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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.

For me, I enjoy both in equal measure. I don't think I would enjoy seeing things as much if I was just pressing a button and looking in my eyepiece. Using my star charts and trying to reconcile what I see there with what I can see above me,and hopping from point to point until I arrive at my destination is a necessary part of the satisfaction I feel when I get to the point where I can actually look at what I'm trying to find.

Whatever my personal feelings, though, I think it's silly and pedantic to decide out of hand that one is 'better' than the other. It's our responsibility as people who've been involved in the hobby for a while to help new people make the choices that are best for them, not force some kind of ideology on them.

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Nicely said...

I think we all have our own ways of enjoying this hobby, the hope is for each of us to find the equipment that allows each of us to enjoy our time under the night sky to the fullest.

In my view, the value of discussions like this are that they allow us to reach familiar/common ground. Hardworking Starhoppers who are frustrated (as well as others) can easily connect with Eric's pleasure and joy in having equipment that will help him find targets he is looking for.

And on the other side, those of us who have different motivations and get our pleasures in different ways can hopefully have hint as to Eric's goals and motivations. At the same time Eric's light illuminates our own understanding of ourselves and why we enjoy stargazing.

Personally I stumbled across amateur astronomy as I stumble across interesting targets in the night sky, not looking for anything in particular, just letting my curiousity and my patience take me where they will, enjoying the view through the eyepiece regardless of whether it is some difficult target or just some unnamed star field. And then there is the silence and the solitude.

It all started when I happened upon a worn out, filthy $5 garage sale refractor. I had no expectations of what I could see, I just wanted to look. And today, that is is still all I want to do, just go out and take a look and see what I can see.

Oh it is fun to split a tight double, watch a shadow transit, "discover" a faint cluster of galaxies, enjoy the sparkliing beauty of M7 one more time.... I like the adding a piece to the puzzle by locating tricky target. I enjoy the cycle of the sky, the treasures that come with each season, last year and the year before...

These are just a few of the things that get me out there looking up every clear night.

Meade/Celestron, Refractors/Reflectors, GOTO/Starhopping... The main thing is we are out there looking, enjoy the universe in some small way that helps us... How we do it, doesn't really matter as long as we're doing it.

Is there a case for GOTO? Oh Yeah... I

s the a case for Starhopping, No doubt about it...

Best wishes, clear skies ahead...

Jon Isaacs

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