A real beginners question!!

[SpaceMonkey777]

Ok, i'm quite embarassed to ask this question, but no body knows who i really am so it doesn't matter!!

I see a lot of posts on here about people looking at jupiter and its moons and how easy it is to find with the naked eye, even saw a pic taken on someones Iphone which was pretty cool!!

here's the problem, where do i look?! i do own a planisphere but can't fathom how to work out the position of the planets!

As yet i do not own a telescope, but plan on taking a stroll down the beach later on to see what i can see!!

if someone could point me in the right direction, it would be very much appreciated!!

[Craig20264]

Download http://www.stellarium.org/wiki/index.php/Download It gives real time positions of everything thats up there.

Planets are not found on Planespheres due to their movements.

[Tiddles]

Download Stallarium, just look at the N, S, E, W pointers to get an idea of where to look and judge the elevation. Don't worry, Venus (early evening) and Jupiter are about the brightest objects in the sky.

[mallorcasaint]

You can download the free software, Stellarium which will help you find objects in the sky or if you have a smartphone why not get an app like GoSkywatch or pUniverse.

[Zul]

Download stellarium it is best idea By the why Jupiter is very bright it is hard to don't see it

[rwilkey]

You will see Venus in the south-west to start off with when it gets dark, then look to the south a bit later after dark and you will see Jupiter bringing up the rear, they're the two brightest objects in the sky, and I mean really bright!

[ronin]

As Robin says: Venus is in the South West-West around 17:00 ish, slightly low in the sky but bright.

Jupiter is higher and in the South at the same time.

By about 20:00 Jupiter is in the South-West and still high, Venus has disappeared.

Planisphere:

Set the outer circle to the right date and time.

Hold it firm betewwn finger and thumb.

Flip it over and read off the table where Jupiter is during Jan 2012 (29). Or be sensible and read it first.

Keeping the grip flip it back and locate 29 degrees around the edge. Don't move/rotate it.

Project/imagine a line from the 29 degree mark to the central pivot.

Where it crosses the dotted line marked ECLIPTIC is where Jupiter should be.

It is slightly approximate as there is just the one degree value for the month.

[brantuk]

Stellarium is a great idea - brilliant bit of software for free and it shows the night sky at your location. Learn to identify a few constellations to orientate yourself. First three I'd pick are The Plough, Cassiopiea, and Orion right now. The Plough pointer stars will show you where the Pole Star is (half way to Cass) and that way you'll allways know which way is North. Once you've set the planisphere as above in ronins post do the following:

Point the North side of the planisphere at the pole star and turn yourself 180 degrees so you're facing south (and the north side of planisphere is facing south). Then hold the planisphere above your head and you should start seeing patterns in the sky that match those on the planisphere (cos it too will be pointing north).

Look for Orion on the left just after dark (in the sky and on the chart). Now imagine a huge arc from the east (left) to the west (right) horizon and peaking high in front of you. That's the ecliptic and it should be on your planisphere. That's where all the planets are - the brightest and roundest looking stars on the arc will most likely be a planet.

Currently Jupiter all evening till about midnight followed by Mars (leading Virgo) and then Saturn (following Virgo) around 4am. Hope that helps a bit

[AWR]

As well as all the other excellent advice above, I found the charts in the popular astronomy magazines a real benefit when I was a beginner (and still do). They will show you the positions of the planets at different times of each month.

Andrew

[LukeSkywatcher]

Another thing to look out for when searching for planets it to remember that they do not twinkle like stars. Even in the worst seeing conditions the light from them remains the same. It makes thewm a bit easier to distinguish from stars.

Of course, this is not a fool proof method because on nights og good seeing, even the stars dont twinkle. But in general its a good way to spot them naked eye.

[FrankieValley]

Take a pair of binoculars and look for the brightest obect in the southern sky. Jupiter is directly South at this time and about 45 degrees above the horizon. The bins will show you the moons

[SpaceMonkey777]

thanks for all the replys, stellarium downloaded and jupiter found!!

[Tinker1947]

You could download some Telrad maps, highlight the constellations and take them along.

[rory]

thanks for all the replys, stellarium downloaded and jupiter found!!

nice going.

[Tiddles]

Well done, next up.....Saturn.