Horizon mapping

[peter_4059]

I went to the trouble of remapping my local horizon tonight in Astroplanner. It takes a bit of time to create the model but well worth it to help select a suitable object. I can't believe how much the trees have grown in the west. The two images attached show what it was like 4 years ago and how it looks today.:(

[RobF]

Frustrating, isn't it Peter!

Although, could be worse, could look like this! :P

[[1ponders]]

no wonder you guys like to get away from home :(

[peter_4059]

You definately win that one Rob. At least I can get a couple of hours either side of the meridian for most things.

[RobF]

Not wrong Paul. You don't know how lucky you are up there in God's own country!

Peter, I'm at the point now I take it as a given I'll be imaging 2 or even 3 objects over a few nights to get max value out of setting up. Actually, driving around the 'burbs, I often think to myself how lucky I am to be able to see any sky, espeically considering that wasn't originally on the agenda when we moved here. :)

[[1ponders]]

C'mon up then one weekend Rob. Plenty of dark cloaked photons for your camera to soak up here.


Speaking of which ..... I'd better go and see how that 4 hours of M104 is going. :whistle: :face:

[troypiggo]

All this time I thought mine was bad...

[[1ponders]]

Ok you guys .... how the hell do you do that? I have Astroplanner, but don't use it much ... well at all

[troypiggo]

First, you start with a crap horizon... :)

[[1ponders]]

Touche` :lol:

[troypiggo]

In AstroPlanner, go to Resources->Sites, click on the horizon map and it'll open up a tool where you can either manually draw it, or if connected to your scope it can get the position from the scope. It's fairly intuitive IIRC.

[[1ponders]]

Cool thanks Troy. I might have to get some lessons in using AP if I an get to AF this year for a while.

[Poita]

Thanks for the heads up on this, somehow I had missed this app.

Should be helpful to choose the best spot for the pier to go in.

[troypiggo]

Not sure if it will help you there. The above are just screencaps for its sky chart with custom horizons added, which is but a drop in the ocean of what AP can do.

[Poita]

I'm putting in a custom horizon from the three possible pier locations, lets me see what I am missing out on/getting from each spot.

It is a very cool package for the price.

[BPO]

Here's mine:

http://allskycam.com/u.php?u=438

I'm not bragging or anything, I'm just...um...yes, okay, I am.

Sorry! :D

[RobF]

I try to do at least a rough horizon (even if just estimated by eye) every time I visit somewhere at least 2 nights. Comes in amazingly handy planning dark sky trips in advance too.
As Troy says though, a drop in the ocean for a fantastic application.

[peter_4059]

It's the only app I use to plan my imaging sessions and align and drive the scope these days.