DSC's, GOTO, or Star Hop??Posted By Matt Luttinen |
Randy and everybody,
As a recent convert to DSCs (Argo Navis), I can testify that this technology has revolutionized the observing experience for me. My observing lists are 2-3 times longer per session these days, and I am actually spending more time on each object than in my star-hopping days.
I live in urban Phoenix, Arizona, so there is no opportunity to observe DSOs from home. I estimate that I get out to dark skies 12-15 times per year depending on the weather. This is a depressingly low number. So, I find my dark-sky time to be a precious commodity, and the efficiency I have gained by using the AN has shown me that I have been wasting at least 50% of this time star-hopping to objects.
As for those people who think GOTO scopes allow users to get away with "not knowing the sky," I say "balderdash!" Perhaps this is true of GOTO scope *owners*; that is, people who buy scopes and rarely use them, but I have found that every earnest observer must "learn the sky" in order to place his/her observing in context. For example, GOTO and DSC owners must know the names and reletive locations of many bright stars in order to get aligned. OK, Celestron GPS Nexstars are fully automatic, but the Nexstar 11 owners I know have become experts at the hardware (and still need to know at least the bright stars, which means you have to know many constellations, etc) because GOTO systems are far from perfect, and they don't always point correctly. The user often has to step in to make things right.
Oh, and GOTO scopes track objects. As has already been said, the higher the power, the more tracking matters.
My Argo Navis has directed me to objects I would not likely have ever "found." A good example is the Struve double catalog--in the city, star hopping to these objects would be extremely difficult. With the AN, it is almost too easy.
As always, YMMV, but I and my fellow SAC observers have discovered that serious observing can get more serious when modern technology is brought to bear.
Matt
Saguaro Astronomy club
Glendale, AZ
As a recent convert to DSCs (Argo Navis), I can testify that this technology has revolutionized the observing experience for me. My observing lists are 2-3 times longer per session these days, and I am actually spending more time on each object than in my star-hopping days.
I live in urban Phoenix, Arizona, so there is no opportunity to observe DSOs from home. I estimate that I get out to dark skies 12-15 times per year depending on the weather. This is a depressingly low number. So, I find my dark-sky time to be a precious commodity, and the efficiency I have gained by using the AN has shown me that I have been wasting at least 50% of this time star-hopping to objects.
As for those people who think GOTO scopes allow users to get away with "not knowing the sky," I say "balderdash!" Perhaps this is true of GOTO scope *owners*; that is, people who buy scopes and rarely use them, but I have found that every earnest observer must "learn the sky" in order to place his/her observing in context. For example, GOTO and DSC owners must know the names and reletive locations of many bright stars in order to get aligned. OK, Celestron GPS Nexstars are fully automatic, but the Nexstar 11 owners I know have become experts at the hardware (and still need to know at least the bright stars, which means you have to know many constellations, etc) because GOTO systems are far from perfect, and they don't always point correctly. The user often has to step in to make things right.
Oh, and GOTO scopes track objects. As has already been said, the higher the power, the more tracking matters.
My Argo Navis has directed me to objects I would not likely have ever "found." A good example is the Struve double catalog--in the city, star hopping to these objects would be extremely difficult. With the AN, it is almost too easy.
As always, YMMV, but I and my fellow SAC observers have discovered that serious observing can get more serious when modern technology is brought to bear.
Matt
Saguaro Astronomy club
Glendale, AZ
