my garden faces north

[breezy]

right question time and hopefully not too daft

i have got the hang of pointing the scope about, using different eyepieces etc.

now my garden faces north so if i stand with my back to the house and look up i can see the plough off to my left at about 10 oclock, cassiopea is to my right and high at about 1 oclock and below that is andromeda i think.

im still trying to get my orientation with starmaps etc but was wondering if any planets migh be lurking in that direction?

[mallorcasaint]

I too have a garden that faces North and it is a pain in the ass! You won't see planets for a few months yet ( I may stand corrected ) but later in the year you will be able to get Jupiter and Saturn.

[Qualia]

The planets Jupiter and Venus are rising in the east, so if you can pinch a view from that side it'll be nice. If you haven't done so already, down load Stellarium which will help you a little. Depending on your field of view, there's still some really nice stuff to see northwise.

[Breakintheclouds]

It really depends how much you can see to your sides and your back when you're facing north, as most of the other items in our solar system pass from East to West through the south side of the sky.

The simplest test will be this: Can you see the Sun (during the day) or the Moon (during the night) from your garden? If so, you should be able to see planets too during at least part of the year.

[breezy]

Cheers for replys guys

Yep can see sun and moon respectively tho I do have dirty great trees to my right as I look north so moons only really been visible as it clears them and my roofline from about 2200 , it's been mighty impressive the last few days

[moriniboy]

North facing garden for me as well, still loads to see. If i need to view South i need to go to an elsewhere

[andrew63]

Jupiter will be rising in the east soon after midnight by the autumn. Although you have a limited view from the garden, your pentax 10x50s will give you some lovely views of the night skies - star clusters, some of the brighter galaxies and moons of jupiter.

[brantuk]

I popped out at 4:30 on Sat morning and Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury were three magnificaent naked eye blobs in the sky. The moon was just dipping under the west horizon and the sun hadn't quite reached the east horizon. So all three looked absolutely superb. In the next week or so you should also see uranus making it's way up in the early hours.

For andromeda - it's very faint with the moon currently washing it out. Soon as the moons gone identify the square of Peg. Extend a line diagonally from bottom right through top left of the square. This will cross a line directly down from the pointy bit of Cas. Where the lines cross you'll find andromeda. You may have to skim around a little to id it - it will be a faint fuzzy patch in binocs but will jump out at a dark site. I can only just see it naked eye from my street lit driveway

[astrofox]

I too have a North facing garden. After a while you realise when and where you can see the ecliptic plane for the planets. With me its either facing east as they rise or wait till winter so it's high enough to see over my house. Or in summer there is a one hour window when it lies between mine and my neighbours house.

[JamesF]

Jupiter passes very close to the moon this month, AFAIR, so if you can see the moon clearly at any point then it's likely that you'll be able to pick out Jupiter.

James

[JamesF]

Just checked. A week today Jupiter is about one width of the full Moon to the north of the Moon.

James

[BiG JiLM]

I too have a N facing garden (tall terraces behind me so only have Nth'wards and E to look at). And I too have just got a 1st scope/ getting the hang of it.

Last night excellent for moongawping so I thought, and I spotted a Jupiter realtively close to the moon, so NEE direction at approx 1AM (approx 35*? I guess/ fairly low anyway). First time Id ever seen Jupiter! I was amazed at how far it seemed the moons were in orbit from it. A lovey sight- 4 distinct moons and the bands around the planet (a bit like Sir Patrick Moore's trouser belt sitting as it does really rather high above -and below- his equator). A revelation for my 1st viewing.

[Si W]

North facing garden for me too, got a Southern view between my house and next doors, about an 8 foot or so gap, so my timing has to be good as I only get an hour or so as an object passes. West is excellent, east however, my other Neighbour has an apple tree so cant get anything below an Alt of +25, saying that still loads to see.

[scuffer]

I'm north facing as well , luckily the back of the garden is raised so can see pretty decent southwards ,Could you build some decking at the far end of the garden or a viewing platform ? Doesn't have to be too high , mine is raised about 4 foot and about 25ft from the house.

[ollypenrice]

Priorities! I got fed up and moved to the south of France and a south facing wilderness!!!

Be warned, a similar madness may come to you...

Olly

[MarkMayf]

I'm tempted to not buy the house we are currenty renting because of this hobby!

With my back to house I roughly face east. However, 8m from the house are confiers taller than the building. They run all the way in a north south direction along the rwo of houses. To my left is an 8ft fence. Round the front you can't see anything for street lights!

[breezy]

well thanks for all the advice guys, did plan on doing some bino work last night to get a few more constellations set in my head, got the sun lounger and beer ready as id looked out and it was clear.

finished some chores 45 mins later and light cloud ruined my plans..... tho the beer still got drunk

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Rotate the house and garden 180 degrees, it is the best solution!

One problem when viewing planets that appear just over the roof top, is that thermal currents from the roof can ruin seeing. finding a nearby dark site with good views of the south can be a substitute for the above solution

[breezy]

bran im having a moment.. square of peg?

[ronaldo999]

There is still plenty of interesting things to see, you just have to adapt to the position you are in. I am sure you will still have an enjoyable hobby.