Start tracking a new source.

Arguments:

Source source

A source in the source catalog.

Examples:

The following example slews the telescope to the current position of 3c273, then procedes to track it.

  track 3c273

The following example parks the telescope at the zenith.

  track zenith

Context:

Sources in the source catalog include sidereal J2000 source positions, solar-system objects located via ephemerides, and fixed azimuth, elevation and deck angle pointings. The latter are transparently translated to slew commands.

If while tracking a source, the source falls below the minimum elevation reachable by the CBI, the control system will continue to track the source in azimuth and parallactic angle, but the elevation will be held at its lower limit until the source rises above it.

The orientation of the field of view seen by the CBI is automatically kept from rotating during tracking by rotating the deck drive to track the changing parallactic angle of the source.