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brian_lock

By brian_lock
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brian_lock

brian_lock

Posted
Posted

Hi,

My name is Brian Lock, am 61 years old and have finally decided to take plunge into star gazing.

My background for last 15 years is working in IT, advising clients on all aspects.

Interested in general photography, use Samsung GX10.

Having spent a month reading up on astronomy I borrowed a friends 4" telescope to try out.  Great detail, however I felt I would be better off with Binoculars, so I could use them for terrestial use as well.  Plumped for Helios Apollo 10.5 x 70.  Also purchased Horizon 8115 tripod.  Initially was thinking of monopod but went to Wide Screen Centre and after interesting discussion went for tripod.

Went out last night when rain stopped. Looking at sky saw just a handful of stars.  Looked through binos and was amazed at the number of stars I could now see.  Spent an hour just randomly wandering the sky.  Best fun I've had in ages.  Looking forward ti next clear night.

Any tips about how to start gazing in a structured way would be most welcome.

Back to the day job now.

Brian

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swag72

swag72

Posted
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Hi Brian and welcome to SGL. There's a very good binocular section on the forum and one of the regular members is a Sky At Night magazine contributor. If you download the free planetarium software Stellarium, that may help you plan your observing a little.

Look forward to seeing you around :smiley:

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ronin

ronin

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You will need a book that you can get along with. My preference is the monthly sky guide by Ridpath+Tirion. Simply I prefer the way it is presented.

Then get out and start recognising the constellations.

For binoculars yo uwill be best advised to consider the clusters.

Ones like the double cluster, Hercules etc, there are a lot of them.

Then start tracking them down in the binoculars.

They would show M42 (Orion Nebula) but it is basically below the horizon now.

You will get some double stars, again the binoculars do not hav great magnification.

Few ideas:
Wiki list if messier objects, will give all the clusters in the Messier list: MessierL List can be reordered by clicking at the top of the type column,

Try astroleague for a set of observing lists: AstroL

Caldwell objects, catalogue made by SPM to compliment the Messier list.

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Owmuchonomy

Owmuchonomy

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Hi Brian, as post 7 above, as a beginner I purchased 'Turn Left at Orion'.  It is a great text designed precisely for someone in your position and put me on the right track for observing.  It is split by objects visible by the seasons and so you can narrow down your viewing time to suit the time of year.

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Floater

Floater

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Welcome.

I, too, am learning - but with a telescope (eyepieces, focal lengths, cooling times, and other such bothersome things which shouldn't affect a bino viewer!).

Bottom line is, enjoy.

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