Re: (SNES) Star hopping / Offsetting

["Les Coleman" <les11@cox.net>]

Gary,

> Could someone explain to me what offsetting is?  I have an idea, but
> wasn't totally sure.

Offsetting was very commonly used in the days before GOTO when telescopes
had setting circles but no other pointing equipment. Due to many factors
(atmospheric refraction, slight errors in R.A. (the R.A. circle must be set
about four times a
night unless clock driven or it gets substantially out of alignment), it was
better to line up on a known object (usually a
bright star, and then set the circles based on it. By moving a fixed amount
(the OFFSET) you could locate a dim object.

We do an informal "offsetting" every time we find something like M57 by
using the two guide stars in the Lyre.

Les Coleman
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