Orange Smartie

Conditions on the night are going to make a big difference, I think. I've seen M1, and I know where it is, but last time I looked, I couldn't see it (and I'm in Bortle 4). There was a lot of thin cloud around and everything was very hazy and bright. I would have thought you'd be able to see open clusters ok, like M44 (beehive) - assuming that you can find Cancer, which I have trouble seeing unless it's dark. Double cluster in Perseus is nice.....plus then there are lots of nice double/multiple stars to find.

If you can't make it out to a high spot, there is plenty to see looking up. I'd recommend something like Turn Left at Orion, or alternatively (for free) you could look at the Loughton List, shared by @Tiny Clanger recently: https://las-astro.org.uk/docs/Loughton_List_v2_0.pdf If you get something like Sky Safari (basic version is free) for your phone, you can see what should be easy to find now from your location. Pete

The amount you see will very much depend on the viewing conditions on the night and the objects you're looking at. I've not spent a lot of time looking at planets (at least not with my 6" dob) so can't really comment on that, but at the moment I think Mars is quite far away. You'll clearly be able to tell that it's a planet and not a star as it's a disk rather than a single point of light, but other than that I've not made out a lot of detail yet. Orion nebula (M42) looks amazing, especially with a nice dark sky. I've been really enjoying looking at double and multiple stars - if you have a low horizon to the south you should be able to find the "winter albireo" just below Sirius - lovely colour contrast. My other fave is Almach - a beautiful blue/yellow combo.

Another vote for Turn Left at Orion. I also have a copy of the Cambridge Star Atlas by Wil Tirion, as I like to have a paper reference to read/look at. Skies are seasonal, obviously, so I'm currently making the most of what's visible in the south - Orion, Canis Major, Auriga, Gemini, Lepus etc.

That's beautiful, will have a look at that tonight, conditions permitting. My wife is a big fan of open clusters, so I'm sure she will really appreciate it. Thanks for sharing. Pete

P.S. I think "Brown Dwarf" is a forum status rather than the name of the contributor.

I have to agree with Sunshine that a 6" dob can give you a whole lot of lovely things to look at! Last night I found the Clownface Nebula (aka Eskimo Nebula) and Crab Nebula, loads of open clusters, found the Leo Trio for the first time, took another peek at the Andromeda Galaxy and enjoyed the colourful "winter Albireo" and Almach double stars. All with 6" dob, after about 1 month or less of practice. If I can do it, you can too. Have fun!

Depends on your telescope, I think. My experience is only with reflectors (I have a 6" dobsonian). You'll see the star itself as a single bright point, with diffraction spikes off to the sides. I think (correct me if I'm wrong experienced people) that the number of spikes depends on the number of arms you have holding the secondary mirror in place (I have 3 arms on mine, and see 6 spikes). If you're using a refractor, no spikes. Pete

I second that - Turn Left at Orion is good. With the focussing, I find it best to tweak the focus a little and then take my hands off, to let vibrations damp down again. If the atmosphere is very turbulent, objects change shape a lot - this might give the impression that you're not in focus when you actually are.

It's the first I've seen - but if I can see it in my 6" dob, you should be fine with your 10. Let us know how you get on.

Sounds good! I had a similar mixed night. I actually did manage to see the Eskimo Nebula for the first time, although I had to have several attempts at it before I was sure I was looking at it. Not that it was particularly dim, but it's so small that at first I thought I was looking at another star. https://freestarcharts.com/ngc-2392 East/South East of Wasat you'll see 63 Gem. Slightly SE of that you'll see another, dimmer star, with what looks like a companion star - switch to a higher mag and it'll look like a disk. When you know what you're looking at, it becomes a lot easier. Good luck!

Yes! I think I just saw them. Very very faint, pretty much smack bang between Iota Leonis and Chertan. Three fuzzy blobs, all very dim, but very definitely there.

The skywatcher heritage 150p and 130p don't have a tripod as such. They are Dobsonian telescopes - which means they are mounted on a very simple "alt-az" mount - in basic terms that means you turn the telescope on its base from side to side and tip it up and down to point it at the target you wish to look at. Because the mounting is so simple (and cheap to make), it is very easy to use and you probably get more for your money in terms of the optics. For normal viewing, you just put the telescope on a table or stool etc (I have a little table made out of scrap wood that I use for mine).

I promise you that the 150p is real - here is a link to it on the First Light Optics website: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/heritage/sky-watcher-heritage-150p-flextube-dobsonian-telescope.html You'll get about 44% extra light with the 150p than you would with the 130 and it's still quite small and compact. If you have budget left over, you might consider some upgraded eyepieces as the ones that come with this telescope are not that good. Lots of people (myself included) like the BST starguiders - there are plenty of discussions on this forum that could point you in the direction of which would suit you. Pete

I've owned a telescope on an EQ mount and I personally would not recommend it for a beginner. They sound appealing (you can, in theory, track the movement of the stars) but if you're trying to zip all over the sky to get the "low hanging fruit" of easier objects, which you probably will be doing when you start, they are not so easy to move from one point to another. I recently bought a Skywatcher 150p heritage dobsonian - yes, you need something (bucket/box/stool) to stand it on, but it collapses down very small and weighs no more than about 7kg. Plus it's 150mm of aperture - good views! If you are dead set on going down the refractor route, personally at this price point I would stick with an alt-az mount. But I'm a beginner, so others may disagree! Pete

Still no joy yet. There was broken cloud last night, which never quite cleared enough to allow a proper look at the lower part of Leo. We managed to split Algieba though, and we took a look at the beehive cluster, M35 and the double cluster in Perseus again (easily visible to the naked eye as a smudge of light). All this accompanied by the slightly off-putting vibration of the telescope as our cat rubbed himself against the table legs.... Since Orion will soon be lost to us for a time, we took the opportunity to once again admire the nebula and to split the easy double Mintaka. One cheeky peek at Beta Monocerotis and the cloud rolled in! I will be back out to look at Leo at the next possible opportunity.

It's sounds like I was looking in the wrong place then maybe. I'll take another look tonight, weather permitting.

No need to apologise! Being on topic is over-rated anyway. Do you have Turn Left at Orion? I got hold of it in the last week or so and it's very useful for giving an outline of seasonal targets (and stuff we in the Northern Hemispher can see all the time). Of course it doesn't help you if you're looking in the wrong direction, as I have proved!

Wow!

That's amazing....aperture fever is starting to grip me! If I'm not careful, my house will be like Jodrell Bank by the end of the year.

Nice one! I can't complain - I had my first look at the double cluster in Perseus, and M44.

Good luck with that! I've got maybe 1-3 hours tonight when it might be ok, but other than that it's all red on clearoutside until Wednesday night, which is perfect.....but I'm busy with something else!

Many thanks, both. I'm Bortle 4 as well, but as you say, may have been high cloud in the way - many stars were visible to the naked eye, but I guess that doesn't give the whole picture. Do you think I'd pick them up with 8x42 binoculars? If so, might be worth checking with these first next time, so I'm sure I'm in the vicinity. Pete

On Wednesday, I was blessed with a nice clear night, during which one of my targets was the Leo triplet (M65/66 and NGC3628). I thought I saw some faint hint of a DSO in the search area, but nothing very obvious, and this was on a night so dark that I couldn't see my hand in front of my face! How bright should these 3 be in a 6 inch dob?

Good to know, thanks.