Finding Saturn (or anything else?)

[flapjackboy]

It was a clear night up at Durham last night so I took my scope out and it was a pretty good evening The big problem I had though was that for the life of me I couldnt find Saturn; my understanding is that its in Leo, looking like Leo is about to pounce on it (to put it simply).

Im sure I could see it with my own eyes, the problem was I couldnt find it in my scope. I could find Regulus on the left of it, but when I moved the scope to where I thought Saturn should be I just saw dark Does anyone have any advice on finding Saturn, or advice when trying to find anything for that matter? Thoughts on finder scopes would be appreciated too, as I dont think mine was in line...cheers.

[Whippy]

Basically if your finder is not aligned, then you're not going to er, find anything.

As it's summer, it does make life a little easier. Set your scope up early evening and point it at the furthest thing away that you can see. Align your finder with what's in the eyepiece. My garden is surrounded with houses so my furthest thing is a tv aerial about 100 yards away, something small will help! Then wait for it to get dark and then look for something bright in the sky, like Venus or one of the bighter stars, say Capella. Polaris is probably best as it won't hardly move when you're doing all this. Then re-align the finder with the view from your eyepiece and that should do you. Get it as exact as you can because your finder has a much larger field of view than your eyepieces and the closer you can get it aligned, the more accurate your finding will be.

[MikeD]

Also after you get your finder aligned, try keeping both eyes open when looking through it .

you will then get a view of the cross hairs of the finder super imposed onto your naked eye view of the sky,then just move the scope until the super imposed crosshairs reach the star/ planet you are looking at with your naked eye.

when you get close you should see the star/ planet appere in the finder scope view too.

Hope that makes sense and helps.

[Cloudgazer]

As has already been said having your finder aligned properly is essential.. I found Polaris the best target to use for getting the alignment spot on.

What type of scope are you using FJB?

Scott

[Cloudwatcher]

Agree with all the above.

Have you tried a Red Dot Finder? Your field of view is not restricted with a RDF which makes

initial spotting of your target easier. Bit like aiming a rifle really.

Oh and to state the obvious, use a wide angle eye piece on the scope to begin with.

Good hunting.

[The Warthog]

Oh and to state the obvious, use a wide angle eye piece on the scope to begin with.

That isn't so obvious...

[Greg]

You'll find Saturn in the South West..at 2200 hrs..

[The Warthog]

At present, I look for the two brightest stars in Leo's head, Regulate and Algebra, and look to the right for a star about the same brightness, slightly yellow, making an isosceles triangle with them. That one is Saturn.

[Cloudwatcher]

Nice route map Wart,with the added bonus of Algebra at the top of the triangle being a bright double.

Takes you back to ones schooldays. Double Algebra and Trigonometry. Yuk.

[SteveL]

I recommend using the freeware package Stellarium ( http://www.stellarium.org/ ) to at least get some idea of where to look before you go out and view. I also use Starry Night Pro, but thats a bit pricey to start with.

[flapjackboy]

Thanks for the responses Ill have a go at aligning the finder scope with plaris next time im out (im using a reflector), and will look into a red dot finder I think. Ive used Stellarium and Starry Night to find where Saturn is before I go out, and can see it in the sky...its only when I try to find it with the scope the problems occur; its good to know I wasnt looking in the wrong place though Ill try to find it with the scope next time in relation to the two stars in Leo (and yes I use wide angle eyepieces when looking for something). Cheers

[The Warthog]

Just another little hint for all you Newt and Dob owners. Last year I put a right-angle finder on my Newt, and found that it makes a world of difference to finding things, especially at high altitudes. Not having to lay your cheek against the OTA and crane your neck into impossible angles makes finding stuff much more comfortable.

[MikeP]

Amen to that WH. Just replaced mine with a right angle finder - much easier on the back and the neck.

Mike

[Whippy]

It's on my shopping list. The missus did say she was going to get me one but it never materialised .