Fail to plan

[LightweightTim]

Hello Everybody,

I've just come inside after my first night stargazing. Brilliant. I can still see the moon through the living room window - its really bright, but it was a good first target and I was literally blown away by its beauty. Amazing

I played around with the eyepieces for a while, then found Arctaurus then Vega. Even with the full moon I didn't have a clue which ep I was grabbing, or where the focusser was (don't know how I'll manage in the dark). Didn't even know which way to nudge the scope when the object moved!

Frustratingly Saturn was just too low, I can't wait to see her, but how is it best to plan for future sessions to get the most out if it? My scope is an 8" dob and I'm keen to learn my way around. Any ideas?

Clear skies

[ronl]

Do you have http://www.stellarium.org/ if not it will help to find

your way around the night sky, or download and print star charts

http://freestarcharts.com/ they are both free to d

to see what you are doing get yourself

a red light torch, then you won't loose your night vision, hope these

will be useful.

Clear Sky's

[estwing]

I still forget something and have to go in and out the house several times!

[cotterless45]

This gives monthly maps,

http://www.skymaps.com/

If you're near , this is a good group of loonies, I wrote the beginners bit,

http://www.roslistonastronomy.org.uk/

This is one of the finest books for beginners, better even than Turn left at Orion

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Practical-Astronomer-Dk-Astronomy/dp/1405356200

This the best eyepiece case for your money,

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ALUMINIUM-FLIGHT-CASE-FOR-TOOLS-CAMERAS-MUSICAL-INSTRUMENTS-PICK-N-PLUCK-FOAM-/121080726886?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Access_RL&hash=item1c30f94566

Ditch the finder scope and get a red dot finder or Telrad .

It's a steep learning and spending curve, but I wish more beginners would get the excellent 200 Dob and

clear skies,

Nick.

[estwing]

agree with Nick..i have the same book and its fantastic

[Scott]

One thing I would suggest Tim (I hope it's Tim), once you have selected your chosen targets for your evenings viewing, start in the west and work your way east or you may just miss out. Sounds obvious I know but I can still get caught out.... It's amazing how fast time (and the night sky) move when you're engrossed in something.

Damn, why did I say caught out? it's just reminded me how badly the aussies are doing in the ashes

[LightweightTim]

Cheers Nick. Yeah, I was determined to get an eq, but I'm smitten with the dob . Ros is only 10 minutes away - I'll look out for the next meet...

Hey Scott, don't follow the cricket. Have we won yet? Oh, and the cycling - Cadel didn't take part in the tour this year did he

Clear skies - Tim

[90mm]

I have that same book that a couple others mentioned here, great book. Someone said, ditch the finder and get a Telrad. I say use both. At some point in your quest for DSO's you're going to have to learn to star-hop to your target. Stellarium, as Ronl said is good for planning a nights observing but so is Messier45.com.

Good luck and never give up!

[swamp thing]

Someone said, ditch the finder and get a Telrad. I say use both. At some point in your quest for DSO's you're going to have to learn to star-hop to your target.

Totally agree. I have both and wouldn't be without either.

[bingevader]

It's good to plan your observing session, but I wouldn't get to hung up on it.

Yep, you need some idea of what'll be out there, you don't really want to plan for a night's DSO hunting when there's a full moon!

However, I still pick a mix of old or easier favourites together with a few new things to hunt for.

You'll see greater detail the longer and the more often you look at an object, so returning to things is a must.

But a night spent hunting for new difficult objects will just end in frustration and disappointment.

Most of all, just enjoy it.

Cheers

[acey]

Just have fun and take your time - you'll soon learn what's right for you. Finder v Telrad: make your own mind up. I've been observing for years and I still always use the supplied finder with my scopes, I feel no need to fork out for anything different. Maps: try Stellarium etc since they're free, and try printing charts on paper. You'll see what you prefer, and might eventually want to invest in a book. Night vision: you'll get the hang of it. A first session under full moon isn't representative of what to expect generally. A red head-torch would be useful. Eyepieces: stick with what you've got for now, plenty of time to upgrade in future. This hobby doesn't need to be difficult or expensive - it's not a race so learn at your own pace and enjoy the free show. Moon and planets are great to start with if suitably placed, then maybe some easy double stars (e.g .Albireo in Cygnus) and open clusters (e.g. Double Cluster in Perseus, "ET cluster" in Cassiopeia.).

[AndyWB]

Even with the full moon I didn't have a clue which ep I was grabbing, or where the focusser was (don't know how I'll manage in the dark). Didn't even know which way to nudge the scope when the object moved!

Well, for the first part, I'd advise having something to hold your eyepieces. I have a flight case from Maplins, and I store my eyepieces in a certain order - and make sure they go back into the right place! Some people seem to have little eyepiece holders, sort of like spice racks, and I figure you'd have to have a known order for that too.

Can't help you with finding the focusser though - I've never found somewhere that dark!

And the direction of nudge thing - it becomes natural after a while. My rule of thumb is "if looking through the eyepiece, go the other way to what is natural".

I also found Turn Left at Orion a good start. I've also got the Sky and Telescope Pocket Atlas which is excellent, but it doesn't really tell you what to look at - it is just a map. Turn Left at Orion tells you where to look for good object, and shows you roughly what you should be looking at when you find it. It's also divided up by seasons, so you should have a rough idea of what's good at a particular time.

[Ant]

There is something wrong with that link (adebooks.com) so I've removed it fr the time being.

Ant

[Ant]

For crying out loud, I've now deleted the post by mistake trying to put the link back.

I'm going back to bed.

Sorry.

The link is www.abebooks.com

Cheers

Ant

[Colin A]

I must not have spelt it right in the 1st place. Its a good site and I've bought loads of astronomy and novels off it. Some of them come from America so can take that wee bit longer to get here but well worth it. Its nice to have a few reference books without it breaking the bank!

[Ant]

Sorry about that Colin, I couldn't even find the name of the poster in the logs, just that I'd deleted a thread. So I couldn't even PM you and tell you what I'd done!

I do agree it's nice to have a selection of reference books, I'm quite partial to a second hand book myself

Cheers

Ant