An easy to navigate software that automates your star-hopping needs
WORDS: STEVE RICHARDS
VITAL STATS
• Price €21
• Delivery method Download
• Manual Online PDF and videos
• Updates Available online
• System requirements Windows 10, Intel Core i5 processor or equivalent, 4GB RAM, ASCOM platform (latest), .NET 5.0 platform (not compatible with macOS)
• Developer Pindusoft
• Email via ‘Contact’ page on website (see below)
• www.starhopemaker.com
The fickle UK weather means that whenever there is an opportunity to observe, it is important to be prepared. However, despite the incredible number of celestial objects available for observation, it is all too easy to be caught out by an unexpected clear sky with no observing plan at the ready. In these circumstances Star-Hop Maker could be your best friend, as the software offers the opportunity to prepare a series of observing sessions in advance, with hops from one object to the next readily available one under the computer control of your mount. Star-hopping is already a popular, tried and tested method for moving from one known celestial object – like an easily recognisable star – to a more tricky target. By automating each hop, the Star-Hop Maker program takes this process to a new level.
Star-Hop Maker is available as a 110MB download with both a 30-day free trial version and a paid-for version that is licensed for use on two computers. Note that it is only available for PC computers and there is no macOS version of the app. A free Android app is available that can access star hops generated by the desktop version from your Google Drive account, although we were unable to test this as we didn’t have a suitable smartphone available. We found the installation of the main program on both our Windows 10 desktop PC and laptop PC proved to be fast and straightforward.
Setting your location
Before the software can be used, there is a little housekeeping to be performed so that the program knows something about your observing location and equipment. Your location can be conveniently entered using an interactive online map of the world to pinpoint where you observe from, or if you know your latitude and longitude you can enter these measurements directly. Equipment choices include your telescope, binoculars, eyepieces, a Barlow lens, a focal reducer and filters. You can also select the driver for your mount so that automated slews to your selected object can be carried out. We used an ASCOM driver for our review and this worked flawlessly. (ASCOM is an industry-standard interface that allows different pieces of astronomical equipment to communicate with each other.)
A typical Star-Hop Maker generation session is started by producing a new ‘Session’ file from the ‘Session’ tab in the top menu and choosing a suitable name for it. This process stores a range of useful data about the session for examination, analysis and archiving later on. ‘Object’ selection follows and there are two types of Star-Hop to choose from: a ‘PSH’ (Prepared Star-Hop), which makes use of the program’s search functions to produce a list of candidates; and a ‘BSH’ (Blind Star-Hop), which operates by allowing you to choose each object manually until the session is complete. We concentrated on the ‘PSH’ process as this allowed us to test the effectiveness of the search functions.
A raft of useful resources
Several deep-sky catalogues and star catalogues are included, and searches can be refined using the supplied tools to zero-in on the types of celestial object that you wish to observe. With your search preferences set, the databases are queried and the software generates a list of objects meeting your criteria, presenting the results in a table format. The numerous columns within the table contain useful information about each object, including a ‘smiley face’ icon – ranging from a sad face through to a beaming smile – which is an indicator of how low or high the altitude of a target is, and therefore the best observing conditions. Useful black and white images accompanying each object will help you to decide on the final observing session list.
With the final list populated, the ‘Sky-Chart’ changes to an annotated version with all your chosen objects encircled and joined by straight lines indicating the order in which the observing session will run. If you want to alter the hop order, you can do so either by dragging objects in the table to a different position or dragging the circles on the chart to a different object. Furthermore, you can add additional objects to the Star-Hop plan by holding down the ‘Alt’ key while dragging a box around the area in which the new object(s) reside to produce a list of objects within the boundary box that you can select and then drag onto the existing list.
Finally, you run the ‘Star-Hop Runner’ module, which is automatically populated with the objects from your list and the observing session begins! Star-Hop Maker is suitable for all levels of experience, from beginners to seasoned observers, and it particularly comes into its own when it’s coupled with a Go-To mount.
A feature-packed sky chart
As well as being an important part of the Star-Hop Maker process itself, the ‘Sky-Chart’ is a very useful standalone resource for researching the night sky and it has a reasonably good complement of search features. ‘Stars’ can be explored by ‘Constellation’, while ‘Deep-sky Objects’ can be searched by ‘Messier’, ‘NGC’ or ‘IC’ catalogue numbers, and there is a quick ‘Constellation’ chooser for a general search. With the ‘Sky-Chart Photo Viewer’ enabled, if you rest the mouse cursor on a deep-sky object, it will automatically download a black and white image from the SDSS (Sloan Digital Sky Survey) image database with a table of useful data alongside including rise, transit and set times for reference.
If you hold down the ‘Alt’ key and drag a box over a region of the night sky, it produces a dialogue box that lists the stars and other objects within the box, although this feature didn’t always work first time. Because the image and other data have to be collected from an online server, it can sometimes take several seconds of apparent inactivity before the data box appears.
Although not a photorealistic view of the night sky, we found this ‘Sky-Chart’ feature very useful for planning our Star-Hop Maker sessions.
KIT TO ADD
1. A Windows 10 PC or laptop.
2. A suitable ASCOM-driven Go-To mount.
3. A visual or imaging telescope.
VERDICT
