Easy targets for a newbie

[Sonicfishcake42]

Hi guys. My stepdad picked up his 200p dob today and clear skies predicted for tonight (I know what a shock!) He comes equipt with Turn Left at the Orion, Planisphere, skychart, rigel finder etc.

He's never had a telescope before and I've been as helpful as I can be in terms of finding things in a scope. I use a goto so I'm not great at advising where things are, I can only comment on what targets i think will be easier/brighter to find. 

I've told him to aim towards dumbbell nebula, wild duck cluster, double cluster & andromeda.

Are there any more 'easy' targets for a complete newbie, he's in a town with a fair bit of light pollution however not to the extent of London. Are there any recommended targets for a newbie with a 200p that would be brighter/easier to find from scratch?

Or any useful websites you guys may have found in selecting good targets with a dob?

Thanks in advance. And of course I have sent him the link to this website and advised him to join  

Regards.
James 

[cotterless45]

Free monthly downloads, easy,

http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.htmlNick.

[fondofchips]

One thing you haven't mentioned is Stellarium, a free program that shows where things are and what time is best to look at them.

I always say that starting with the nearest brightest object first is the best way to start, Moon, Jupiter and so on.  The Moon is rising quite late at the moment, around midnight and Jupiter is too close the Sun.  Have a go at the Orion Nebula (M42) if you stay up late enough.

So the easy targets are not so easy at the moment.

Any practice with the scope will help for later viewing sessions.

Have fun & clear skies to you.

Cheers,

Fondofchips.

[Paul73]

M27 - Ring Nebula is one of the brightest and easiest to find.

m13 - Herculese Cluster is also a relatively easy to find crows pleaser.

Otherwise the list looks good.

Don't forget to tell him about searching with finder and low mag and then upping the mag once found.

Paul

[Astro Imp]

Easy and spectacular Albireo, use the 25mm eyepiece. Then work your way up the swan's neck for some great wide field star views.

Good luck.

[Sonicfishcake42]

Great stuff guys! I might have to download stellarium myself, I've only ever used Skyportal app. I didn't even know Orion was visible yet! What sort of time is good to catch it? 

And good call on the ring neb! That was an impressive sight the first time I viewed through my scope I don't think I've seen hercules cluster yet so will give that one a shot myself! I don't think there's really anything to look at planetary-wise for a beginner, Saturn is too low (for me at least) and Jupiter has off and gone. Only the morning planets really. 

Any idea when we get Saturn and Jupiter back with a decent viewing position in the sky? 

Thanks again guys good stuff  

[Relpet]

Hi guys. My stepdad picked up his 200p dob today and clear skies predicted for tonight (I know what a shock!) He comes equipt with Turn Left at the Orion, Planisphere, skychart, rigel finder etc.

He's never had a telescope before and I've been as helpful as I can be in terms of finding things in a scope. I use a goto so I'm not great at advising where things are, I can only comment on what targets i think will be easier/brighter to find. 

I've told him to aim towards dumbbell nebula, wild duck cluster, double cluster & andromeda.

Are there any more 'easy' targets for a complete newbie, he's in a town with a fair bit of light pollution however not to the extent of London. Are there any recommended targets for a newbie with a 200p that would be brighter/easier to find from scratch?

Or any useful websites you guys may have found in selecting good targets with a dob?

Thanks in advance. And of course I have sent him the link to this website and advised him to join  

Regards.

James 

Dave in Vermont recommended The Sky Live recently as a useful website (http://theskylive.com) and it's bowled me over.  You can set your precise location and then examine the night sky as it will be from any time you set to match the time you expect to be stargazing.  Times are in UTC so you have to adjust for your local time and to retain the location you have to allow cookies in your browser, otherwise you have to reset the location every time (unless you happen to live in Greenwich!).  You can swing the view to your preferred direction and adjust up or down.  It will show bodies below the horizon so you'll know why you can't see them and outline the constellations for navigation.  You can specify objects you especially want to see. You can save the image or print for reference later.  As a newcomer myself I would expect your stepfather to find this facility to be as useful as I do, but, naturally, in addition to the recommendations already made by the ever helpful senior Loungers.

Stellarium won't run on my old laptop but Carte du Ciel will so if he has the same problem as me with Stellarium he can try Carte du Ciel.  Like Stellarium this can switch to night mode so won't blind him in the dark.

I hope your stepdad gets as much pleasure from his 8" Dob as I've been getting from mine since taking up this pastime earlier this year.

[Starmanwaitinginthesky2015]

Thanks for all the helpful tips on this thread. A big help for me as a newbie! I've been looking for a site/program to help me with what's visible in my sky. I've looked at the moon, Saturn was good to see also, even though it was very small and low in the sky. 

[Victoria1410]

I would also like to thank everyone for the help.  As another Newbie, it was very good to read this thread.

[Chinaman4u]

I have been mostly observing Saturn, Vega, then the Vega triangle with the double stars on the one corner. From there the triangle points to the ring nebula.  The ring nebular is straight up, so its easy to see(the sky is clearer looking straight up).    I am a noob, too!  These objets are easy to find for me to find, as I familiarize myself with my equipment. I also use stellarium(software on computer) and tonightssky(website).  

And of course  don't forget the moon. :-)