Binocular Observing Poll

For several months the Observers' Poll on knightware.biz has been about binocular observing. The question and results are:

Do you observe with binoculars?

Never: 14%
Occasionally: 48%
Frequently: 37%

The 14% that never observe with binoculars is a little surprising. My first attempt at observing was done with binoculars. I laid on the lawn in the summer of 1969 and aimed the family binoculars at the moon where Apollo 11 was convincing me that some form of science would be my avocation. That childhood dream led to a career in software development in engineering and scientific disciplines, and of course, amateur astronomy.

For many years binoculars have been my tool of choice for observing bright comets and open clusters. I have also learned some really neat applications.

My friend Tom Lorenzin showed me some beautiful sights many years ago at the Winter Star Party using his 8x50 binos with UHC filters in each eyepiece. I particularly remember viewing the planetary nebula Jones 1 on that occasion.

My friend Tatsuo Saitoh from Japan shared his 10x70 Fujinon binoculars with me to observe Comet Hyakutake. That observation was a game changer, and I saved for a pair of 16x70 Fujinons myself.

Binoculars are sometimes the only portable solution for observing. When there was not room for a telescope on a family vacation, I often packed my 16x70s and my T&T mount. Most of my binocular work has been done on these trips. I learned that observing the summer Milky Way from mountain campsites is a terrific way to observe.

To you 14%, I highly recommend giving binoculars a try. If you image, binocular observing while running exposures gives you something fun to do.

To the rest of you, I point you to the growing list of observing plans specifically for binocular observing in the Deep-Sky Planner Community's Plan Library. Plans for Phil Harrington's monthly 'Binocular Universe' articles are there. I am also working on providing plans that accompany his outstanding book, 'Touring the Universe Through Binoculars'.

Jan 2012 Binocular Universe Observing Plan

Two Great Gift Suggestions for Astronomers

Great gift #1: Deep-Sky Wonders by Sue French

I recently picked up a copy of Sue French's new book, Deep-Sky Wonders, and it has more than exceeded my expectations for an observing guide.

The book is a beautiful hardback production with high quality paper. All of that is justified as the pages are full of Sue's experienced narrative, sky charts that illustrate the positions of the objects, and color photos by some of the world's most renowned astro-imagers. The variety of objects is rich and the artistry is enticing.

There is more to this suggestion than just the book though. Plan files are being completed now for use with Deep-Sky Planner that go along with the book. These plans contain essential information for hundreds of objects mentioned in the book, along with page reference numbers from the book. Together, the book and the plans equip Deep-Sky Planner users to work through observing and logging many of the finest observing targets in the night sky.

This project would not have been possible without the help of Sue French and Deep-Sky Planner user John Sillasen. Thank you both for your gracious help.

Great Gift # 2: SkySafari 3

I recently got a copy of SkySafari 3 for Mac OS X to test importing of plans produced by Deep-Sky Planner. DSP's plan files can be converted to the observing list format needed by SkySafari.

Testing went well on the Macbook running Mac OS X, but what really got my attention was playing with SkySafari on a smartphone. The import feature isn't ready yet for smartphones, but the application itself is amazing! I don't feel that the small device platform will completely supplant use of planetarium apps on a desktop or laptop, but it is a useful aid for observers on the go.

Southern Stars says they will have SkySafari out for Android ASAP, perhaps by the end of December. You couldn't go wrong giving this app to an astronomer that uses a smartphone or tablet.

Announcing Deep-Sky Planner 5.1

An important free update is available now for owners of Deep-Sky Planner 5. This update introduces the plan document which brings together several of the planning features already found in Deep-Sky Planner, while adding some new ones. This release is the culmination of two major compiler upgrades and 18 months of development and testing effort.

Ease of use continues to be the guiding factor for the user interface. Plans can be built using the familiar drag and drop paradigm, i.e., from a catalog search report to a plan report. Plan report content and screen layout are entirely configurable, accommodating even a small netbook screen. In fact, this release was beta tested on netbook computers. Accuracy and speed guide the underlying processing of plans, even in real-time at the telescope.

Deep-Sky Planner 5.1 ships with several sample plans. Others are available by download from the deepskyplanner Yahoo group. Only licensed owners of Deep-Sky Planner 5 may join the deepskyplanner Yahoo group. Licensed owners are also encouraged to contribute plans for other users to download.

DSP5.1 Update - Coming Soon!

Testing has gone very well, and we are now working with a release candidate. Test team members are using the release candidate to create observing lists both for personal use during the fall observing season and for sharing with other DSP users. Look for these observing lists to be distributed through the deepskyplanner Yahoo Group until a web application can be built to manage them.

A separate tool (Plan Converter) has been built that converts a DSP observing list file to an Argo Navis User Catalog file which can be uploaded to the Argo Navis using Argonaut. This tool will be available through the Deep-Sky Planner Community on the Knightware website. Knightware thanks Wildcard Innovations for their kind support while building this tool.

A preview video has been posted on the Knightware YouTube channel that demonstrates plan building and use while observing. It's short but highlights the new plan document features.

Finally, an official release date can be revealed - the final week of October. We are aiming for October 25. This will be a free update (download) for owners of Deep-Sky Planner 5. If you don't already have DSP5, you can get it by digital delivery (or on CD) from the Knightware website.

DSP5.1 Update - Beta 4 is Underway

Beta #4 is a feature-complete build of this free update to version 5. We are now working through testing and documentation (oh, joy). After a bit more testing we should know more about a release date. October looks like a very busy month for Knightware...

A lot of updates have happened across the astronomy software community since Deep-Sky Planner v5.0.3 was released in May. The latest versions of these partners' products have been verified against Deep-Sky Planner 5.1.0:

• ASCOM 6
• Cartes du Ciel v3.4.1
• Redshift 7 SP1
• Starry Night Pro Plus v6.4.3
• TheSkyX v10.1.11
• OpenAstronomyLog 2.1

Teaser: Testers are enjoying the latest plan-building feature added in beta 4. A user can drag and drop items from any Deep-Sky Planner report onto a plan. A preview video is the best way to demonstrate this, so we'll try to get one published in October.

DSP5.1 Update - Beta 3 still under test

Beta 3 is going well. With one usability issue being addressed and two final feature additions pending, this week should end with a fairly solid build, Beta #4. Testers are currently using Beta #3 to develop plans that can be shared with other users once version 5.1 is released. More on this soon.

Deep-Sky Planner plans can be used in some interesting new ways (screenshots below):

• Plans are being converted (using a temporary tool) into Argo Navis User catalog files and uploaded via Argonaut. Knightware thanks Wildcard Innovations for their kind assistance while developing support for the Argo Navis.
• Plans are being exported to HTML and viewed on an Android tablet browser.
• Plans are being printed to PDF format and being shared with non-DSP users. They have also been loaded and viewed on a Kindle.

A Plan in Deep-Sky Planner


The same plan converted to PDF (shown in Acrobat Reader) and HTML (shown in Internet Explorer)

DSP5.1 Update - Third beta released for field testing

The third beta build is in the hands of a small number of testers now. The number of bugs reported so far is at a comfortably low level. The next beta release (#4) should contain the final feature additions for version 5.1. Early results from that release will give good visibility for a release date. Please stay tuned.

Feature creep for version 5.1 will include support for an imminent update to OpenAstronomyLog (version 2.1). I also hope there will be some announcements soon about other developers adopting OAL support for their products. I've heard from two that are working on it presently.

Logging integration in the new plan document

PS: The Aug 23 earthquake was felt at the Knightware office. Monitors and lamps shook, but no damage. It's been a weird summer...