First night out

[Rikkibear]

So tonight was my very first time viewing the sky through a scope and it blew me away!! Jupiter had way more detail than I ever imagined my first attempt would produce and although it was faint, actually seeing the Orion Nebula with my own eyes was pretty amazing.

I'm a bit gutted that there is the worlds brightest lamppost to the southwest of my garden, can see this becoming my nemesis over the coming years. Because of this my eyes never really adjusted fully to the dark and as I'm new to this I don't know how much I'm missing!!

Are there any filters you can recommend that will help fight some of the light pollution and hopefully bring out a bit more detail in DSO's.

Also I would be interested to know of any accessories that once owned, you couldn't be without? What, in your opinion are the must-haves??

Rik

[bomberbaz]

We all have our own views on accessories, I personally share the worlds brightest lamp post with you andcsuffer similarly. I have got a uhc filter for nebulas and find this helps a lot.

I note your lamp post is sw, tbh although its a pain, you should be able to work round that for evening viewing as most objects wil be east to south. Is it feasable to try and erect some kind of shield?

Look in the astro club society section of this forum and se if thier is anyone local to you that you could go along and chat with, you would find this very helpful

steve

[nucleardwarf]

I asked my local Council if they could do anything to help cut down on the LP from a street light that splashed into my back garden, they were quite obliging and fitted a deflector/filter to the lamp.

Although it doesn't get rid of the LP it has certainly helped.

[Astro Imp]

Hi Rik,

Glad you enjoyed your first night with your new scope.

To keep stray light from your eyes you could try what I do and put a thick towel over your head, looks weird but who's going to see in your own back garden.

As Steve says accessories are personal choices, it does depend on your scope and viewing preferences. One thing that most would recommend is a comfy seat.

Good luck and have fun.

[Rikkibear]

Thanks for your suggestions guys,

The problem with the position of the lamppost is when my scope is pointing south/east, I'm looking directly in the direction of the light as I have a reflector will definitely try the towel idea, sounds like that could make a big difference

Good to hear the council made an effort to help, I wouldn't have even thought to ask before reading that

[JamesF]

It's definitely worth a try asking the council if they will shroud the light.  Some people have had success with that.  Another possibility is to hang a "curtain" in the garden so it blocks the light.  I'm sure I recall someone saying they used weed control fabric hung over a wire suspended between poles.

James

[RobertC]

I have similar issues with LP. http://www.365astronomy.com/castell-uhc-deepsky-filter-for-125inch-eyepieces-p-1878.html. This is the filter people have suggested to me in order to remove the pesky LP problem.

-Rob