I guess I just am not used to using goto, I have many doubles logged in my Tirion Atlas and I have never bothered to log the SAO designations. Without an atlas I have many in memory and the names I remember them by are not SAO designations. It is generally easier not to bother with goto unless the scope is hard to move manually (the Grim). I mainly use coordinates, with Tirion, to verify I am looking at the star I want to, along with Sissy Haas's book.

Thanks for the cross-referenced list though, I will try it. Erik wrote:

...

Using goto seems problematic with double stars, once you get past the most popular.

Not at all. I've used it for one season on my ETX 125 at home and part of a season at a UofU Physics Meade LX200. In a light polluted environment, using a cross-reference list to SAO is indispensible and is superior to slewing by inputing coordinates. If you first synch your scope to a nearby bright star before slewing to the final SAO double destination, it pretty much hits the double right on every time, even in the mini 1/3 degree LX200 TFOV under light polluted skies, except for catalogue cross-reference errors.

- Kurt

P.S. - Please also note my Oct 2010 posted table for a general LX200 Meade Handbox to SAO stellar cross-reference list -

Table: Cross-reference Bayer-Flamsteed-to-SAO for 1822 stars brighter than mag 5.5 visible above -40° dec

http://fisherka.csolutionshosting.net/astronote/plan/mansetcir/html/LX200SAO...

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