Guilty feelings?

[Lunuar Mike]

Hello and WOW!! Not long ago I purchased a Celestron 6SE. I have never had "GOTO" telescope before . After a few sessions to become acclimated with e scope I really am quickly falling in love with the "GOTO" system and being able to direct the scope via my iPhone/iPad, But I have these guilty feelings the scope finds the stuff for me. With all the scopes I have ever had from a 60 mm to a 10 inch dob they were all alt az or EQT scopes with no digital any thing. I would star hop and occasionally find a something or other in the great heavens above rarely. So I typically bagged 1 maybe 2  items in a 3 hour session under the stars.

Tonite the guilty feelings came back again after I saw 6 galaxies, and multiple open star clusters, and possible a nebula or two in under an hour and half? I feel guilty because I can see well the sky is the limit I guess or what a 6 inch SCT can see with my observing abilities. I know the old school people will scoff at GOTO systems but I can only see how this ability to find multiple targets in a single session under the stars as a good thing.

I have gotten completely out of astronomy as a hobby like 3 times pack it up Im done sold all the stuff I owned and it was usually based in massive frustration not being able to find anything in multiple nights under the stars. 

I am sure these guilty feelings will pass soon enough as I get more acclimated and getting the scope dialed in. I again have a child like curiosity of the night skies again. I am starting to think I should better plan my nights under the stars now seeing how I can find almost anything I want for now I will work on the Messier objects to start, though I have found several NGC objects as well as Messier objects as well in my efforts its awesome to see the faint fuzzies and dim green objects out therein the night skies.  

Clear Skies, Michael. 

[Stu]

Good stuff Michael. For some it is the joy of the hunt, for others it is spending maximum time actually observing the objects themselves. I use a combination of fully manual, tracking, push to and Goto mounts, and enjoy them all for different reasons. Forget the guilt (I’m sure you were joking anyway 😊) and enjoy your scope and the skies 👍

[Mr Spock]

There's no need to be guilty for using goto. It's an incredible invention that can have a huge database and make finding things a doddle. When something boosts your interest in the hobby it can only be a good thing.

I used to have a goto but the kind of objects I look at now just require a good chart and tracking. I'm sure if I went fuzzy hunting in the Virgo / Coma region having goto would make things easier to identify. That whole area seems to have zillions of fuzzies 

[great_bear]

I thought “I must read this thread to find out what those ‘guilty feelings’ are about”, and I had assumed it could only be:

1. Buying a scope during a cost-of-living crisis
2. Secretly enjoying being away from the family
3. Observing when it was your turn to do the washing-up

I must admit, I hadn’t even considered “goto guilt”. The only “goto guilt” that I can imagine is from NOT buying it in order to save money!

In the modern world we now know that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to get a great scope, and that “bigger” is not necessarily “better” because 8 inches is too unwieldy for many people.

A five or six-inch scope really hits the sweet spot in terms of portability, and the only reason NOT to get goto is if you prefer the joy and freedom of sweeping the skies with a heavy, long-length scope and a smooth, well-engineered alt-az mount. 

…so don’t worry, the last of the old-school ‘scope-scoffers’ died years ago, and we no-longer live in that kind of world.

I’m sure I speak for all, when I urge you to just enjoy your goto scope, guilt-free, along with all that extra productivity that it brings!

Edited May 10, 2023 by great_bear

[PeterStudz]

I sometimes use a PushTo system which I find really useful. I also want to learn how to star-hop, well, be able find my way around the sky unaided. I’ve found that the  PushTo has help me here. Eg I find it reassuring that if I struggle to find a target I can use PushTo. And even when I’ve used PushTo I’ll randomly “nudge” my Dob off target and try and find my way back unaided. My daughter actually enjoys that as a “game” and so is learning to find her way about the sky without knowing.

And Alice being still 11 yrs old can easily get bored or frustrated with star-hopping. Some sort of GOTO or PushTo is a really big bonus here. I also find that kids like using the tech which helps with the overall experience. 

Edited May 10, 2023 by PeterStudz

[John]

I think I am probably the only member of my astro society who does not use GOTO systems so there is no need at all to feel any guilt in using one. I suspect the majority here use them as well and I don't notice a general air of "guilt" on the forum 🙂

[Littleguy80]

Nothing to feel guilty about. Hobby's are about enjoying yourself. If GOTO means you enjoy it more then you should feel more guilty about NOT using it 😂

[Zermelo]

Over the last month I've managed to get outside twice, and that's just down to the weather.  If I had the commitments of some other members here, I would be observing even less often.

Living in the rainy UK, I want to make the best use of every minute at the eyepiece, so the case for goto (or pushto) is a strong one.  We spend a lot of money on equipment, and most of the time it sits in cupboards. I feel much more guilty about that than I do about using pointing and tracking technology.

That said, I think there's merit in having an unassisted scope as your first, while you're learning how the sky works. And you don't want to be helpless later on if the tech is having an off day. 

[Cosmic Geoff]

6 hours ago, Lunuar Mike said:

But I have these guilty feelings the scope finds the stuff for me.

Having guilty feelings about using GoTo is faintly absurd.  There is no "rule" that says amateur astronomers have to find objects the old -fashioned Victorian way. But hold on a minute - Victorian observers often had the advantage of having brass setting circles of a useful size , which modern mounts don't have,  and dark skies in urban areas, which we don't have either. And without electronics the whole pursuit of modern digital astrophotography would be impossible.

So if you enjoy using GoTo, use it and don't feel guilty.