How many objects view per hour in the night?

mbaddah (Mo) · #1 03-07-2009, 03:00 PM

Hey,

Was wondering, on average how many objects to you guys view per hour say in the night, say an average?

Do you look at the planets for a different period of time then say nebulas?

Appreciate your feedback thanks

Rod66 (Rod) · #2 03-07-2009, 03:09 PM

Thats a good question. With my binoculars, I typically went on a messier marathon when the viewing was good, so I usually got about 15 per hour in if I include time to write notes.

With my new telescope, I find things are a lot slower and I've been jumping between planets and nebulas and double stars so probably only about 6 or so per hour. I did have one good viewing binge last Saturday when I tested the scope on all the nebulas and clusters near sagittatirus, so I probably managed to get about 10 in the hour..

I think it all depends on what I'm doing at the time, ie setting up some viewing for the whole family to enjoy, fiddling with a camera or just going down the list of things I want to see.

erick (Eric) · #3 03-07-2009, 04:01 PM

If it's a beauty, then one!

Eg. working around Carina neb with different magnification and filters.

Rob_K · #4 03-07-2009, 04:47 PM

Hmmm, pretty broad question mbaddah! For me, depends. If I have a prepared list of targets & charts and a good long night ahead of me, it might be slow, especially trying to find (no GOTO) and tease out faint objects. Could spend 15 mins on one, 2 mins on the next. Never spent an hour on an object yet though (you obsesso Eric!

).

With a short session, no charts & just cruising familiar objects, it's generally rapid, say 30 sec to find it, 30 sec on it, then on to the next! Nothing to write up or remember, just a sky tour! These are objects that I check out regularly, the 'biggies', and I still get the same thrill each time I see them.

So, not really any help here, sorry - just depends on what your observing objectives are, and the time you have available...

Cheers -

CoombellKid · #5 03-07-2009, 05:31 PM

Star hopping, probably 6 or so per hour... depending on the view maybe
fewer. But since getting an Argo Navis.... well... how fast do you want
to go?

Probably easy 150 per night, on a good nights tour

Cheers,CS

GrahamL · #6 03-07-2009, 07:24 PM

Maybe 20 or so if I know them well .. much less if I have to hunt a few I'm not familiar with.. Like Rob says turn on the argo and tour galaxies around virgo or globs around Sagittarius and its hard to tell as they never seem to end

Robh (Rob) · #7 03-07-2009, 08:23 PM

Never be compelled to meet some quota. I usually go out with a viewing list but rarely complete it. If you don't take the time to savour each object then you may as well just flip through pictures in a book. It's a bit like a whirlwind tour of the world. You can say you've been there but in the end you only have fleeting impressions of each town and culture.

Regards, Rob.

astroron (Ron) · #8 03-07-2009, 09:48 PM

The only time I know how many I have observed is when I do a specific observing run, like a supernova search, otherwise it can be heaps or just a dozen or so of the "pretty picture" objects

But who's counting when your having fun

Darth Wader (Wade) · #9 03-07-2009, 11:31 PM

I take the night as it comes, and take differing amounts of time on each object.

CoombellKid · #10 04-07-2009, 02:39 AM

You make all them poor supernova hunters and variable star observers
sound so cheap. It really depends on what sort of observing you do,
you might find you would be setting quotas

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robh

Never be compelled to meet some quota. I usually go out with a viewing list but rarely complete it. If you don't take the time to savour each object then you may as well just flip through pictures in a book. It's a bit like a whirlwind tour of the world. You can say you've been there but in the end you only have fleeting impressions of each town and culture.

Regards, Rob.

mbaddah (Mo) · #11 04-07-2009, 07:57 AM

Thanks guys for all your responses been very informative

I'm very slow in the night, usually 3-5 objects per hour... but after reading all these comments about the Argo Navis I'm so tempted to buy one, If only they weren't so expensive

astroron (Ron) · #12 04-07-2009, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbaddah

Thanks guys for all your responses been very informative

I'm very slow in the night, usually 3-5 objects per hour... but after reading all these comments about the Argo Navis I'm so tempted to buy one, If only they weren't so expensive

As long as you are enjoying what you are doing and maybe learning something at the same time

that's all that matters, numbers don't count

Robh (Rob) · #13 04-07-2009, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoombellKid

You make all them poor supernova hunters and variable star observers
sound so cheap. It really depends on what sort of observing you do,
you might find you would be setting quotas

As usual, the comments need to be taken in the context of the thread. My point was that, if you are doing a tour of night-sky wonders, you should take the time to observe and enjoy each object and not feel as though you need to fill some quota.
Supernova hunters and variable star observers have a different objective. However, most are amateur astronomers and are not generally obligated to fill any quota. They can do as much or as little as they personally wish. And no-one would deny their inestimable contribution to astronomy.
A friend of mine, a variable star observer, often takes the time out to enjoy other wonders of the sky in his observations.

