Stellarium accurate eyepiece simulation

[greg110902]

Hi SGL,

is there any plugin or setting that can (more) accurately depict views through an eyepiece?

I'm aware of the oculars, but what I'm after is the shimmer of the planets, dimming of DSOs when using smaller scopes, planetary detail dependent on telescope size etc.

Thanks

[Dantooine]

I’m listening in on this as I’d like to know this too. 

[John]

The challenge is that the some of the factors you list are so variable, locale to locale, hour to hour etc, that I can't see how they could be factored in for locations in the world, which the software covers

They do cater for atmospheric extinction which happens as an object moves towards the horizon and they cater approximately for the amount of daylight still in the sky. You can set your altitude about sea level. That's probably about as far as such a tool can go.

Also, an experienced eye will see more detail than an inexperienced one with the same scope. A dark adapted eye will go deeper than one that isn't. Where would you set the benchmarks ?

I see Stellarium, Cartes du Ciel etc as primarily tools to locate targets. I think what you are looking for is more of a view simulator ?

 

[Dantooine]

6 hours ago, John said:

The challenge is that the some of the factors you list are so variable, locale to locale, hour to hour etc, that I can't see how they could be factored in for locations in the world, which the software covers

They do cater for atmospheric extinction which happens as an object moves towards the horizon and they cater approximately for the amount of daylight still in the sky. You can set your altitude about sea level. That's probably about as far as such a tool can go.

Also, an experienced eye will see more detail than an inexperienced one with the same scope. A dark adapted eye will go deeper than one that isn't. Where would you set the benchmarks ?

I see Stellarium, Cartes du Ciel etc as primarily tools to locate targets. I think what you are looking for is more of a view simulator ?

 

John

visual simulator, yes from my point of view and possibly the op’s. In my case it’s so my eagerness doesn’t sweep straight past things. (I need to look harder). 
 

Dale. 

[John]

3 hours ago, Dantooine said:

John

visual simulator, yes from my point of view and possibly the op’s. In my case it’s so my eagerness doesn’t sweep straight past things. (I need to look harder). 
 

Dale. 

In doing presentations to my astro society, I've tried to produce simulations of what some objects look like though the eyepiece. With the fainter ones, by the time you have toned down the contrast to get it close to how it actually looks, the target has practically vanished when you project the image onto the larger screen, even with the lights turned off !

 

 

[Dantooine]

2 minutes ago, John said:

In doing presentations to my astro society, I've tried to produce simulations of what some objects look like though the eyepiece. With the fainter ones, by the time you have toned down the contrast to get it close to how it actually looks, the target has practically vanished when you project the image onto the larger screen, even with the lights turned off !

 

 

Maybe less coffee on view sessions will help me slow down 👁👁

Dale. 

[Jiggy 67]

Don't mean to be controversial here.....but if you could simulate the view exactly, what would be the point of observing?

[Dantooine]

3 hours ago, Jiggy 67 said:

Don't mean to be controversial here.....but if you could simulate the view exactly, what would be the point of observing?

It’s more a point of having some idea of the limits from scope/eyepieces from my point of view.

Maybe for someone who has decades of experience this is not necessary, however due to my long shifts - a tired eyes observation is unfortunately the best I can fit in.
Having the degree of faintness of objects I’m looking for would help me find things as I use a manual Az/alt setup with no Automatic tracking etc. It’s all about achieving my goal with my equipment if that makes any sense. 

Edited July 14, 2020 by Dantooine
Punctuation

[AstroMuni]

Dantooine & greg110902 - I have found this site useful https://www.stelvision.com/en/telescope-simulator/

As John has already mentioned its possible in Stellarium but configuring all the parameters is going to be tricky 🙂

 

Edited July 14, 2020 by AstroMuni

[Dantooine]

2 minutes ago, AstroMuni said:

Dantooine & greg110902 - I have found this site useful https://www.stelvision.com/en/telescope-simulator/

As John has already mentioned its possible in Stellarium but configuring all the parameters is going to be tricky 🙂

 

Thank you very much. Saved to home screen. 
Dale.  

[John]

2 hours ago, AstroMuni said:

Dantooine & greg110902 - I have found this site useful https://www.stelvision.com/en/telescope-simulator/

As John has already mentioned its possible in Stellarium but configuring all the parameters is going to be tricky 🙂

 

That's a very useful site. Well worth reading the pop up info you get when you click on ? is this simulator realistic ?

What an individual actually sees may well vary to some extent from the simulation images. Light pollution, for example, can cause galaxies and nebulae, even bright ones, to become practically invisible while under a dark sky they stand out like a sore thumb !

But it is a useful approximation.

 

 

[Dantooine]

21 minutes ago, John said:

That's a very useful site. Well worth reading the pop up info you get when you click on ? is this simulator realistic ?

What an individual actually sees may well vary to some extent from the simulation images. Light pollution, for example, can cause galaxies and nebulae, even bright ones, to become practically invisible while under a dark sky they stand out like a sore thumb !

But it is a useful approximation.

 

 

John,

you are an oracle. 

Dale.