Visual Sky Assist

[Kunama]

For those about to jump headlong into scope ownership, this will give you a very good idea of what you can see with different scopes when using them for visual astronomy : .......

Just fill in the spaces based on what you're using and what you want to see and the program will show you what to expect to see .....


http://www.ar-dec.net/vsa/

Hope it helps

[madwayne (Wayne)]

Very cool Matt - thank you for posting. NGC/IC Project is really good too.

Wayne

[creeksky (Pete)]

Incredible! are they really what you see? that size?
I put in 8 inch Dob,10mm EP 25mm EP
Constellation: Ant - Category: *Antlia Constellation

Instrument: D: 203mm - F: 1200mm - f/5.9
Mag. limit: 13.34 - Order by: Magnit.
exit pupil :mm (maybe I should have something there?)
OMG! mind blowing... Canes Venatici Constellation
#4: NGC5194
# Catalog: M51 Constel: CVN Type: GALXY Magnitude: 8.40 Surface Bright.: 12.90 Details: Sbc Uranometria: Map 76 Sky Atlas 2k: Map 7 Size: 10.80 x 6.60'
RA: 13 29.9 Dec: +47 12 Dreyer's description: !!!;Greatspiralnebula

[Allan_L (Allan)]

Originally Posted by creeksky

... are they really what you see? that size? ...

Well not exactly, as per the site

The image doesn't want to be what we exactly have to see throught our eyepiece. It only wants to give us an idea of what are the shapes of every single deepsky object.

Just enter the parameters of the instruments. The image will be returned at the nearest magnification that our eyepiece can do, to get the maximum detail of the DSO.

for example: for me in Orion, it shows the horsehead (dark nebula) in detail, and that is not even visible through my scope.(IMHO)

But it is a wonderful tool nonetheless.

[multiweb (Marc)]

Cool link.

[creeksky (Pete)]

So this is more accurate to what is seen through a 8" -10"?
http://www.cloudynights.com/page/art...y-objects-r783https:

and this-

https://jackedwardlee.wordpress.com/astronomy-log-book/

and here
http://clarkvision.com/visastro/m51-apert/

[julianh72 (Julian)]

There's a really good soft-cover beginner's handbook called "Turn Left at Orion" by Guy Consolmagno and Dan M. Davis that you can buy at major bookshops such as Dymocks. The book has a companion website:
http://www.cambridge.org/features/turnleft

One thing I really like about the book is that the charts are all B&W hand sketches, rather than photographs, and the views are drawn to represent the views that you might see with typical small telescopes of different aperture and magnification, so you can get a real sense of what you might hope to see in your telescope, and the extra detail that a bigger scope might provide. That is, the sketches show only those stars / nebulae that are actually visible on a good observing night, without "cluttering" with all the glorious detail and colour and myriad feint stars that astro-photography can provide, but that you can never hope to see with your own eyes through your humble telescope or binoculars.

E.g. see the attached screenshots showing views of the Great Nebula in Orion (M42 / M43) as seen through binoculars, a small (3" - 4") Newtonian, and an 8" SCT, as copied from:
http://www.cambridge.org/features/tu...42_and_M43.htm

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

There is another resource here in IIS that does a similar thing. Have a look in the sticky thread:

DSO & Solar System sketches

These are sketches presented by fellow IIS members using scopes from small apertures to large, and from dark sites and light polluted skies. Galaxies, nebulae, open and globular clusters, planets, comets too. You will also get reports going with the sketches where you will also read the prevailing atmospheric conditions which have a great impact on how we get to see things. This is critical to understand as atmospheric conditions will dictate usable magnification regardless of how large your scope is, and how much detail can be pulled out.