how will I know

[Philk_80]

Hi

Its nice to see how exciting you are about all this and I feel some of your excitement as I am a relative newbie myself.

The best things I have found have been:

• Stellarium- great for getting an understanding of what you are seeing or will see in your part of the sky - if you can't get Stellarium , a great app is Mobile Observatory which provides a great amount of detail and extra features - think its about £3 but worth it
• Cambridge Star atlas - some great detail of the sky and clear indications of the Messier objects, clusters, nebulae etc.
• Planisphere - just great for increasing your knowledge of the constellations around the sky - theres a great video on YouTube on how to use these properly and effectively

You have made a great choice with the Dob - easy to use and a great starters scope. Get used to the scope and it won't be long before you want to see things clearer and better and then you start moving into dangerous territory with buying eyepieces - best advice - "start saving now"

Hope you enjoy your new scope and don't forget to tell us about your 'first light' 

Phil