Pluto anyone?

[Mike73]

techno losers! cant find jack on your own!

lol Dan 

[John]

I thought the foolproof way was to sketch the star field and then do the same again the next night. The speck of light that has moved is Pluto.

Personally I'd want to do that to convince myself I think.

[faulksy]

techno losers! cant find jack on your own!

i help you i.d.things

[Daniel-K]

i help you i.d.things

I have a book for that

[Scooot]

I thought the foolproof way was to sketch the star field and then do the same again the next night. The speck of light that has moved is Pluto.

Personally I'd want to do that to convince myself I think.

Could also take a screen shot each night as well to make sure, or use the time function in sky safari to look back on the previous nights view.

[Naemeth]

I thought the foolproof way was to sketch the star field and then do the same again the next night. The speck of light that has moved is Pluto.

Personally I'd want to do that to convince myself I think.

Almost exactly how it was discovered too. Well, flicking between, I believe, photographic plates, but it's the same thing

[callump]

Here's a couple of images combined that I took using the iTelescope T18 scope on July 30 and August 1.

Image was not very good on 30th. Blinking in IRIS helped to spot it.

Callum

[John]

Could also take a screen shot each night as well to make sure, or use the time function in sky safari to look back on the previous nights view.

I don't use tech like that "In the field" 

I print off finder charts usually or draw a finder charts myself and use those to ID a "suspect" and then I'd make a sketch of the field for later comparison. 

I know it's old fashioned but I like hunting a target down myself and then using no-tech means, as far as possible, to verify it. It must be my age  

[Scooot]

I don't use tech like that "In the field" 

I print off finder charts usually or draw a finder charts myself and use those to ID a "suspect" and then I'd make a sketch of the field for later comparison. 

I know it's old fashioned but I like hunting a target down myself and then using no-tech means, as far as possible, to verify it. It must be my age  

Not old fashioned just a preference. -

I'm not so experienced so finding things with the nexus and an iPad is a boon to me. I haven't looked for Pluto yet but I suspect I haven't enough aperture to see it, but I'd have no chance looking for it unaided. The nexus would show me my scope was pointing at it but I doubt I'd see it. It's fairly easy to check the accuracy of alignment by just moving onto a known object nearby, can also zoom in to view the star fields and compare that way. Having said that if there was something else nearby it could be mistaken for, checking again another day for movement would be necessary as you say.

[astronymonkey]

Wheres the best place to get a finder chart for pluto. Im wanting one for the august bank hol as im going to have a go at dalby.

Cheerx

[Scooot]

I spent about half hour looking in that area last night and couldn't see it, could just about make out some very faint dots which I think were the nearby mag 11/12 stars. My sky's not that good although it was nice and clear last night. Best I could see naked eye were mag 4ish stars.

[StarSapling]

My first observation of it with follow-up confirmation was May 2010, through a Coulter Odyssey 10". This, from 34 degrees north. Got to be difficult from the UK.

This tool can help you decide theoretical possibilities, but it's more fun to simply try:

http://www.cruxis.com/scope/limitingmagnitude.htm

My first observation of it with follow-up confirmation was May 2010, through a Coulter Odyssey 10". This, from 34 degrees north. Got to be difficult from the UK.

This tool can help you decide theoretical possibilities, but it's more fun to simply try:

http://www.cruxis.com/scope/limitingmagnitude.htm

My first and only time observing Pluto with follow-up confirmation was in 2006, also with a Coulter Odyssey 10".  I bought the scope back in 1986.  I've never had the mirror recoated and it has been 20 years since I last cleaned the mirror, but it still functions excellently.  Great instrument from the days when quality didn't cost an arm and a leg.

[Nakedgun]

My first and only time observing Pluto with follow-up confirmation was in 2006, also with a Coulter Odyssey 10".  I bought the scope back in 1986.  I've never had the mirror recoated and it has been 20 years since I last cleaned the mirror, but it still functions excellently.  Great instrument from the days when quality didn't cost an arm and a leg.

Funny, I bought mine used, for $200, from a guy in Phoenix (visiting relatives) back in 2000. It was an Idylwild red-tube which has since been passed on to a friend, so I get to visit it now and then.