2022-04-07, 02:00 AM
(This post was last modified: 2022-04-07, 02:04 AM by theskyhound.)
You have me at a bit of a disadvantage because I'm not certain if you are observing visually, or imaging.
Regardless, SkyTools is software for observing, first and foremost. It's not a planetarium program. So, the primary purpose of the charts is for finding things in the sky. To do this for visual observing, they match the field of view, orientation, and magnitude limit of your telescope, binoculars or finding device. In addition, SkyTools provides a more efficient kind of star hopping with its charts that is much quicker and much less tedious than traditional star hopping. One thing about charts meant for observing is they really don't need to move around quickly. That's for what they call armchair astronomy. There is an overhead sky chart, which shows your "horizon", and a naked eye chart. There is also an interactive atlas, which is just like a fine atlas, but fully customizable. An atlas is not the same thing as a planetarium. There is planetarium software for that. Planetariums were designed for education rather than observing.
All of the charts can have objects turned on and off at will, by type, or whatever. Look at the View Controls for the charts. Labels can be enabled/disabled as a function of scale. Look at the Labels tab of the View Controls for that functionality. Select what to label, and apply a number of options. Then choose the label density that you wish for each different type of object. But the most useful thing for observing is to show only the objects you can actually expect to see in your telescope under the current conditions at your location. No planetarium or mapping system can do that.
You can mark all of the objects in an observing list on any chart, including the Overhead Sky Chart (your horizon) by using the multiple selection column. Select one or more objects in the list by clicking in the multiple selection column (red check marks), or select all of them by right-clicking on the column heading. Then right-click anywhere in the multiple selection column and choose one of the many options, such as "View Overhead Sky For All Checked Entries."
Lastly, I am not demanding anything of you.
Regardless, SkyTools is software for observing, first and foremost. It's not a planetarium program. So, the primary purpose of the charts is for finding things in the sky. To do this for visual observing, they match the field of view, orientation, and magnitude limit of your telescope, binoculars or finding device. In addition, SkyTools provides a more efficient kind of star hopping with its charts that is much quicker and much less tedious than traditional star hopping. One thing about charts meant for observing is they really don't need to move around quickly. That's for what they call armchair astronomy. There is an overhead sky chart, which shows your "horizon", and a naked eye chart. There is also an interactive atlas, which is just like a fine atlas, but fully customizable. An atlas is not the same thing as a planetarium. There is planetarium software for that. Planetariums were designed for education rather than observing.
All of the charts can have objects turned on and off at will, by type, or whatever. Look at the View Controls for the charts. Labels can be enabled/disabled as a function of scale. Look at the Labels tab of the View Controls for that functionality. Select what to label, and apply a number of options. Then choose the label density that you wish for each different type of object. But the most useful thing for observing is to show only the objects you can actually expect to see in your telescope under the current conditions at your location. No planetarium or mapping system can do that.
You can mark all of the objects in an observing list on any chart, including the Overhead Sky Chart (your horizon) by using the multiple selection column. Select one or more objects in the list by clicking in the multiple selection column (red check marks), or select all of them by right-clicking on the column heading. Then right-click anywhere in the multiple selection column and choose one of the many options, such as "View Overhead Sky For All Checked Entries."
Lastly, I am not demanding anything of you.
Clear skies,
Greg
Head Dude at Skyhound
Greg
Head Dude at Skyhound