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Beginners' observing Poll


Mr Q

Beginners' First Targets  

91 members have voted

  1. 1. What objects (season permiting) should the beginner observer choose for the easiest and most "wow" effect?

    • Moon
    • Inner planets
    • Open clusters
    • Nebulae
    • Globular clusters
    • Planetary nebulae
    • Double or multiple stars
      0
    • Galaxies
    • Asteroids
      0
    • Maned space objects in orbit
      0


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The above poll is intended to help beginners' to choose which object type to target first for ease of locating and the greatest "wow" effect from experienced observers. This should steer beginners in the right direction towards a life long rewarding hobby. Let's help them out by sharing our experience.

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the moon everybody knows what it looks like and can tell where in the sky it is.its almost unmissible through a telescope as well.give a beginner a chance ti get familiar with there scope/eyepieces ect... and will amaze the viewer with the detail of the craters through almost any scope!

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I voted for the moon. The first object I saw through my scope was M45, pretty amazing.

I then moved my scope to view the moon and Jupiter. As I was aligning the moon through the 6x30 finder scope I really had a wow moment before I even got to look through the scope, Jupiter and it's moons were pretty amazing too.

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i loved jupiter and the moon as well as the orion nebula but the one that grabbed me big time was m13 ( i didnt even now there was such a thing as globular clusters until i bought a scope and researched what to look at !) m13 ,m3 and m22 are just amazing.

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For the "inner planets" I maybe should have used "brighter Planets" since the planets I am referring to include Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter. So John and StuW, you can vote on the "inner planets" for your choices.

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I just couldn't bring mself to vote but I'd press upon everyone, interested or not in the universe, to wonder upon and contemplate at one moment in their life time the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Albireo and Almach, M 42, M 31, M 13, M 27, NGC 869 and NGC 884.

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As a newbie I'd say the inner planets, as the difference between looking through a telescope, to the naked eye is amazing - for instance Jupiter going from a bright star, to a visible spherical object (with moons!) in a small telescope - that's what makes me realise all those things really are out there to be seen. I never doubted any of it, but it's lovely to see these things with your own eyes - it makes it so tangible and encourages you to look for more - whether it's galaxies or nebulas etc.

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You can observe the moon with a very basic telescope and get that wow! moment, you don't need goto or any fancy eyepieces. The first look at the lunar terminator (not Arnie) is just mesmerising.

Gary.

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I voted for the Moon. Everyone complains it washes the faint stuff out (which it does!) but its such a beautiful thing that we take for granted every day.

I agree. With me, my first views of the Moon with binocular were amazing and then with a scope was even more astonishing but my first views of Jupiter and its moons and red spot along with Saturn's rings was my greatest thrill - why I voted for the planets.

I often have to remind myself that when the Moon is out and trashing most DSOs, at least it has lots of observable features that one can spend hours on. After all, a cloudy night sky offers absolutly nothing to observe :huh:

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I'm going to say planet. Seeing Jupiter's moons through binoculars fir the first time was a really big influence on me. The moon is undeniably amazing through a scope for the first time, but seeing Jupiter or Saturn through a scope is really something special.

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I'm new to this forum and astronomy in general. I've got a small scope coming next week, but here's what I have done. The moon is interesting and pretty cool to see through a good telephoto lens or binos. But what really grabbed me was pointing the camera lens at the Orion Nebula. For me thet was on of the most amazing things I've ever seen. So I voted for nebulea.

Jeff

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I was thinking about including it but did not want to give any beginners any ideas of looking at the Sun without proper cautions. I dread the thought of a beginner not knowing what he was doing and aimed his scope/binos at the Sun :huh:

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I was thinking about including it but did not want to give any beginners any ideas of looking at the Sun without proper cautions. I dread the thought of a beginner not knowing what he was doing and aimed his scope/binos at the Sun :huh:

Fair comment, and good for you. It wasn't meant as a criticism :smiley:

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I think the Moon &/or Jupiter/Saturn are the obvious choices but I've voted for globulars. They don't always inspire in 4 inch scopes but have a look at M3/M13 in an 8Inch or bigger scope and I find the view amazing with lots of little twinkly pinpricks moving in an out of view.

James

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