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SS6 Pro Feature Requests | Observations

To make a great product even better, a few comments to help improve the current implementation of observations:

1. There should be a way to access the object info, and to center an object in the screen, from an observation of the object

2. There should be a way to display all objects in a given observing session on the map of the sky (like you can for observing lists)

3. There should be a way to log use of filters in observations (currently this category is missing)

4. Seeing, limiting magnitude, and sky quality should be properties of a session, and cascaded to the observations (with optional ability to override). 

5. In the menu structure, having sessions and observations next to each other feels confusing. It would feel more natural to first click on a session, and there to see the properties of the session as well as the list of observations in the session

Thank you for your consideration.

Date Votes

12 comments

  • 0
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    Bill Tschumy

    Thanks for the suggestions.

    1. I have this planned.

    2. Not sure this will happen

    3. Yes, the filter category is missing.  We hope to add it eventually.  In the meantime, some people are adding a 1x "barlow" with the appropriate filter name.  You can then add them to you observations and they will document the observation.

    4. They sort of are.  When you create a new observation it copies those settings from the previous observation.  You shouldn't have to reset them each time.

    5. I'll give this some thought.

  • 0
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    Peter Arebalo

    Item 1 from above was going to be my next enhancement request.  This particular item would be of great assistance to me and others I have spoken to about this feature.  Item 2, would be a very good addition as well.  Thanks!

  • 0
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    Chris

    I really like #1 as well. For #4, I actually think the current way is best, as I'm taking sky quality meter readings throughout the night and changing them for each observation. If there was only properties for the session, I wouldn't be able to do that. I really appreciate that the settings automatically filter, as Bill said, to other observations created in a session.

  • 0
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    Chris Willis

    +1 for request #1.  This would really be an improvement to be able to see the object info when going back and reviewing and editing your observations.

    Chris

     

  • 0
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    Bill Tschumy

    OK, I've just added an Info button and a Center button to the bottom of the Observation view.  Ou can tap the Info button t bring up the standard object info for the object.  Tapping Done will take you back to your observation.  However, tapping Center closes the observation and takes you to the main chart. There is no easy way to get back to the observation.  Is that OK?  Note, this is on iOS but this will be implemented on all 3 platforms.

  • 0
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    Chris Willis

    Bill, thanks for working on this. Speaking only for myself, it would be great to also be able to get back to the observation from the chart view. Sometimes, for example, I will put something in my notes like "there is a bright star right next to the object" or something similar, and looking at the chart allows you me to identify the star and note its magnitude, adding that detail to my notes. I realize that may be a difficult to program, and there is a am workaround - edit the observations in Livesky and use SS for reference. But in the perfect world,  you could do it all in the app.

    Chris 

  • 0
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    Chris

    Agreed, I go back and forth between my observation and the chart probably 3 times per observation. What I do now is click selection, show observations, then click on the one I'm editing. This is where I wish we'd use the selected observing list menu just above main toolbar to have an option to get back to the'selected observation'.

  • 0
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    Peter Arebalo

    Really appreciate your quick response to our request Bill, and I believe your approach is very good.   It certainly meets the majority of my needs/work flow, and I look forward to its implementation.   Thanks!

  • 0
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    Bill Tschumy

    The alternative to dropping you back to the full sky chart would be to bring up the kind of chart we show for "live adjust" when doing things like adjusting the star magnitude.  This chart doesn't have the toolbar is more of a "read-only" type of chart.  You can't select other objects or really pan around.  I wonder if that approach would be better?  

    There may be other options as well.  Let me mull it over.

  • 0
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    Bill Tschumy

    I would like some feedback on whether showing the object of an Observation in a reduced functionality sky chart would be enough.  As mentioned above, it would sort of be like the view you get on iOS and Android when adjusting things like star magnitude from the Settings.

    There would be no toolbar.  I could allow you to zoom in and out and possibly select other objects (although you could really do anything with them).  Does that meet your needs?

  • 0
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    Chris

    This doesn't sound helpful to me, as I'm consistently exiting the observation so I can pan around, note the brightness of other stars and objects, determine the cardinal direction of galactic elongation, etc. It doesn't sound like I'd be able to do these things in this simpler view.

  • 0
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    Chris Willis

    Bill, what I would say is that I think the ability to see the view, zoom in and out, and select the objects and see their names/ID numbers and magnitudes (in the bar at the top of the window) would be sufficient for me.  Thanks.  

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