Regards, Rob.

CoombellKid · #14 04-07-2009, 12:43 PM

Yeah sure, the context being on average how many objects you observe
an hour, not a lecture on how you should be doing it

Cheers,CS

pgc hunter · #15 04-07-2009, 01:03 PM

I usually do about 2-4 objects per hour.

ngcles · #16 04-07-2009, 02:24 PM

Hi Mbaddah & All,

As others have replied, it does depend much on what you are doing, what you are observing, whether you have DSC and whether you are taking notes for one purpose or another.

I take notes about 1/2 the time I observe -- the other half I just look at what is "in season" or favourites.

In the latter case, the speed I go varies a lot between about 6 and 20 objects an hour. Some it is just a matter of taking a peek to remind yourself of what it looks like.

If I'm taking general notes for my log -- particularly on new objects, my average rate is about 8 an hour. That amounts to about 7 1/2 mins per object to look it up on the list, find it on the planetarium software, do the go-to and about 5-6 mins to observe and make a meaningful note. But that is an average. A small, faint, single "plain-jane" galaxy can be done quicker. Groups and/or clusters take longer to disentangle and properly identify members and make the notes etc. I've sometimes spent 90mins on a complex field of galaxies like Abell 1060 for example.

Sometimes, particularly if I'm making a fresh observation of a previously observed object to use as a reference because I'm going to write about it. I'll spend about double normal time trying to tease detail out etc at the ep -- in that case about 4 per hr.

So, I guess it varies a lot.

Best,

Les D

Robh (Rob) · #17 04-07-2009, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoombellKid

Yeah sure, the context being on average how many objects you observe an hour, not a lecture on how you should be doing it

Cheers,CS

Rob.

Your posted average (via star hopping) of 6 or less per hour sounds fine to me. Like you say and as Les also points out, the number will depend on your purpose.

Regards, Rob.

lacad01 (Adam) · #18 04-07-2009, 09:19 PM

I'd be lucky to do 2 to 3

Last time I got the scope out, about couple weeks ago all I observed was Jupiter

erick (Eric) · #19 04-07-2009, 09:22 PM

Yes, I've certainly done a solid hour (and more) on Jupiter, observing a double shadow transit. Of course, not eye to eyepiece for the solid time! eeeek!

Rodstar (Rod) · #20 06-07-2009, 10:02 AM

When I am tired, I tend to observe more quickly (perhaps 10-15 targets per hour), conversely when I have the energy to record my observations (dictate) while I am observing, I tend only to get through 5 or 6 an hour.

I find the sessions when I take more time to look and record my observations far more satisfying. During those sessions, if I can observe 5 or 6 new targets and get a really good sense of what I am looking at (including, for example, taking the time to understand how far away the object is, if it is a galaxy what its morphology is, etc), then I have a big smile on my face.

There are a lot of objects in Uranometria which are not in the Argo Navis database. Sometimes it takes some time with the aid of my finderscope to track objects down by star-hopping. This process slows me down, but it is immensely satisfying (assuming I find my targets).

One aspect to recording visual observations that I find immensely satisfying is coming back to objects which I may have struggled with the first time I observed it. Often I will conclude my observations of a particular object with the remark - I will return to this object another night/ under darker skies to see if I can make out more details.

Early on in this Great and Noble Pursuit I felt an inexplicable burden to hunt down as many targets as possible in the one night. I then came to the realisation that there are simply too many targets out there (particularly now within the reach of my 20 inch mirror), to be able to observe everything! If my task, then, is not to know and observe everything, I can relax and enjoy each object for what it is.

One of best observing sessions in recent time was a session I had in my backyard a few weeks ago. I observed some objects I had never observed before around the SCP. It was a mix of doubles, a few faint globs, some OCs. In total, over a four hour session, I observed about 18 targets. It was a great night, very satisfying. I made some good notes on the dictaphone which transcribed nicely the next day, bringing back all of the memories again!