Too many stars!!

[jason.p]

After early evening rain yesterday , the sky cleared dramatically to give one of those crystal clear skies we wait weeks for. The Milky Way was stunning. I didn't have the scope set up so I decided to try to locate some constellations by eye and binos for my next scope session (Hercules for M13 and M92, Cygnus for M29). Trouble was there were just too many stars and I was totally confused. Earlier in the year I had been using Vega and Lyra as a guide, but now it's further West I couldn't find it. I eventually made out Cassiopeia directly overhead but other star patterns were swamped. The plough and Polaris were OK but difficult for me at the moment (a couple of annoying street lights which I'm hoping to deal with) and Orion was rising in the East. It looks so easy with the constellation lines in Stellarium etc. I shouldn't complain really, it was an amazing sky and I saw a couple of meteors but I came in a bit despondent (And frozen I didn't realise how long I'd been out and it was -1ºC).

Jason

[JamesF]

The sheer number of stars you can see on a clear dark night can be quite intimidating initially, but if you find somewhere you recognise and slowly work your way around it becomes easier and after a bit of practice you get used to it.

James

[wookie1965]

The more you get out there the more you will become familiar with the stars and constellations just takes time and patience. have you got a star map book i.e Turn Left At Orion or even get a Planisphere there cheap and that will help you.

[Ags]

It's a much better problem to have than the Too Few Stars problem.

[Velvet]

this happened to me at keeling this year. I was told to set up early and not look up until everything was sorted. I did not take the advice, looked up and wow. Sooooo many stars. The rest of the night was taken up by

staring with mk1 eyeball in wonder. I was also confused with so many stars and found great difficulty in finding anything. Suppose more practice will help in the end

Velvet

[jason.p]

The more you get out there the more you will become familiar with the stars and constellations just takes time and patience. have you got a star map book i.e Turn Left At Orion or even get a Planisphere there cheap and that will help you.

Yes I've got TLAO, Planisphere, S&T Pocket Sky Atlas and Stellarium. Like you say, practice makes perfect. I must try and get out more

[SilverSeadog]

I would love too many stars ! At the moment I've got too many clouds !

Have patience , it will soon become familiar.

[Cath]

Have patience , it will soon become familiar.

A chance to become familiar with them would be nice .. this year must be one of the worst I think.

[JamesF]

this year must be one of the worst I think.

Didn't we say that last year, too?

James

[Cath]

Didn't we say that last year, too?

lol, probably.

Depends on your point of view I guess. Lovely weather if your a cloud spotter, or a duck

We shouldn't really complain about the UK weather (but your not british unless you do lol), it's quite varied and not extreme, unlike other parts of the world.

[JamesF]

We shouldn't really complain about the UK weather (but your not british unless you do lol), it's quite varied and not extreme, unlike other parts of the world.

That's very true. We've had all sorts of different cloud and rain this year

James

[wookie1965]

Yes I've got TLAO, Planisphere, S&T Pocket Sky Atlas and Stellarium. Like you say, practice makes perfect. I must try and get out more

When the weather plays nice for us.

[rustyjames]

I have the same prob,so I've decided to concentrate on 1 area at a time,to familiarise myself, I just use bins to look at Pleiades and Hyades for now

[Rossco72]

Had a wonderful clear night last night. Loads more stars than normal and decent seeing. Only a slight breeze which introduced some vibrations spoiled some of my fun.

It's amazing when you get to see the Milky Way again...