are given with two floats or in hexadecimal format.

This short movie shows the target list feature in action.

Target list examples With Descriptions:

Spiral Galaxies (best viewed in ESASky with the DSS2 color sky).
Globular Clusters (best viewed in ESASky with the SDSS9 color sky).
Supernova Remnants (best viewed in ESASky with the XMM-Newton EPIC color sky).
Star Formation Regions (best viewed in ESASky with the Herschel PACS RGB (70+160) sky).
Galaxy Clusters (best viewed in ESASky with the HST WFC3 sky).

Since ESASky v2.1, the lists above plus a number of other target lists can be found in the pull-down menu in the target list feature. They are aimed at guiding the users creating their own customized target lists, for scientific exploration or for educational purposes.