Observation Plans
What are observation plans?
Observation plans are personal lists of astronomical objects you want to observe. They help you organize a night at the eyepiece around a goal instead of randomly hopping across the sky.
- Group targets by theme, season, or observing challenge (e.g. a Messier Marathon or a double star tour).
- Track your progress — already observed objects get ticked off automatically when you log them.
- Add objects from the Catalog, Lists, Tonight, or directly from the Star Map.
What are Auto Plans?
Auto Plans build a curated observing list in seconds. Pick a date, session length, sky directions, minimum altitude, and object types — the algorithm scores catalog targets against your telescope, location and Bortle sky, and only keeps what's realistically visible.
- Uses the same visibility model as the catalog pages, so picks match your aperture and sky conditions.
- Highlights special events in your window — conjunctions, occultations, bright comets — and adds Moon and planets where relevant.
- Skips targets you've logged recently and balances object types for variety.
