Finding stars, nebula etc, what does anyone use..

[foundaplanet]

Ordered the sky and telescope pocket sky atlas just now. Gonna spend a lot of time with that and solarium learning just a couple of constelations. Anyone got a tip on something easy for me to start with pleassr steve

Depends on what your horizons are like but Cassiopeia, Perseus and Auriga are overhead at this time of year and Auriga is a great constellation for star clusters (M36,37,38 with M35 not far away) which can easily be found with bins.

[paul schofield]

I use a combination of books, star maps, magazines (Astronomy Now, Sky at Night) Sky-Safari pro. etc etc Also I find eyes on the sky's posts very useful for finding monthly best placed objects. Basically I use whatever is to hand.

[bomberbaz]

Thought I had seen mention of M36,37,38. They are close to capella. My very first star view last night. Thats good, at least I know where they are. Big thanks chaps, really feel like I am making some progress, slow but steady. :-)

[Demonperformer]

Two great 'signpost' constellations are the Plough asterism (quite low down in the evenings at the moment) - great for finding things like Cassiopeia (which is also a great signpost for things like Perseus, Cepheus and Andromeda), Leo, Bootes (Arcturus) and Virgo (Spica) - and Orion (which is now rising around 9pm-ish and is high in the southern sky in the early hours) - which is great for Canis Major (Sirius - don't really need a 'signpost' for that one), Gemini, Taurus, Canis Minor (Procyon) and a host of others. Not to mention how full of goodies Orion is itself. With these two, you are never more than a couple of "constellation-hops" away from any constellation visible in the northern hemisphere.

HTH

[OldBigNose]

lots of stuff available...I use the sky at night magazine monthly sky guide,a planisphere,the philip's "night sky atlas" and "deep sky observers guide" and "turn left at orion",and when I am using the dobsonian a good dose of frustration as I often wonder if I really am looking at what I think I should be looking at,thank the stars for go-to's!!

[acey]

I've always used printed maps, never used anything else. For a beginner a map that plots stars down to about magnitude 5 or 6 will be good enough. The S&T Pocket Atlas plots stars down to magnitude 7.6 and is great. As you get more experienced and want to hunt for fainter objects you need to pinpoint their location more accurately, hence need maps with a fainter magnitude limit. I worked my way up through SkyAtlas 2000 (magnitude limit 8.5), Uranometria (limit 9.75), and currently use Great Atlas Of The Sky (limit 12). A free alternative is JR's TriAtlas http://www.uv.es/jrtorres/triatlas.html

[rwilkey]

Sky & Telescope's Pocket Atlas is the best one for star hopping, for a larger version I use the Cambridge Atlas of Double Stars, a great reference work and great for double stars as well, some of my prime targets when the sky is a bit fuzzy, as it often is. A lot of people overlook these amazing deep sky objects.

[Bat502]

I have a 250PX and it has a 9x50 finder scope. I have also ordered a telrad too. Only problem is if I put the telrad next to the finder scope, I think I`m going to have problems leaning over to view it. Question is, has anyone removed the finder scope and replaced it with the telrad?

[Spec-Chum]

Not really recommeded. I still find the finderscope invaluable when looking for things like M11, M13, M31 and the double cluster for example; you can actually see these in the finder. In fact, there's many things you can quite easily see in the finder.

I generally get into the general area with the telrad then fine tune with the finder.

[Bat502]

Cheers mate.

[glowjet]

For those who enjoy star hopping, who do not have GOTO, there are two publications which you would find useful, a s/h copy of Star Hopping by Robert Garfinkle won`t cost the earth, the paperback version should cost less than £10 and a copy of The Illustrated guide to Astronomical Wonders, in a lot of of ways this is like a much larger, more detailed and informative TL@O and both books should keep you busy for years, with items to see and how to locate them in the in the Constellations throughout the year. The addition of a good star maps from the pocket sky atlas to such as sky atlas 2000 and Uranometria are also an essential to finding your way about the night sky

John.

[bomberbaz]

Well my copy of S&T pocket atlas arrives friday as should a mirror map of the moon, the latter was 10p. Stelarium apready installed so should have plenty to keep me busy. Also going to an observatory saturday night for some help and advice. Its a good job i found this place or i would be completely lost. Thanks all.

[bigrbuk]

I pic a few items out from Turn Left at Orion, have a look on Stellarium to get an idea where it will be and whether I'll be able to see it from my location (knowing in which directions I can get a good view of the sky), double check with SkyView or Night Sky on my phone then aim in direction using Red Dot Finder on scope and follow the star hopping guide in TLAO.

[bomberbaz]

I have not yet bought TLAO but hopefully someone will have a copy at the observatory sat night and they will let me have a browse and go through that with me also. But I like your methodology as it appeals to my liking of technology based assistance.

I think one thing I have gathered is there is certainly no one size fits all. Try various things and see whats works for yourself. I mean for myself I am a keen user of electronic based programmes, so tools such as stelarium (PC) and star chart (iphone) will appeal to me. But I dont think these alone will be enough for a beginner and so It is with this in mind that I shall takie things forwards.

Oh just thought, I have heard mention of charts that are designed for telrad users, has anyone got any links to these please? Just considering all options and these sound interesting.

Thanks all, Steve

[Astro Imp]

There you go:- http://www.solarius....messier_finders

[Avo]

Have only just ordered S&T Pocket Sky Atlas, however, I find wandering the sky using the finder scope on it's own, is a big help, particularly when you can't be bothered to setup and align the scope or just don't have the time for a full session.

[Bat502]

There you go:- http://www.solarius....messier_finders

Nice find. Thanks.

[bomberbaz]

There you go:- http://www.solarius....messier_finders

Just had a quick look but willl study more later. Many thanks. Steve