2020-07-14, 11:09 PM
Hi Greg,
Well one thing I did with ST3 was use it to help me build a pointing model. I had a list of alignment stars that I would sort by HA and show only those on the list above the horizon. This would allow me to quickly work one on side of the meridian and then the other by using the list sorted by HA as a guide. I could even sort HA up and down always placing the stars I wanted to use on the top of the list. Doing this in the Nightly Planner not only makes the list longer (because it contains all the stars above and below the horizon), it also does not provide the current status of the object like its altitude, HA, and azimuth. Also in ST4 the "Best Now" seems to leave stars off this list because I guess they are not consider good candidates for observing at the present. So when this happens I have to manually move to the star.
I also found that when at the telescope I would often sort the real time list by other things like transit time, declination, current altitude or azimuth, etc. when I wanted to compare the current status of the objects on the list. If I wanted to focus my observing on a particular type of object, I would sort the list by object type. I found this very useful when preparing and culling Star Party Observing list because I could easily compare objects as I whittled down the list. At least in ST4 I can filter by object type but when I want to look at the whole list sorted this way I have to switch back to the Nightly Planner which doesn't provide any real time information.
If I wanted to avoid doing a lot of meridian flips while observing, I would sort the list by transit time and catch objects either just before or after they transited depending on what side of the meridian I was on. The HA shown for this object would also make it easy to see what candidate objects were getting ready to transit or long it was since they transited.
I guess I just need to get used to switching back and forth between Nightly Planner and Real Time Observing while at the telescope, but it is a bit cumbersome while observing especially when the two lists cannot be arranged in the same order. Also the Nightly Planner does not show or allow you to sort on the current status of the object. Seems like I just got use to using the "Nightly Planner" during the daytime while planning observing sessions and the "Real Time Observing" at night while observing.
Anyway, I still have ST3 installed and can still use it for some of these tasks, especially the pointing model building.
Thanks for listening,
Bill
Well one thing I did with ST3 was use it to help me build a pointing model. I had a list of alignment stars that I would sort by HA and show only those on the list above the horizon. This would allow me to quickly work one on side of the meridian and then the other by using the list sorted by HA as a guide. I could even sort HA up and down always placing the stars I wanted to use on the top of the list. Doing this in the Nightly Planner not only makes the list longer (because it contains all the stars above and below the horizon), it also does not provide the current status of the object like its altitude, HA, and azimuth. Also in ST4 the "Best Now" seems to leave stars off this list because I guess they are not consider good candidates for observing at the present. So when this happens I have to manually move to the star.
I also found that when at the telescope I would often sort the real time list by other things like transit time, declination, current altitude or azimuth, etc. when I wanted to compare the current status of the objects on the list. If I wanted to focus my observing on a particular type of object, I would sort the list by object type. I found this very useful when preparing and culling Star Party Observing list because I could easily compare objects as I whittled down the list. At least in ST4 I can filter by object type but when I want to look at the whole list sorted this way I have to switch back to the Nightly Planner which doesn't provide any real time information.
If I wanted to avoid doing a lot of meridian flips while observing, I would sort the list by transit time and catch objects either just before or after they transited depending on what side of the meridian I was on. The HA shown for this object would also make it easy to see what candidate objects were getting ready to transit or long it was since they transited.
I guess I just need to get used to switching back and forth between Nightly Planner and Real Time Observing while at the telescope, but it is a bit cumbersome while observing especially when the two lists cannot be arranged in the same order. Also the Nightly Planner does not show or allow you to sort on the current status of the object. Seems like I just got use to using the "Nightly Planner" during the daytime while planning observing sessions and the "Real Time Observing" at night while observing.
Anyway, I still have ST3 installed and can still use it for some of these tasks, especially the pointing model building.
Thanks for listening,
Bill