1st planet to look for at this time of year.

[NIGHTBOY]

Right so the scopes ordered now I want to start learning the sky. The main planet I'm mad keen to see is Saturn but I know there's not much chance this time of year. If someone could provide me with a good picture of star formations and what to look out for then that would be great. The only one I'm familiar with is what we call the 'Frying Pan' which I'm pretty sure is 'The Big Dipper'.

Any help would be most welcome.

[David Smith]

Have you got Stellarium on your PC? It's great for planning what you can see later.

[Schorhr]

Check out Jupiter, and try to spot the different bands, and of course watch it's moons (as they change position quite quickly compared to earth's moon).

Deepsky objects to start with depend on the time of year,

check out http://www.ne.jp/asahi/stellar/scenes/english/deepsky4.htm for example... Or stellarium and turn on the nebulae / make the brighter one's visible.

Also Albireo, ring nebula, and the galaxies around the big dipper (m81/m82, pinwheel galaxy m51) can be quite nice to view even though some of the objects are standing quite low now.

[paul mc c]

The monthly mags such as Astronomy Now or Sky @Night will tell you what is visable in the night sky,inc planets and what constilations are visable at different times of the year.

[Schorhr]

Oh, please keep in mind thosew photographs will show more then what you will actually see, but even if you just see a faint dot at first - keep observing, let your eyes adjust to the view until you see more details slowly.

Also note that your eyes are more sensitive to light outside your eye's center, so even though you won't see as sharp, try to look away from the object a little.

Read up about the blinking nebula as a great object that benefits from this phenomenon.

[NIGHTBOY]

Wow you guys are great, you're like a rapid response team!!!

Yes I do have Stellarium installed and I have a couple of questions about it...

Now, when I look out my patio doors onto the back garden I am facing dead south. When I open Stellarium I too am facing south (the red S is centre screen) is this just coincidence???

Also, what other things should I have turned on in Stellarium to help me understand what I'm seeing? If I forward the time I can see the moon which is correct as I can see it at night through my patio windows. Other than the moon on Stellarium tho not much else is showing up.

[David Smith]

There are buttons at bottom left to switch on constellation names and lines / figures. These will help you to pick out the shapes and navigate around. Best is just to play arond with it as there is a ton of information in there.

[NIGHTBOY]

Thanks David, I see your from Banbury, I use to live in Byfield

[Schorhr]

Also switch on the nebula, n key or in the menu

http://www.stellarium.org/wiki/index.php/Interface_Guide#Main_Tool-bar

Also use the search function and look for the objects on the winter deep sky object list :-)

I know stellarium can be a bit overwhelming, but it's a great tool, to play around and plan your first observation nights.

[NIGHTBOY]

Also switch on the nebula, n key or in the menu

http://www.stellarium.org/wiki/index.php/Interface_Guide#Main_Tool-bar

Also use the search function and look for the objects on the winter deep sky object list :-)

I know stellarium can be a bit overwhelming, but it's a great tool, to play around and plan your first observation nights.

Ahh Fantastic! From my garden I should have great views of the nebulas, unfortunately tho all the planets will be out the front

Looks like some cold nights up the farm will be in order!

[Schorhr]

Also keep in mind that you won't see all of them if they are too faint for your telescope and the conditions are not so goof ;-)

At Stellarium's left hand menu, in the settings dialogue, you can set the sky's darkness and what brightness of nebula should be shown.

If you go for the deepsky object list and choose the marked spectacular ones, those should be visible in almost any telescope. Of couse these would benifit from really dark skies as well.

[NIGHTBOY]

Also keep in mind that you won't see all of them if they are too faint for your telescope and the conditions are not so goof ;-)

At Stellarium's left hand menu, in the settings dialogue, you can set the sky's darkness and what brightness of nebula should be shown.

If you go for the deepsky object list and choose the marked spectacular ones, those should be visible in almost any telescope. Of couse these would benifit from really dark skies as well.

Ahh ok, how do I do that? (sorry)! Ihave been messing aroung with it a little so I'm familiar with the munus

[Schorhr]

I think the search dialogue is f3 or ctrl+f/s.

Regarding the view-options, check the Manual/wiki, it's great ;-)

[kerrylewis]

Welcome from another Northants resident. Jupiter is king at the moment. If you get out in the early hours - say 3.00 am onwards he's very obvious just north of east - the brightest object that you can see . Orion will be just coming up slightly further towards the south.

That area of the sky is certainly worth getting up for at the mo.

Kerry

[NIGHTBOY]

Welcome from another Northants resident. Jupiter is king at the moment. If you get out in the early hours - say 3.00 am onwards he's very obvious just north of east - the brightest object that you can see . Orion will be just coming up slightly further towards the south.

