Use cases
Object Planner — where it earns its place
On Object Planner —
Half of stargazing happens at the kitchen table, deciding what deserves the next clear night. The Object Planner keeps your target list ready: the object, when it's best seen, and a notes box for RA/Dec and anything else you'll want at the eyepiece. On this page: three concrete ways the amateur in the old sense — someone who loves the thing for itself reaches for the Object Planner, and the signals that tell you it fits.
When the Object Planner earns its place
As a tracker, the Object Planner keeps target, best seen, and ra/dec, notes — no more, no less — so the record is small enough to actually read back.
Most tools in this category — hobby-tracker apps festooned with ads, community platforms that mine the log — solve a version of the same problem, then bill you monthly for the privilege of remembering it. The Object Planner takes the opposite bargain: one file, once, kept.
Three scenarios drawn from astronomy, stargazing, and night
The everyday one: you open the Object Planner on a Tuesday morning, log what needs logging, and close it. Two minutes. The record is more honest than the app that pinged you to remind you.
The specific one: — the workflow it names is the record that most needs a home outside a subscription. Some people use only the Object Planner. Some fold it into a Swiss Knife next to five others. Both are correct.
The out-of-band one: months later, you want to look back. The Object Planner still opens because it is a file. There is no login lapsed, no export deadline missed. The record is where you left it.
Signals it fits the amateur in the old sense — someone who loves the thing for itself
You want a hobby log that behaves like a document, not a service. You are comfortable typing your own numbers in. You would rather own the file than rent the log. Weight in the knife: 1. Manual: no manual — the tool is its own instructions.
Signals it fits
- You do this kind of record-keeping more than onceThe Object Planner pays back every time you don't have to reinvent the shape.
- You want it offline, on your own machineNo account, no cloud, no vendor between you and the record.
- You're comfortable with a hand-kept fileThe Object Planner is a document. It behaves like one.
Questions people ask
How do I plan which objects to observe on a clear night?
You build the list in advance — target, the season or month it's best placed, and its coordinates in the notes. Then when the forecast turns kind, you're choosing from a menu instead of starting from scratch.
Is this a full replacement for hobby-tracker apps festooned with ads?
For the working core of what most people use it for — yes. For enterprise features (team seats, integrations, auto-import), no. The Object Planner is deliberately smaller and more honest about its scope.
Who is the Object Planner not for?
The amateur in the old sense — someone who loves the thing for itself's opposite: a team that needs shared cloud state, or someone who wants automation over ownership. Use a SaaS for that; use this for the file.
A hobby log that opens where you left it, on the machine you left it on.