5 Ways “Go-To” Mounts Can Make You a Better Astronomer
Are computerized “Go-To”mounts just for people too lazy to learn the sky for themselves? Some think so. Others say “Go-To” mounts are the best thing to happen to amateur astronomers since the invention of the Newtonian reflector.
Both sides have a point. Yes, you should learn the stars and constellations for yourself as a matter of pride and personal accomplishment. But a Go-To mount is a wonderful tool, especially for city-based astronomers who struggle to find faint stars in the murky urban skies. No matter what kind of sky you have, a good Go-To mount can make you a better amateur astronomer. Here’s how…
1. Overcome “Beginner’s Panic”
Many beginners, no matter how excited they are at first, look up and become demoralized or even panic-stricken by the idea of finding faint galaxies and nebulae in a vast sky full of stars. A Go-To makes it easy to find thousands of objects at the click of a button, and removes the overwhelming prospect of finding things to see. Just set up the scope in a nice level place, point to a couple of stars, push some buttons and you’re aligned and ready to go. You can concentrate on observing, not finding.
But finding your way around the sky should be one of the pleasures of astronomy. A go-to mount can help you to…
2. Learn The Night Sky
Once you’ve got the hang of your Go-To computer, use it to learn your way around the sky. If you’ve pointed your scope at the Andromeda Galaxy, for example, note where its located relative to the nearby stars in the constellation Andromeda. Look through your finder at the surrounding star field. Note the galaxy’s position on a good old-fashioned star map. And next time, try to find it yourself using your telescope’s manual controls. You get an immense feeling of accomplishment when you learn to find faint DSO’s using only a finder scope and your own skill. Your “Go-To” can help you develop that skill.
3. Find The Unfindable
Go-To helps more experienced observers, too. Especially city observers who must search through great swaths of light-polluted sky devoid of visible stars to find rich galaxy fields in Virgo and Pegasus. It doesn’t matter how good you are with a star map. If you can’t find stars to guide you to what you’re looking for… a common problem in light-polluted city skies… then it’s going to be mighty hard to see much. And if you can’t see much, you will not enjoy astronomy as you should. If a Go-To mount helps you see more, you will find astronomy far more rewarding.
A 6-inch SCT on a Go-To Mount
4. Use Time Well
Professional astronomers pay hundreds or thousands of dollars an hour to use the big telescopes. Do you think they use finder scopes to star-hop to their destinations? Are you kidding? Every pro scope uses Go-To to make sure astronomers spend time doing astronomy, not scanning the skies.
It’s the same for amateur astronomers. You might have the skill to star-hop to every Messier and many NGC objects by memory. But if you have to get to bed by 11 p.m. because you’ve got to go to work the next day, a Go-To will help you see more during the precious little time you have. As Ben Franklin said, “Do you love life? Then waste not time, for that is what life is made of.”
5. Share The Stars
From time to time, all of us should share our knowledge of the night sky with curious non-astronomers. A “Go-To” capability will help you dial up objects to show people at star parties and give you time to explain what they’re seeing. And you’ll look like an expert slewing from object to object with ease.
A word of warning…
Please, please, please, don’t use a Go-To mount like a night-time video game, clicking from object to object without taking time to savor and ponder the subtle beauty of what you’ve found. Because if you use your Go-To telescope like a video game, you will pay a price: you will lose interest in astronomy and give it up in search of something more immediately pleasurable, but less rewarding. So slow down, and take your time to look, see, and wonder.
