Ten thing I have learned so far

[PorkyB]

I have been at this game seriously for only a couple of months, so I can't claim to be any kind of expert, in fact I am only really beginning to be a beginner, but I thought it might be helpful and fun to share the little I have already learned.

1. Binoculars are brilliant. I bought some TS 10x50 bins and was amazed at how much I could see through them. It's not so much the magnification as the fact that I can look at an apparently blank bit of sky and in the bins it's full of stars.

2. There are far too many telescope choices. I agonised over what to buy and how much to spend. There are people with very strong opinions about what's best, but when you are spending your own money you have to make your own choices. In the end I went for portability and low maintenance and bought a 90mm Mak. Of course there will be times when I will wish I'd bought something else, the thing to do then is to buy a second telescope, or a third...

3. Read/watch the weather forecast obsessivley. There might be a good night, or even a couple of hours coming up so plan accordingly. It's then that you find out that the weather forecast is often wrong.

4. There are too many street lights. I live in a little cul-de-sac and there are seven street lights, with more visible over my garden wall. Add to that a whole lot of security lights and we have 24 hour daylight, so a good observing site is hard to find. Having disabled my nearest security light it is just about dark enough in my back garden. It's a tiny little plot flanked by three and six-storey buildings. When I went out the other night all I could see between the buildings was Bootes and Hercules. OK, if I go out throughout the night and throughout the year I will see a lot but it definitely isn't a panoramic view. There are some reasonable semi-dark sites within a 30 minute drive, but none are without their problems...

5. If you are out and about at night looking for a dark site you will attract the wrong sort of attention. The first time I went to Clent a lot of people in their cars were flashing their lights at me. I had to do some internet research to find out what that meant. Suffice it to say it's a good job I didn't flash my lights back, but I may have confused people by leaving my interior light on, even if it was covered in red film. I have also been spoken to by the police who asked my why I was parked in a quiet country lane at 3am. They had assumed I was a burglar. Other people I have encountered at night were just baffled as to why I was out in the dark, but in typically British manner were be too polite to say so.

6. Any piece of equipment costs far more than its price. I bought a scope for £150. Then I bought a case for £50. Then a couple of nice eyepieces for another £90. Now I want an RA motor for £40. Then I'll want a new scope...

7. An EQ mount isn't as scary as I thought it would be, at least for visual observation. First time I used it I levelled it with a spirit level, then accurately aligned it on Polaris. It tracked beautifully. Next time I used it I made sure the legs were more or less the same length, then I pointed it roughly where I think North is. It still tracked beautifully. OK, with a Mak you can swivel the diagonal round so you don't need to be a contortionist, but it really wasn't as difficult to use as I thought it might be.

8. Open clusters are beautiful, especially Pleiades and Melotte 111. Planets are cool, even my kids were impressed when they saw Saturn with rings (well one ring in my little Mak), Titan and Rhea (just). Oh, and the Garnet Star is a really pretty colour.

9. My local astro soc (Birmingham in my case) are a friendly bunch of people. Everyone wants to learn something, everyone is happy to share what they know, everyone wants to show you what they can see, and they have tea.

10. Stellarium is brilliant. Use it to find out what's up. Use it to verify that what you have seen is what you thought you saw. Use it to find out what you are actually looking at when you realise that you're not looking at what you thought you were looking at. Use it to go virtual stargazing on a cloudy night when you can't see real stars. And it's free, how cool is that!

Oh, and one more thing: 11. This forum is the most useful resource there is. Thanks everyone.

[Tribal-Wolf]

You also need a lot of patience lol

[knobby]

Nice post .... get astro panel and skeye if you have an android phone

[starnut]

After buying all my equipment I find that I can get better view with Stellarium

[sologuitarist61]

After buying all my equipment I find that I can get better view with Stellarium

I second that (and Red Shift 7!), very reliable skies:)

[rory]

all great points.

one lesson ive learn't as a beginer, when experienced astronomers say an object is "bright" or " large". they mean compared to many other dso's ! sounds obvoius to some but the first few months into this hobby,when forum members ,or even books state a bright or a large, i kept expecting to see something as bright as orion nebula or jupiter. i have now a better understanding of what bright looks like

[JamesM]

Thanks for sharing your insight! I notice you mentioned the forum as the your last point - I trust you were saving the best to last? I agree that Stellarium is such a useful tool to have (and its free!) and can certainly help you learn the sky and plan ahead, especially when the weather is against you. It is annoying to have to put up with the trials and tribulations of the "kennel club" especially when you have to travel so far to get away from light pollution. I would recommend trying to find a specific 'non-public' spot and get the permission of the landowner to use it, might save you from a lot of headaches in the longer run.

James

[Astro Imp]

All great points.

I would add that the UK weather is a lot worse than I thought it was.

[neltek]

some great points there - made me smile

Dark sites - travel a bit further south - some great sites in Worcestershire

[idbvideo]

Cloud free skies are a myth is the main thing I have learned

[Gomtuu]

I sympathise with you on point 5. It's difficult to find anywhere on Dartmoor that hasn't been compromised in this way

[stevetynant]

Great post - I'm new to this as well but theres so much to learn and see. Must admit I've been to a few dark sites on my own here in Wales and never had any problems at all (apart from the sheep and horses which make some pretty scary noises in the dark out in the middle of nowhere) - don't forget google street view is your friend and if you can take company the first time you go anywhere new.

good luck

Steve

[SFlowers]

I can also sympathise with point 5. We went to our usual dark spot (a couple of weeks ago now - the last time we had clear skies grr) only to find a car parked there with people in it up to no good!