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It seems to me that people who are adamantly pro-GOTO and people who are adamantly anti-GOTO are involved in the hobby for completely different reasons. The GOTO people are out there to *look at* things, while the non-GOTO people are out there to *find* things.

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Well, I can't really agree here. People who are a little too adamantly pro or anti Go-To are both missing the point. Go-To is a tool and nothing more. The adamant Pro Go-To "zealots" may not appreciate the fun in finding something "manually" (i.e., the fun of the hunt), while the adamently anti-GoTo zealots may not appreciate the frustration that some people feel in not being able to find things under less than ideal conditions. The key here is *balance*. I spent many many years as a died-in-the-wool starhopper. I can still find many things with my old 10 inch equatorial Newtonian faster than I can with my NexStar 9.25's GoTo system. Initially, I wasn't all that impressed with Go-To, but the more I used it, the more time I ended up saving and the more enjoyment I got out of the experience. Guess which scope is now getting the lion's share of time outside? Yup, its the Go-To NexStar. I also do use the scope in the non-GoTo mode to find things occasionally (found Vesta a couple of months ago by using the Sky and Telescope finder chart and just slewing things until it appeared in the finderscope). I enjoy the hunt, but I also enjoy observing what I go after, and with that approach, I have the best of both worlds. Clear skies to you.

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David W. Knisely
Hyde Memorial Observatory
http://www.hydeobservatory.info

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