When you define an AOR you will receive Startracker information as shown in Figure 10.1, “A sample AOR showing the startracker information for the target (outlined with a red ellipse).”. The star tracker looks in the opposite direction to the telescope in the sky and is used for acquisition and guiding. The number of stars available to the startracker for the target is displayed under the target information at the top of the AOR screen (here it has been circled with a red ellipse). Pointing may be slightly worse in the cases where this number drops below 9. If the number is smaller still there may be some difficulty with carrying out the requested observation (limit TBC).

Figure 10.1. A sample AOR showing the startracker information for the target (outlined with a red ellipse).

More information on the Startracker and the information that it provides can be found in the Observatory manual.