That area of the sky is certainly worth getting up for at the mo.

Kerry

Hi Kerry and many thanks, looks like it's time to invest in a compass!

[Schorhr]

No need, extend the Big dipper's front 5 times and it will point you to the North star, polaris, See http://m.wikihow.com/Determine-Directions--to-North,-South,-East,-and-West

[NIGHTBOY]

No need, extend the Big dipper's front 5 times and it will point you to the North star, polaris, See http://m.wikihow.com/Determine-Directions--to-North,-South,-East,-and-West

How clever!! (Should of paid more attention at school) although the internet teaches us far more than school ever could.

Just been nfor a mosy down the end of the garden and turned 180 (so facing north), apart from the house being there I should be able to get some good views. Our garden is very enclosed by high fences so its super pitch black out there, should make for some good viewing. Here's to sleepless nights!!

[Schorhr]

Indeed, I didn't know this until visiting an observatory, I also saw Saturn there... Ever since I'm hooked.

Good luck with your observations!

[NIGHTBOY]

Quick question....

Why isn't the big dipper on stellarium?? I can see the little dipper but not the big??

[NIGHTBOY]

Ahh I see it, Ursa Major.

[Schorhr]

The big dipper is really just a part of UMa, Ursus Major, the greater/large bear,

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursa_Major

[NIGHTBOY]

The big dipper is really just a part of UMa, Ursus Major, the greater/large bear,

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursa_Major

Yep got it! (Really enjoying this )

[Schorhr]

Don't try to learn all constellations, once you find and view a stunning galaxy, nebula or star cluster, it'll burn into your memory all by itself ;-)

With a optical finder scope you will need to learn star hopping, while with a telrad or Rigel quickfinder, or even just a red dot reflex finder, you will mostly get away by pointing at brighter star paterns and the object will be in the field of view.

The secret is to not get discouraged either way, it get's easier with practice ;-) It's a bit difficult at the beginning as you'll only see a small part of the sky through your eyepiece.

Most objects can be found by imagining lines through star paterns, similar to extending the big dipper's front to find polaris.

The ring nebula, for example, can be found when pointing the finder inbetween Lyra's bottom stars;

M81/m82 if you draw a diagonal through the big dipper and extend it once.

This may sound odd at first, but it easier then star hopping (looking up the nearest, brightest constellation star and moving your telescope along random patterns/lines according to star maps until you reach your target) most of the time.

[NIGHTBOY]

Don't try to learn all constellations, once you find and view a stunning galaxy, nebula or star cluster, it'll burn into your memory all by itself ;-)

With a optical finder scope you will need to learn star hopping, while with a telrad or Rigel quickfinder, or even just a red dot reflex finder, you will mostly get away by pointing at brighter star paterns and the object will be in the field of view.

The secret is to not get discouraged either way, it get's easier with practice ;-) It's a bit difficult at the beginning as you'll only see a small part of the sky through your eyepiece.

Most objects can be found by imagining lines through star paterns, similar to extending the big dipper's front to find polaris.

The ring nebula, for example, can be found when pointing the finder inbetween Lyra's bottom stars;

M81/m82 if you draw a diagonal through the big dipper and extend it once.

This may sound odd at first, but it easier then star hopping (looking up the nearest, brightest constellation star and moving your telescope along random patterns/lines according to star maps until you reach your target) most of the time.

Yes I had a look at M81 on Stellarium, its kind of between the major and minor. Soooooo much to learn and so much to see. I just been looking at Jupiter on Stellarium and from what I can gather 4am to the east seems the best shot from my garden. Now I'm not expecting mind blowing images (and I'll be very surprised if I manage to find it on my own) but looking forward to it all LOTS.

[Schorhr]

In the early morning hours dew can become an issue, but of course the higher the planet the better the seeing... If there's no fog ;-)

The big planets, especially Jupiter, are so bright that they are hard to miss.

I got asked more then once; "That's the brightest one, so it must be the north star?" - nope...

IF you have trouble finding things, binoculars are great, even a 20€ Lidl auriol or 30€ Bresser.

8x50, 10x50, 8x60, 10x60mm binoculars are a great tool, Jupiter will be obvious due to it's moons, and even Saturn will be visible as slightly oval star. Also deep sky objects become visible with 50mm aperture, and you can scan down or to the side until you reach a brighter star, and switch to your telescope and start from there.

Also check out http://7timer.y234.cn/index.php?product=astro&lon=00.896&lat=49.323〈=en&ac=0&unit=metric&tzshift=0&site= - adjust your coordinates.

It will give you a rough idea if you'll face fog, how long it will be dark, and even predict seeing conditions.