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Finding an object in the sky can be hard; especially if your a beginner and do not have a computer control telescope. Even with star charts, finding an object can be difficult because the stars in the sky are often more numerous than the stars shown on a chart. This calculator will not find an object for you, but it will help you find the correct part of the sky to look.
To make the calculator work, you'll read the right ascension and declination off of a chart or from a listing, and input it into the calculator. The calculator will give you the altatude and aszimuth (the degrees read off of a compass) of the object. If you're telescope has altitude and aszimuth markings, or if you can make the markings yourself, you should be able to point your scope very close to what you're looking for.
This calculator is actually an Excel spreadsheet. So you'll need a spreadsheet that can read Excel files. I wrote this program to be used with my Pocket PC. But any computer that can read Excel will do. Also you'll need to know the latitude and longitude of your observation site (look it up on the web). And your difference from Universal Time. (If you're in the Central Time Zone, the difference is 6 hours. Decrease 1 hour for each time zone as you go east, add hours if you go west.)
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