2020-07-20, 07:24 PM
Hi Greg,
Here are some of the screen shots you requested. I used a bright star list that I had in my collection of observing lists.
Best Now – July 19, 2020 at 21:46, about 10 minutes before the end of astronomical twilight.
Sky Tour – At 21:46 ten out of eleven of the objects shown in the list are not included on the Best Now list. The first entry, Regulus, is on the Best Now list but is currently at an altitude of 5 degrees.
Nightly Planner – Night of July 19, 2020. At 21:46 Altair is observable at +35.5 degrees altitude but has not made the "Best Now" cut.
Best Now – July 19, 2020 at 22:25.
Nightly Planner – Night of July 19, 2020. Arcturus is at altitude +53 degrees at 22:26
I understand your desire to only show objects on the Real Time Observing Tab that are at their best. I'm also a big proponent of this and always try to observe objects when they are at their very best. I spend a lot of time on or near the meridian and wait for the objects to come to me. However things like sky conditions, weather, time constraints, etc can change and may alter observing priorities over the course of a night and cause me to make adjustments. With ST3 I could show my whole observing list and review the real time status of all the objects on the list. Based on this information I could then make adjustments to my priorities in real time. With ST4 I can use the Nightly Planner for this but it does not show me the current HA, altitude, observing difficulty, etc. of the objects on the observing list to make these decisions. Please believe me that I'm not trying to circumvent the Best Now feature, just wish the Real Time Observing was a little more flexible to help answer questions I may have about the objects on my observing list during the course of the night.
Regards,
Bill
Here are some of the screen shots you requested. I used a bright star list that I had in my collection of observing lists.
Best Now – July 19, 2020 at 21:46, about 10 minutes before the end of astronomical twilight.
Sky Tour – At 21:46 ten out of eleven of the objects shown in the list are not included on the Best Now list. The first entry, Regulus, is on the Best Now list but is currently at an altitude of 5 degrees.
Nightly Planner – Night of July 19, 2020. At 21:46 Altair is observable at +35.5 degrees altitude but has not made the "Best Now" cut.
Best Now – July 19, 2020 at 22:25.
Nightly Planner – Night of July 19, 2020. Arcturus is at altitude +53 degrees at 22:26
I understand your desire to only show objects on the Real Time Observing Tab that are at their best. I'm also a big proponent of this and always try to observe objects when they are at their very best. I spend a lot of time on or near the meridian and wait for the objects to come to me. However things like sky conditions, weather, time constraints, etc can change and may alter observing priorities over the course of a night and cause me to make adjustments. With ST3 I could show my whole observing list and review the real time status of all the objects on the list. Based on this information I could then make adjustments to my priorities in real time. With ST4 I can use the Nightly Planner for this but it does not show me the current HA, altitude, observing difficulty, etc. of the objects on the observing list to make these decisions. Please believe me that I'm not trying to circumvent the Best Now feature, just wish the Real Time Observing was a little more flexible to help answer questions I may have about the objects on my observing list during the course of the night.
Regards,
Bill