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Re: Finding objects! (was Re: (IAAC) The Herschel List)
You're right, Jonathan: nothing can be more disorienting than being out under a
crystal-clear, pitch-black sky for the first time in months... But what a
WONDEFUL feeling of disorientation! :)
By the way, it may be worth mentioning something else about star-hopping: the
hopping techniques you use probably will depend on your sky conditions! For
instance, under extremely bright skies (or with a smaller scope), I find that
"aiming" the scope with a Telrad (i.e., a "gun-sight" pointer), then doing
wide-field eyepiece sweeps usually picks up any star pattern I'm trying to hop
to, But under darker skies (and/or larger apertures), having a finder as well
as the Telrad and Panoptic eyepiece can be very handy!
In the end, I guess I use a combination of finder, Telrad, and eyepiece hopping
techniques with my dobsonian - and a completely different set of techniques
(involving distinct north-south and east-west motions) when I'm using an
equatorial mount!
What star-hopping variations do more advanced observers out there use?
Clear skies,
Lew
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