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Poll: How do you typically plan your observing session?
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How do you typically plan your observing session?

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  #81  
Old 23-12-2009, 10:06 AM
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Liz
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I pick about 5 prominent constellations at the time - head to my Astronomy books/charts, and make a list of goodies to track down.
I usually start the night by having a lood at planets, and comets, which I can NEVER find unless brighter than mag ~ 6.
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  #82  
Old 21-08-2013, 04:22 PM
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gaa_ian (Ian)
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Given that I am usually doing an Astronomy "Tour" and often for people who have not seen a lot of the night sky. I will pick out the bright and impressive for that time of the year. Usually those objects that are easily found by star hopping with a Dob. In the rare times where I have the pleasure of hunting for Faint Fuzzies , I will seek out Galaxy Clusters, Obscure Nebula & Interesting Planetary Nebulas.
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  #83  
Old 24-08-2013, 03:38 PM
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Marcus10 (Marcus)
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I'm amazed at how many people plan their observing sessions - for me, its always been fairly random or, perhaps, I've just had an idea in my head (i.e. hunt down some globs).

You've inspired me to take a look at Astroplanner or be a bit more methodical in my time behind the scope.
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  #84  
Old 06-10-2013, 08:46 PM
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FlashDrive (Poppy)
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Pretty much random....I revisit some of my favourites when they are visible....M42, M45, Coal Sack, Jewel Box, Omega Centauri, 47tuc....Planets also.
Nothing planned....just star hop...and go looking.

Flash......
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  #85  
Old 08-10-2013, 03:59 PM
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phobos27 (Nick)
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Usually i have a look around the internet for some cool nebular, globular clusters or galaxies and go from there. They are usually unplanned as it is much more fun to make it up on the spot.
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  #86  
Old 08-10-2013, 05:11 PM
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mental4astro (Alexander)
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Having been involved with astronomy as a hobby for over thirty years, and with my interest in sketching at the eyepiece, these days I sit down & work out which four or five targets to sketch. What I select comes from a variety of sources, some outright spectacular, others obscure. Some spanning several degrees of the sky, others a few arc minutes.

A sketch can take anywhere from 1/2hr to three hours, so I also consider the time of year, & the rotation of the sky to distribute the night's labour. For this i use the humble planisphere to give me the sky at any time of year & then suss out potential targets in the various references I have. Even the scope I use is determined this way. My 4" refractori can get upto a full 5degrees true field of view. For a faint galaxy, like Proxima Australis, then the 17.5".

It's no longer a race to tick off targets for me. It's also low tech. I there to relax and unwind & leave the rush behind me. "Ahhh, the serenity..."

My enjoyment also lies in this planning process. I learn a lot from the reading. This also then inspires what I select to sketch. I can indulge this hobby even when it's blowing a gale outside.

So, for this poll, I'm ticking "other".

Mental.
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  #87  
Old 08-10-2013, 05:22 PM
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AG Hybrid (Adrian)
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Mostly. I don't even bother planning what to look at most of the time because I have SkySafari hooked up to DSC. I no longer waste time searching and planning. I just look for interesting targets in the constellations I can see.

There are some exceptions. Galaxy clusters and any notable targets during an astronomical event like a SN or conjunction/shadow transit. Maybe if there is an interesting object in a magazine article I might try and chase it down.

But, generally speaking. If its in SkySafari, in my FOV and in range of my scope. I'll have it.
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  #88  
Old 15-03-2014, 12:26 PM
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I make consistent use of the observer lists in SkySafari Pro, and use this to guide my GOTO scope over the course of the evening. Incredibly convenient, and allows me to read up about the objects I'm using, cross check the starfield (it goes down to mag 15 stars) to make sure I've located my object, etc.

I also regularly do constellation tours. I typically pick a mix of bright, double and variable stars and DSOs from a high transiting constellation, and then work my way through them over the course of 1-3 nights (depending on the constellation). One fun way to do this is to work through EVERY object mentioned in Ridpath & Tirion's 'Stars and Planets'. Lots there to keep the visual observer busy!

I leave moonlit nights for my planetary observations, and some stellar/point source work (doubles, minor planets, etc.).
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  #89  
Old 16-03-2014, 09:02 PM
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Gem (Grant)
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Usually start with the page of Sky Atlas 2000 that is in a good observing position. Sometime I will get out my hard copy edition of NGC 2000 and look up the NGC objects on that page of the atlas. Occasionally, I will get out Hartungs or use a list (e.g. print out the top 100 globular clusters or some other object type and check if there are any left I haven't seen).
Mostly it's just me in the dark with a red torch and an atlas making it up as I go. I do have a good memory though, so if others are there I will usually do 30-40 objects for memory with the dob (by which time they are cold and had enough).
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  #90  
Old 29-04-2014, 07:25 AM
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speach (Simon)
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I use Stellarium to have a look around at the constellations, then Cartes du ceil to print out the one I've chosen Then Astroplanner to print out an object list for that constellation.
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  #91  
Old 29-04-2014, 03:16 PM
PeterHA (Peter)
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Prep

As a starting point I use the Bambo 600, have it sorted by month and RA and only the objects I have not yet observed.
Apart from that I have the Deep Sky Travel Atlas (Oculum publishing), it is quite water proof and list most objects within reach of my scopes. I look up the maps showing the areas of sky I can see well in a given night and go by the objects there. I also use it fo start hopping.

In future, once I have grown out of the Deep Sky Travel Atlas, I have now the Deep Sky Atlas (Oculum) it list the objects coded by visibility for 4", 8" and 12" and the visibility is derived from a software called Eye & Telescope which has quite unique algorythms for that.
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