Star Hoping Chart - visibility indication

[dw_Skyhound]

Hello,
I'm curious about the text displayed at the lower right hand of the star-hopping chart which gives target visibility indicator.

Firstly, I noticed that I can look up an object - and the object info dialog box for that object has a "visual difficulty" tab.

So for example, - for a 10" dob scope - and the target object a star with a magnitude of 9 - in the object info dialog box - the system will display "visual difficulty" as "obvious".

But when I look at that object with the star-hopping chart - the text displayed at the lower right hand concerning target visibility indicates "Fully dark ML 5.5 target not visible".

I'm trying to understand the difference between these two visibility indications.

The reason for my asking is because I've spent a few nights trying to see the cats eye nebula without success.
And I'm wondering if Skytools darkness and visibility indicators can help me ascertain why I'm not seeing it.
Perhaps the skys at my location are not dark enough.

Thanks in advance.

[theskyhound]

Hi,

There are some subtleties that have to be considered when doing such a comparison.

1. The difficulty displayed at the bottom of the star hopping chart is for the target object. The target object is identified in the upper left of the chart, and is located at the center of each view.

2. The difficulty is displayed for the currently selected view. Click in the eyepiece view to select it for comparison, rather than the naked eye or finder view.

3. The difficulty depends on the eyepiece that has been chosen. Some eyepieces see fainter or allow for more contrast than others. When you use the Object Info, it automatically selects the eyepiece that allows for the best view (lowest level of difficulty).

4. Lastly, on the Object Info, everything else must be exactly the same. The settings are on the bottom left. The location, date, time, and telescope must be identical in order to make a meaningful comparison.

[dw_Skyhound]

AH!
Sorry I didn't see that!
It displays difficultly in relation to the chosen view, i.e. reflex, finder, and eyepiece

Wonderful feature!
Thanks and helping me with that.
And I hope you and yours are all well!

dw  :-]


Hi,

There are some subtleties that have to be considered when doing such a comparison.

1. The difficulty displayed at the bottom of the star hopping chart is for the target object. The target object is identified in the upper left of the chart, and is located at the center of each view.

2. The difficulty is displayed for the currently selected view. Click in the eyepiece view to select it for comparison, rather than the naked eye or finder view.

3. The difficulty depends on the eyepiece that has been chosen. Some eyepieces see fainter or allow for more contrast than others. When you use the Object Info, it automatically selects the eyepiece that allows for the best view (lowest level of difficulty).

4. Lastly, on the Object Info, everything else must be exactly the same. The settings are on the bottom left. The location, date, time, and telescope must be identical in order to make a meaningful comparison.