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My buddy insisted I use a $20 star tracker app instead of my manual star-hopping method
He said it would save me hours finding Andromeda, so I caved and downloaded it on a clear night in February. First try I accidentally pointed my scope at a communications satellite instead, and that app just kept spinning. Has anyone else found these apps actually mess with your accuracy or is it just me not figuring out the calibration right?
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olivia_wilson1mo agoMost Upvoted
Man I had the exact same thing happen to me with one of those apps. The problem is they rely on your phone's compass and gyro which are garbage for precision astro work. You gotta calibrate by holding the phone against your scope tube and doing a two star alignment in the app before you start. Even then I found the app would drift after an hour or so. Honestly for Andromeda just learn the Great Square of Pegasus trick and star hop from Mirach, that's way more reliable than fighting with a finicky app on a cold night. Did you try covering your phone with a red filter to not mess with your night vision while using the app?
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amyr571mo ago
Nah, red filter slipped off my mount after 10 minutes. Ended up memorizing the star hop from Cassiopeia instead, way less hassle.
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