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What I like most is surfing through the night sky by binoculars without any lists (just my atlas close at hand), stumbling over fuzzy patches. What the heck is this? Have'nt seen that before! Then I'm trying to identify star patterns, looking them up in the atlas, verifying, looking up, verifying... and finally: "YES!, that HAS TO BE Stock 23!"

OK, I only find a couple of new objects every night, but they are all new discoveries. No way I let GOTO or lists spoil that experience. OK - I'm a little exaggerating. Sometimes I go out on a hunt for all the GCs in Ophiuchus for example. But most of the time I go out discovering.

Thomas

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We have very similar observing techniques.

My normal pattern is to sweep fields at different magnifications; when I run into something I don't know offhand, I look on my SkyAtlas.

If I don't find it there, I use my Uranometria to identify it.

Seen just about everything I can see with my equipment using this method....seems more intuitive at this point in my observing career.

Also, you never know if you're going to run into an undiscovered comet.....



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10x50 Fujinon FMT-SX binos
15x70 AP binos + Paragon p-mount
Oberwerk 100BT 45 degree + Hercules fork mount
120mm f/5 Orion achromat + Moonlite focuser
140mm f/5.7 Vixen NeoAchro Petzvel refractor
150mm f/6.5 Antares achromat
150mm f/8 homemade achromat....EE Barnard MW Sweeper
8 inch newt with f/5 Swayze mirror
10 inch f/4.7 Orion newt + Paracorr
15 inch f/5 Discovery split tube
35mm Pan, 26mm Nagler, 17mm Nagler, 13mm Ethos, 8mm Ethos

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Edited by Mr. Bill (07/13/08 11:44 AM)

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