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Debate: Eyeballing star positions vs using an app to find deep sky objects
I used to just go out with my binoculars and try to track down Messier objects by memory. It worked okay for the bright ones like Andromeda or Orion, but I kept missing fainter stuff like M81 or M82 because I couldn't pin down the spot. Then about 6 months ago I downloaded Stellarium and started using it to guide me to exact coordinates. Now I find everything way faster, but I feel like I lost that sense of hunting and exploring. Am I cheating myself out of the real stargazing experience, or is tech just the smart way to go for backyard folks with limited time?
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evan2953d ago
Using an app is just a modern star chart, not cheating at all. Those old paper charts and setting circles were just the tech of their day, and nobody back then complained about using them. Maybe the real loss is just the romantic idea of stumbling onto things, but you're still out there looking up and learning the sky either way.
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