[AZ-Observing] Re: [amastro] Re: Messier 2 Declination Error

Mr. G, your sweeping around the sky certainly sounds interesting, casual and 
enjoyable.  I'd like to give that try that if my observ ing time wasn't so 
limited - perils of living in the big city.  I like the idea of the DSC on 
the big scope just to verify what you have stumbled across.

AJ Crayon
Phoenix, AZ

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Wayne (aka Mr. Galaxy)" <mrgalaxy@xxxxxxxx>
To: <az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: <sac-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <AZ-Observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; 
<evac@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <amastro@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 2:57 PM
Subject: [amastro] Re: [AZ-Observing] Messier 2 Declination Error



15480 Empire Rd.
Benson, AZ 85602
hm ph: 520-586-2244
Hi AJ,
Answering your other email, I know many people have gone to the digital 
setting circle (DSC) method of looking at the sky. That's great if your time 
is limited and you have a set agenda, which certainly sounds true for the 
monumental SAC database project that your club has produced!
Although my time is limited and very valuable, on occasion I enjoy sweeping 
around the sky with no set purpose, essentially probing the sky in between 
all the data points which are in the databases. I find all sorts of objects: 
asterisms, double stars, galaxies and others that are too faint to be 
charted on the popular atlases.
My preferred method of looking at the sky on those occasional lazy nights is 
even more outdated than star-hopping. I like to just sweep the sky, like the 
comet-hunters, but less organized. You never know what you might find.
I like the sense of discovery even though I don't "know" what it is I found 
at the time. I have no opposition to using a DSC. In fact, I want to mount 
one on my 25-inch when I get it back in operation because it is too 
difficult to run up and down the ladder and push the scope around when up on 
the ladder. For the 13-inch Dob, though, I just like pushing it around to 
see what I can see. There's a lot of space in between all the objects listed 
in the database and sometimes that space is where the action is at, 
especially if you're looking for comets or asteroids.
In fact, if I were to mount a DSC on my scope I would probably use it as a 
method of verifying what I swept up, rather than using it as a tool to find 
my object.
Clear skies,
Wayne (aka Mr. Galaxy)

-- "AJ Crayon" <acrayon@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Has anyone had problems locating M2 with digital setting circles or a GoTo 
system?  This involves any of the electronic systems.
I have run across declination errors with this entry on the XP4 Flash Sky 
Commander digital setting circles and on Orions SynScan GoTo system.  Reason 
is because the declination is -0° 49' and the way computer hardware 
handles -0.  Turns out most computers convert -0 to +0 resulting in 
incorrect calculations.

I corrected my version of XP4 with an update the the Messier catalog when 
this was discovered some time ago.  I have just found the problem in the 
SynScan system and notified Orion this morning.

So, I ask, has anyone else had problems with their system finding M2?

AJ Crayon
Phoenix, AZ

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