July's Clear Skies Observing Guides Objects of the Month:

July 2014, Northern
Constellation: Hercules

  • Carbon star RR Herculis
  • Planetary nebula Vyssotsky 1-2
  • Galaxy NGC6181


July 2014, Southern
Constellation: Circinus, the Draftman's Compass

  • Carbon star AS Circini
  • Planetary nebula Henize 2-120
  • Galaxy PGC50779


A free download on the Samples page.

To demonstrate the CSOG concept, guides are included in all four image orientation options. Matching tours and AstroPlanner planfiles are included.
Not familiar with AstroPlanner yet? Download the application on the Astroplanner website and give the (.apd) planfiles a try.

With paper rapidly becoming obsolete in visual amateur astronomy, CSOG brings your tablet to the eyepiece.


How CSOG stands out

- CSOG is truly all sky, covering all of the northern and southern hemisphere and all of the 88 constellations.
- It is a digital publication intended to primarily be used at the telescope's eyepiece.
- It is the first publication to:

  • list all DSO's and carbon stars visible in telescopes up to 12 inches in aperture, in detail (well over 14000 -fourteen thousand- objects, including all Herschel DSO's and all DSO's in Burnham's Celestial Handbook)
  • provide a complete list of carbon stars up to mag. 11
  • use an ergonomic "observing card" style layout in a dedicated dark color scheme, perfect for use on tablets
  • list object synonyms, not just the most commonly used designation
  • clearly list useful information: classification, magnitude, size, position angle, etc.
  • include a DSS image for every object, uniformly scaled, uncompressed and with a known orientation: a "standard candle" for visual*astronomy
  • be available in editions with mirrored or unmirrored images to best match the view in your eyepiece
  • contain a field description for each object, with bearing and distance to stars and objects in the vicinity
  • sort objects not purely in R.A. (right ascension) but in an order that minimizes the distance between them, using "blocks of declination" where required
  • include matching tourfiles for Meade Autostar, Celestron NexRemote and EQMOD controlled telescopes, and AstroPlanner planfiles
  • be available in:
    - Constellation Editions by telescope aperture and celestial hemisphere
    and the following catalogues and lists:
    - Messier ($5.95)
    - Lacaille ($3.95)
    - Dunlop ($14.95)
    - All Herschel ($34.95)
    - Herschel 400 ($14.95)
    - Herschel II ($14.95)
    - Caldwell ($5.95)
    - Bennett ($7.95)
    - Palomar ($1.95)
    - Terzan ($1.95)
    - Hickson ($9.95)


Give it a go and don't forget to share your observations!