Mosaic Planner Pro Tool

Q: What should I enter first?

Start with the target center and the actual field of view from your camera and optics. Panel count and overlap only make sense after the base frame size is realistic.

Q: When should I use this instead of Finder Chart Pro?

Use Mosaic Planner Pro when your deliverable is panel coordinates for a multi-frame shoot. Use Finder Chart Pro when you mainly need one readable star chart around the target.

Q: How much overlap is usually practical?

Enough overlap should protect you against rotation, framing error, and solver mismatch, but not so much that panel count explodes. This page is best for comparing a few overlap values before you lock the export.

Q: Can I reuse the same plan later?

Yes. Share links and exports preserve the chosen target center, panel count, overlap, and rotation so you can reopen the same mosaic plan later.

How to read A/B codes

Quick start (3 steps)

Enter center Right Ascension and Declination (RA/Dec) and your frame Field of View (FOV).
Choose rows/cols, overlap, Position Angle (PA), and panel order.
Check SVG preview, panel links (Observability time plotter (A7)/Field Rotation Planner (B3)), and export CSV/JSON.

Inputs

RA Dec RA unit Dec unit

Target label (optional) FOV X (deg) FOV Y (deg) Rows / Cols

Overlap mode Overlap X Overlap Y PA (deg)

Order Margin (%) Flip preview X Flip preview Y

Deep-link shortcut for Observability time plotter (A7)/Field Rotation Planner (B3)

Latitude (deg) Longitude (deg, east +) Date Step (min)

Time zone mode IANA time zone Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) offset override (min) Min altitude / Sun max / Air mass

Result cards

Panels—

Coverage X—

Coverage Y—

Step X—

Step Y—

SVG preview

Panels table

ID	Row	Col	RA (deg)	Dec (deg)	RA (hms)	Dec (dms)	Observability time plotter (A7)	Field Rotation Planner (B3)

Definitions & notes

Projection is gnomonic around the selected center (east/north tangent plane).
PA is positive counterclockwise on tangent-plane geometry.
RA is normalized to 0 ≤ RA < 360 in outputs.
Flip settings affect preview orientation only.

How to use Mosaic Planner Pro effectively

Use this page when one frame is not enough and you need panel centers you can actually shoot. It is the bridge between “this target is worth imaging” and “here is the exact NxM layout, overlap, and rotation I want to export.”

Best workflow

Confirm the target and imaging setup first so the field of view and orientation are realistic.
Choose panel count and overlap, then review whether the footprint covers the target without wasting time on empty sky.
Export the panel list only after the footprint, rotation, and center all match the framing you want.

FAQ

What should I enter first?