Variables. I spend a few minutes on one target, then perhaps 20 on another, then off to another. Repeat for a few hours.
Setting the dome and letting them drift is the essence of my request. There are a few dozen eruptives in the BAA-VSS program. In what order should I observe them on a given night so that they drift past the open slit which has been set to a particular azimuth? Ordering by increasing RA is useful if the azimuth is 180 degrees and the declination is south of +28 degrees (my site is on La Palma at 28N) but many variables are at much higher declinations. In practice my chart collection is ordered primarily by RA (in 30 minute zones) then by Dec, south to north. I just flip pages in the binder and observe in order. It’s not a bad solution, by and large, but neither is it a good one if the objects are at high Dec or far from the meridian.
Of course, another approach would be to persuade the BAA-VSS to adopt some variables which barely rise from 52N. Somehow, I think I may have difficulties with that one. 😉