How to star hop

1 Go old school

The simple solution to finding a celestial object is to use ‘GoTo’ systems on a modern telescope. These orientate a telescope to a desired object with almost no user input. If not available, you must star hop: navigate through the night sky by jumping from one known celestial object to another. When using small, mobile scopes, this is often an essential skill.

2 Get chart friendly

To star hop there are a few things you need, and a star chart is a must-have – one that shows stars and other objects clearly. While you can probably see the chart’s contents clearly when you buy it in the middle of the day, at night it will be – hopefully – pitch black at your stargazing spot. To see properly, make sure you partner the chart with a redlight torch.

3 Find your field

Determine the field of view (FOV) of your binoculars or telescope. This is written on binoculars, but not telescopes. To find it on telescopes divide the apparent FOV of the eyepiece, usually specified by the manufacturer, by the telescope’s magnification. The finderscope has a larger FOV than the main scope, so start with your lowest magnification eyepiece.

4 Try templating

It’s useful to have an FOV template too. This can be achieved with a few square centimetres of clear plastic, a drawing compass and a felttip pen. Find a star on the chart, centre the view finder on it, check the stars on the edge of the FOV and then draw a circle on the plastic with the compass point on the star in the middle of the FOV. This will encircle the stars on the edge of the field.

5 Star hop to target

Find a bright or easily recognisable star in the middle of your scope’s FOV. Note the stars at the edge of the field in the direction your target object lies in. Move the scope so the stars that were at the edge of the FOV on one side are now on the other. Repeat to find more chart-recognisable stars. You can jump across the night sky using the chart as a map to follow your target.