Do you Really Need Goto if.......

[sabana]

Your primarily using your scope in your back garden? Where the view is Westerly (around 150 degrees). So this would dramatically cut the Messier and Caldwell catalogue down. Therefore the observaional list would be minimal. As such I could learn manual exploration via sar hopping etc. The Goto would be overkill in this situation i feel.

Just a thought which may apply to a lot of people here who use their back garden only.

[nicnac]

My best sky is south and west facing, north can be ok but not ideal when the neighbours are home, my home blocks the east.

So, i have quite a bit to choose from, i am, however, a manual navigator, not much for the GOTO systems. Star hopping and navigating by eye and hand is easy and you learn the sky much better, you interact with it more so it makes sense.

[cyborg421]

I think goto systems can be useful if you live in an urban environment. You can see the brightest stars and therefore can align. The goto allows you to find objects that you might not be able to work out the location of if you cannot see some of the other stars.

[Quatermass]

Finding your way around the sky without a go to is more rewarding but it would be nice to have both options if money was not an issue. For me its allways an issue:-(

Sent from my GT-S5670 using Tapatalk

[ollypenrice]

For imaging goto is almost essential and saves loads of time. You are often imaging things you can't see in any scope. For visual, no, not essential but some like it. I'm one, I confess.

Olly

[saturn10]

Hello,

I have a goto scope, its really easy to find objects.

I borrowed a 12" dobsonian and couldn't even find vega.

I could see it in the sky but could I point the scope to it, no.

Gotos are the best for newbies like me.

regards,

Rob

[JohnC]

Arguments for and against rage on this subject.

I like it as it makes the best use of the few good nights we get.

[sabana]

I'm just questioning the use of GOTO for people with limited field of view. I guess for speed even with a diminished catalogue it would be useful. But for the price of GOTO's practically doubling the initial outlay whether it is cost effective.

[JohnC]

If cost is an issue i would say do without it.

Better to be out under the skies than sitting inside saving funds.

[E621Keith]

Depends on you skills really. If you know where things are and know what they should look like through your scope then you probably don't need it.

Personally, I use GOTO to find dim or unfamiliar objects. The light pollution in my area is quite bad and many times I failed to see any trace of the object even though my scope was pointing directly at it. It's really frustrating to star hop for ages only to find the object is invisible under the local condition.

As for familiar objects, it's much quicker to find them manually. Setting up the GOTO takes ages and I find that unnecessary.

[ronin]

Use my backgarden ans have 2 goto's.

Use them all the time in preference to the manual scopes, again 2 of them.

In a back garden you will have probably the most light pollution, so the ability of a goto to put me looking at the right place is useful. Not essential just vey useful.

If you have something you cannot see manually then you are going to have problems star hopping to it. I would actually say that for a back garden, and assuming as most are you are in a town, then a goto has the advantage.

[anuvid]

I think GoTo is useful for people with very short viewing windows because of weather, and people like me with young kids who wouldn't have the patience to wait for their dad to spend 50 minutes trying to find the moon :-) Because you sacrifice optics to pay for the GoTo mechanism you are likely at low budgets to find yourself with a GoTo capable of finding 10s of 1000s of objects but incapable of seeing them

[wrinkly]

My GoTo has steering buttons on it.

Use GoTo or Star Hop, both possible on the same 'scope

[hemihaggis]

ok if you know your way around the sky and can easily starhop then a dob is agood choice , but of course you are limited to visual only , if you want a scope that can do every thing , visual , tracking , astrophotography . then it has to be a goto

in your garden you can pick the stars you want to use to align , be they north , soth , east or west . use stellarium to pick from the area of sky that has the best outlook from your garden ..

[swamp thing]

Hi

I wouln't think that how much area of sky you have to observe through would really effect what mount you use.

If you are stuck with limited views. It's gonna be tough whatever method you pick. Specially if LP plays a part.

If LP plays a part it can be real tough to star hop, OTOH it can also be hard to find pointers to set up a Goto ( so I have been told by a couple of users).

If limited views and LP are really bad. I would get a portable set up, and get out of Dodge, if poss.

If that is not an option......well, good luck.

Regards Steve

[andrew63]

I must admit i'm not a fan of goto - part of the problem is not being in complete control of what you can do and it can take a matter of seconds to move from one horizon to the other without waiting for the scope to slew around - a drive is a different thing as keeping the object in view when found is useful.

Goto for me takes away some of the FUN!

andrew