Editing Amateur astronomy (section)

== Common techniques ==
{{More citations needed section|date=September 2017}}
While a number of interesting celestial objects are readily identified by the naked eye, sometimes with the aid of a star chart, many others are so faint or inconspicuous that technical means are necessary to locate them. Although many methods are used in amateur astronomy, most are variations of a few specific techniques.{{according to whom|date=September 2017}}

=== Star hopping ===
{{Main|Star hopping}}
'''Star hopping''' is a method often used by amateur astronomers with low-tech equipment such as binoculars or a manually driven telescope.  It involves the use of maps (or memory) to locate known landmark stars, and "hopping" between them, often with the aid of a [[finderscope]].  Because of its simplicity, star hopping is a very common method for finding objects that are close to naked-eye stars.

More advanced methods of locating objects in the sky include [[telescope mount]]s with ''setting circles'', which allow pointing to targets in the sky using [[celestial coordinates]], and ''GOTO telescopes'', which are fully automated telescopes that are capable of locating objects on demand (having first been calibrated).

===Mobile apps===
The advent of [[mobile app]]lications for use in smartphones has led to the creation of many dedicated apps.<ref>{{cite news |title=Amateur Stargazing With a GPS Tour Guide (Published 2013) |work=The New York Times |date=February 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412064053/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/28/technology/personaltech/stargazing-apps-for-amateur-astronomers.html |archive-date=2023-04-12 |url-status=live |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/28/technology/personaltech/stargazing-apps-for-amateur-astronomers.html |last1=Eaton |first1=Kit }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Turn Your Smartphone into an Astronomy Toolbox with Mobile Apps |date=2017-06-02 |website=[[Space.com]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417103044/https://www.space.com/37066-smartphone-astronomy-toolbox-mobile-apps.html |archive-date=2023-04-17 |url-status=live |url=https://www.space.com/37066-smartphone-astronomy-toolbox-mobile-apps.html}}</ref> These apps allow any user to easily locate celestial objects of interest by simply pointing the smartphone device in that direction in the sky. These apps make use of the inbuilt hardware in the phone, such as [[GPS]] location and [[gyroscope]]. Useful information about the pointed object like celestial coordinates, the name of the object, its constellation, etc. are provided for a quick reference. Some paid versions give more information. These apps are gradually getting into regular use during observing, for the alignment process of telescopes.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/daylight-polar-alignment/ |title=Daylight Polar Alignment Made Easy |date=May 19, 2017 |access-date=April 15, 2018 |archive-date=April 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180416200509/http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/daylight-polar-alignment/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Setting circles ===
{{Main|Setting circles}}
'''Setting circles''' are [[angular measurement]] scales that can be placed on the two main [[Rotation around a fixed axis|rotation axes]] of some telescopes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Use your telescope mount's setting circles to find celestial objects |url=https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/how-to-master-setting-circles |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=BBC Sky at Night Magazine |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=MacRobert |first=Alan |date=2006-07-28 |title=The Setting Circles on Your Telescope |url=https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-resources/the-setting-circles-on-your-telescope/ |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=Sky & Telescope |language=en-US}}</ref>  Since the widespread adoption of digital setting circles, any classical engraved setting circle is now specifically identified as an "analog setting circle" (ASC).  By knowing the [[coordinate]]s of an object (usually given in [[equatorial coordinates]]), the telescope user can use the setting circle to align (i.e., point) the telescope in the appropriate direction before looking through its [[eyepiece]].  A computerized setting circle is called a "digital setting circle" (DSC).  Although digital setting circles can be used to display a telescope's [[right ascension|RA]] and [[declination|Dec]] coordinates, they are not simply a digital read-out of what can be seen on the telescope's analog setting circles.  As with go-to telescopes, digital setting circle computers (commercial names include Argo Navis, Sky Commander, and NGC Max) contain databases of tens of thousands of celestial objects and projections of planet positions.

To find a celestial object in a telescope equipped with a DSC computer, one does not need to look up the specific RA and Dec coordinates in a book or other resource, and then adjust the telescope to those numerical readings. Rather, the object is chosen from the electronic database, which causes distance values and arrow markers to appear in the display that indicate the distance and direction to move the telescope. The telescope is moved until the two angular distance values reach zero, indicating that the telescope is properly aligned. When both the RA and Dec axes are thus "zeroed out", the object should be in the eyepiece. Many DSCs, like go-to systems, can also work in conjunction with laptop sky programs.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

Computerized systems provide the further advantage of computing coordinate precession. Traditional printed sources are subtitled by the [[Epoch (astronomy)|''epoch'' year]], which refers to the positions of celestial objects at a given time to the nearest year (e.g., J2005, J2007).  Most such printed sources have been updated for intervals of only about every fifty years (e.g., J1900, J1950, J2000).  Computerized sources, on the other hand, are able to calculate the right ascension and declination of the "epoch of date" to the exact instant of observation.<ref name="Argo2008">{{cite web|url=http://cvas.cvas-north.com/Manuals/Argo%20Navis%20Manual.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://cvas.cvas-north.com/Manuals/Argo%20Navis%20Manual.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Argo Navis : User Manual 10 |page=93|access-date=January 28, 2018}}</ref>

===GoTo telescopes===
{{Main|GoTo (telescopes)}}
'''GOTO telescopes''' have become more popular since the 1980s as technology has improved and prices have been reduced.  With these computer-driven telescopes, the user typically enters the name of the item of interest and the mechanics of the telescope point the telescope towards that item automatically.  They have several notable advantages for amateur astronomers intent on research.  For example, GOTO telescopes tend to be faster for locating items of interest than star hopping, allowing more time for studying of the object.  GOTO also allows manufacturers to add equatorial tracking to mechanically simpler alt-azimuth telescope mounts, allowing them to produce an overall less expensive product. GOTO telescopes usually have to be calibrated using alignment stars to provide accurate tracking and positioning. However, several telescope manufacturers have recently developed telescope systems that are calibrated with the use of built-in GPS, decreasing the time it takes to set up a telescope at the start of an observing session.

==={{anchor|Remote-controlled telescope}} Remote-controlled telescopes===
With the development of fast internet in the last part of the 20th century along with advances in computer controlled telescope mounts and CCD cameras, "remote telescope" astronomy is now a viable means for amateur astronomers not aligned with major telescope facilities to partake in research and deep sky imaging. This enables anyone to control a telescope a great distance away in a dark location. The observer can image through the telescope using CCD cameras. The digital data collected by the telescope is then transmitted and displayed to the user by means of the Internet. An example of a digital remote telescope operation for public use via the Internet is the [[Bareket observatory]], and there are telescope farms in New Mexico,<ref>{{cite web |title=Remote Observatories |url=http://www.nmskies.com/ |website=www.nmskies.com |access-date=October 4, 2015 |archive-date=September 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150920215327/http://www.nmskies.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Australia and [[Atacama Desert#Astronomical observatories|Atacama]] in Chile.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Maury |first1=Alain |title=SPACE : A cost effective solution for your observatory |url=http://www.spaceobs.com/en/content/download/73/6584/version/3/file/hosting-condition-telescope-chile.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.spaceobs.com/en/content/download/73/6584/version/3/file/hosting-condition-telescope-chile.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref>