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Clouds, !!!!?

t0ny

By t0ny
in Getting Started With Observing

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DeepThought

DeepThought

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If you're ever in any doubt as to what you are looking for, I find doing a Google image search for sketches is the best way to find a true representation of what you'll actually see.

Take the Andromeda galaxy as an example. Wikipedia tells you it looks like this:

320px-Andromeda_Galaxy_%28with_h-alpha%29.jpg

But from my garden it looks more like this:

M31-Andromeda-galaxy-sketch-b2.jpg

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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Thanks guys,

I looks like I was in the right area then. My finder scope is aligned but I still struggle to maneuver the scope too well. The mount 'slewing?' seems a bit alien to me and I struggle to get the locking things back each time so it takes me a few goes!

I'll get back out there tonight as it WILL be clear!

Thanks Naemeth, i'll try finding M45 tonight as well! Will be nice to have at least one Messier done!

Thanks for that photo Deepthought, that has really helped. I am suspicious I did see it whilst aimlessly moving about and I did look up photos but as you would expect they were all long exposures!

Until this evening...

Very easy to spot, looks like a nice open cluster of bright stars, I first thought it looked like a christmas tree when I saw it in binoculars for the first time :).

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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For a while Orion's belt and his dangly bits were under a slim band of cloud, but finally, M42 in the bag!

Now, what next? There are a few stars out tonight!

M45 if you haven't already. The Double Cluster is a nice sight, around the constellation Cassiopeia (big W in the sky). M36 - M38 are all around the same place in Auriga (above Taurus, where Jupiter is). M35 in Gemini (next to Auriga).

HTH :).

Oh,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Messier_objects

Order these by magnitude, and tackle the brightest first (the lowest number), that's a good way to do it :).

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t0ny

t0ny

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Gave up for the night. It's pretty clear but cold and my lack of star knowledge is a bit frustrating!

I have no real points of reference to help me about, its all very similar at the moment!

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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Gave up for the night. It's pretty clear but cold and my lack of star knowledge is a bit frustrating!

I have no real points of reference to help me about, its all very similar at the moment!

It's okay Tony, I still don't really know the way around the sky without Stellarium helping me. Mind you, I'm much better at the constellations now than I once was.

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t0ny

t0ny

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As an example, looking up tonight at Jupiter I could just see the planet and maybe 1 or 2 nearby starts yet when I plonk my face on the eyepiece i see loads of starts so i get a bit disoriented!

Naemeth: M45 was my next target, but not be able to see anything with the naked eye to start with was why I came in for the night!

DeepThought: I'd love to tick the Andromeda Galaxy of my list! Is Saturn ever viewable in the evening as Dawn is going to be a bit tricky?

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JamesF

JamesF

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Gave up for the night. It's pretty clear but cold and my lack of star knowledge is a bit frustrating!

I have no real points of reference to help me about, its all very similar at the moment!

I'd suggest just sitting outside with a planisphere and working out the major constellations from a point you recognise. Find Cassiopeia, say, and then Taurus, Orion, Auriga, Lepus, Gemini, Cancer (bit tricky that one -- the stars are quite faint), Leo, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor and perhaps Cepheus as well. If you're out a bit later, there's Bootes, too, and perhaps Virgo. You start to pick up the patterns fairly quickly.

James

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JamesF

JamesF

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As an example, looking up tonight at Jupiter I could just see the planet and maybe 1 or 2 nearby starts yet when I plonk my face on the eyepiece i see loads of starts so i get a bit disoriented!

It can be a bit like that sometimes, especially if you're looking at something in the plane of the Milky Way. It gets easier with practice.

James

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DeepThought

DeepThought

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As an example, looking up tonight at Jupiter I could just see the planet and maybe 1 or 2 nearby starts yet when I plonk my face on the eyepiece i see loads of starts so i get a bit disoriented!

Naemeth: M45 was my next target, but not be able to see anything with the naked eye to start with was why I came in for the night!

DeepThought: I'd love to tick the Andromeda Galaxy of my list! Is Saturn ever viewable in the evening as Dawn is going to be a bit tricky?

Saturn will rise earlier every day as we move into spring. By the time it is in opposition (its closest point to earth) on 28th April it'll be rising as the sun sets and will be high enough to view even from my tiny garden before midnight.

You might do well to use the time warp function in Stellarium (my terminology, not theirs), pick an object you'd like to see, centre it, then wind on the clock a month at a time until it appears in the night sky. This also gives you a good understanding of how the sky changes over the course of the year.

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t0ny

t0ny

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Thanks for the Stellarium tip!

If clear I'm going out tonight with just a tablet and a beer to try to learn some constellations!

Think I'll draws them out revision style to help me learn!

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Phil Fargaze

Phil Fargaze

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You can't beat a bit of relaxing constellation spotting. I know them fairly well by now but when I was at a star party the dark sky view was so overwhelming I just had to sit in a chair with the monthly sky map and enjoyed taking myself on a tour of the constellations I would not be able to see from home.

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