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Hello

jthombs

By jthombs
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jthombs

jthombs

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Hi all

Just a quick post to say hello.

I've been observing for a while, mostly self taught with advice from forums and some internet research. I've got a Celestron 114 Astromaster (with a few eyepieces, 32/19/9/6/4) and I've swapped the standard finder scope for a Rigel (which made a world of difference :-) )

I've been learning the constellations and have started using Stellarium and a star atlas for a bit of hopping. I've found the andromeda galaxy and a few of the other Messier objects so far.

I need to improve my planning though as its a bit hap hazard atm

Jon

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi Jon and welcome to the forum. How you construct your observing session is a matter of personal preference, but a little structure to your evening would certainly help you get the most out of a given session given the lack of clear skies at the moment. I would certainly spend part of the evening attempting to learn at least one constellation and perhaps the names of the brighter stars etc and where to locate them. This is a useful exercise as it helps provide you with a sense of scale that certain maps don't provide when you are comparing a given constellation to the whole of the night sky. If available, I would certainly give some time to looking at a given planet too. It is important to train your eye to pick out details that are there, but which can be missed with a cursory glance. On the subject of the solar system, don't forget to include observing the Moon which is a fascinating object revealing many features of interest during the changing phases. You might find downloading a piece of software called Virtiual Moon Atlas helpful in learning where the major craters and features are along with taking a look at the Lunar 100 along with its Map as a further guide to what can be seen.

Wishing you clear skies and hope the above suggestions help you in your astronomical quest. 

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jthombs

jthombs

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Thanks for the welcome and the advice, you are spot on about a bit of planning as I'm just finding stuff rather than finding it and knowing more about it. Any advice on note-taking when observing or planning would be good.

J

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