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Death of the star chart?


dmk

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Whilst playing around with my new toy,It occured to me that if many newcomers are purchasing 'Goto' systems, would the ability to even read  a star chart be necessary?

I'm no expert when it comes to reading sky maps, but I managed to find my way (most of the time ) with my old refractor and a planisphere.

Foolhardy is the sailor who goes to sea, armed with only electronic navigational aids.  :BangHead:

Clear skies and good health to all. 

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I've seen many more deep sky objects this year since I was given the Sky & Telescope Pocket Star Atlas for Christmas. My scopes are all alt-az and I'm the GOTO mechanism :smiley:

I've really enjoyed dark nights hopping from one faint DSO to another using this little star atlas.

I'm not a luddite though and GOTO systems and / or hand held devices are all good developments if they help folks enjoy the hobby :smiley:

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Star charts give more detail, besides stars there are Messiers objects, Caldwell Objects, The Herschel 400 and a few thousand called the NGC objects. They do not all squeeze into a planesphere, well not unless it is a bit on the big size.

As to goto's I have 3 and I strangely it would seem I know the stars and others objects.

I do not know of one goto owner that actually trusts the things, lets be honest, so they actually tend to know where things are very well.

Before I say goto M13 I will have stood there, found Hercules and worked out where M13 should be.

Then if the scope goes there it will live, otherwise some fate too hideous to mention may await it.

Before I even take one outside I will have read up on what I want to see and know fairly accurately where the object is.

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I enjoy this new technology, but that sudden 'WOW' i've found it, might be missing.

If you ever printed your first photograph in a tray of chemicals under the dim light in a Darkroom.....

Instant results ( barring processing ) with digital photography.... no 'WOW'

Just my thoughts.

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I recall washing with a washboard and then start using a washing machnine... no 'WOW'   :Envy:

If you find pleasure in any method of washing  yourself with the above....

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I enjoy this new technology, but that sudden 'WOW' i've found it, might be missing.

If you ever printed your first photograph in a tray of chemicals under the dim light in a Darkroom.....

Instant results ( barring processing ) with digital photography.... no 'WOW'

Just my thoughts.

hmmm, I get a MASSIVE wow when I process a dso and it all comes together (well as much as it can with my limited skills) :)

I think if you're going to bar processing for digital photography, then the same rules should apply to film.....after that, we're left with pushing a button :D

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If you're trying to navigate Belgian motorways use a satnav. How exactly do you manage your lane choice at 80mph while... ah... reading a map? BANG!!!

If you're enjoying a pootle through rural France use a map. Stop at an intersection, listen to the birdong, admire the baker's wife (I didn't say that!!!) and consider a detour via what might or might not be a dirt road.

In a nutshell it's horses for courses. If you're doing deep sky imaging of a target nobody has ever seen in a telescope (as is often the case) don't look for it in the finder. If you're tryng to get nice and friendly with a corner of the sky you particularly like, don't use a GoTo.

Olly

PS My point being that both are best.

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If you're trying to navigate Belgian motorways use a satnav. How exactly do you manage your lane choice at 80mph while... ah... reading a map? BANG!!!

If you're enjoying a pootle through rural France use a map. Stop at an intersection, listen to the birdong, admire the baker's wife (I didn't say that!!!) and consider a detour via what might or might not be a dirt road.

In a nutshell it's horses for courses. If you're doing deep sky imaging of a target nobody has ever seen in a telescope (as is often the case) don't look for it in the finder. If you're tryng to get nice and friendly with a corner of the sky you particularly like, don't use a GoTo.

Olly

PS My point being that both are best.

pretty much what I was trying to say, only with eloquence :)

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+1 for me for star charts. There's been a couple of occasions when I've gone off to a dark site with a goto to find it gone wrong somehow and simply had to pack up and go home. Had I bothered to take one of my manual set ups I could still have had a good evening. Clear skies are far too rare and valuable to waste like that!

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i,ll never be without a star map,ive used them all my observing life and dont see it changing.I have a goto and really enjoy using it,really more for fun,but i always go back to the dobs and hunt down as faint a fuzzy i can see,using the map.

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What's the point if you don't find it yourself..? I don't see any enjoyment there for me. Just a couple of days before I got to observe with binos. I saw  the Andromeda galaxy as the first time by starhoping and I had quite a hard time adjusting to the FOV in the binos. I was confused with all the background stars. But when I found it... WOW! :D :D :D

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Referring to a chart that you can barely see and regarding a sky bursting with stars, then trying to compute in your mind where it is you ought to be pointing the finder is great. It keeps the brain active and alert and you learn a new language comprehending the patterns.

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Electronics are great...until something goes wrong. I think it's useful to at least learn to use a star chart and star hop, just in case. I love star hopping, and agree that the hunt is part of the fun. Others may get frustrated with the hunt, though. Whatever gets you out there under the stars...

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I'm a bit of a weird mix of old and new.

I love using manual alt-az mounts and finding my way around, but I find I'm much more successful when using SkySafari as my 'map'. I have the S&T Pocket Sky Atlas, and enjoy researching targets with it, but I rarely, if ever use it when I'm actually observing.

Something about my brain means that I relate to the SkySafari images better. Perhaps it is because the look more like the objects I am observing than the charts (I knew I was simple!) They are also far more detailed and contain more information.

Whilst I enjoy star hopping and finding things, I confess the thrill for me is not in the chase, but in actually looking at the objects!!!

EDIT Fortunately, if anything fails, I also know my way around the sky well enough to still be able to find a fair range of objects to observe.

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I don't have a Go To, just the old faithful Dob. So star charts are a must for me. I enjoy the planning of a hunt. Make my own star hop drawings and when successful.......WOW. I always spend a fair bit of time on each object taking in the view, making notes and producing rather poor drawings. That's what I enjoy, but each to his own. Will I ever get a Go to ? Probably yes. Perhaps then I will change my mind.

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