coordinate issue

[katyc1992]

Hi there, I have a Skywatcher Skymax 127 SynScan AZ GOTO and I am having some issues entering my coordinates. I looked them up online by entering my location postcode and the results were as follows…57.355099 degrees East Latitude and -2.701057 degrees North longitude.  I'm not sure whether or not to include the minus, I have tried but there does not seem to be an option? Is there another format in which I should be entering them? Please help!

Thanks, Katy

[Scott]

you may need to convert your coordinates to degrees/mins/secs

http://transition.fcc.gov/mb/audio/bickel/DDDMMSS-decimal.html

Hope this helps

[Floater]

Hi, Katy, and welcome to the forum.

Sorry I can't help with GoTo stuff, but you've set yourself a challenge to see much of anything worthwhile in the sky where we are tonight ...

Having said that, I just had a naked-eye look above from my garden for a minute or two and saw two 'shooting stars', a satellite and what I think was a high-flying plane - so who knows?

Whatever else you do, enjoy what you're doing.

[oldpink]

welcome to SGL

yes as above you need to convert and enter without the minus
I had to ask the same question when I was starting out

if you have a smart phone with a good GPS you can get your Lat & Long from several GPS & astronomy app's

[Cornelius Varley]

Hi there, I have a Skywatcher Skymax 127 SynScan AZ GOTO and I am having some issues entering my coordinates. I looked them up online by entering my location postcode and the results were as follows…57.355099 degrees East Latitude and -2.701057 degrees North longitude.  I'm not sure whether or not to include the minus, I have tried but there does not seem to be an option? Is there another format in which I should be entering them? Please help!

Thanks, Katy

Your coordinates are the wrong way round. The centre of Aberdeen has the coordinates 002 06 W , 57 09 N so yours will be similar (use the two scroll keys on the handset to set W and N ). The numbers are also entered into the handset in that format and order. The coordinates are in degrees and minutes (the correct way to read map coordinates) and not in the decimal format given by most on line sites or GPS. I use this site to obtain coordinates http://www.satsig.net/maps/lat-long-finder.htm . The map can be panned and zoomed to your exact location and the coordinates are given below the map.

[ronin]

As Peter says you have the values the wrong way round for Lat and Long.

57.355099 degrees East Latitude and -2.701057 degrees North longitude

You are 57.355099 North and 2.701057 degrees West.

In Degrees and Minutes this is:

Latitude = 57  21" North

Longitude = 2  42" West

You are West of the Meridian and in some systems this is refered to as -ve so would be -2  42"

Forget seconds as the goto stop at minutes,

For Longitude make sure you have the value in correctly.

It needs to display as 002  42, and I think yours uses East/West so would be 002  42  West.

Finally read what it asks for, we talk of Lat and Long but your goto may ask for Longitude first.

This one catches about 20% of the people out the first time.

For completeness:

Timezone is UTC or 0 (think they changed the option from 0 to UTC a couple of years back)

DST is On or Yes.

Then drop a wide low power eyepiece in and off you go.

Will suggest you get the mount level, then the scope tube level and point it Northwards.

Don't think it is essential but getting it as level as feasible means less errors to be compensated for, and aiming it all North looks good - people start to think you know what you are doing :grin: :grin: .