What to see

[nebulanebula]

As a fairly new observer I am wondering what people would recommend as a 'must see' for those just getting started, or just in general.

I have observed Jupiter and the moon quite a bit in order to get used to my scope, ep's and setting up etc but now I want to move on to other things but I don't know where to start!

As I am a beginner if you could also suggest what ep to use to get the best view of what you suggest that would be a massive help too!

Thanks!

[baggywrinkle]

What 'scope do you have...?

[nebulanebula]

Oops! It's a Celestron AstroMaster 130

[Langy]

I created the post below for beginners viewing in March to get started with.

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/209739-beginners-march-viewing/?hl=%2Bmarch#entry2237986

[MalcolmC]

That's useful.

[Marky1973]

I'm a beginner too and amd finding posts like the one above useful, but also bought "Turn Left at Orion" which I will be working through - only done the first (M42 and M43) to date, as there is plenty to observe there, but Sky at Night magazine also has a monthly calendar of things to see which I have found useful.

As a beginner, I had just a 10mm and 25mm EP which gave me mags of x120 and x48 in my 120mm focal length dob.....the lower mag is great for finding stuff, before zooming in with the higher, and for looking at deep space objects - M42 and M43 look clearer in the 25mm eyepiece as they give a wider angle which is important on the larger DSOs. I am thinking about getting a wider angle 32mm EP at some point in the next few months.

The 10mm/120x EP is great for Jupiter and the moon, but I have also purchased a BST 8mm EP which gives x150 mag and is much better than the stock EPs I have and gives some fantastic views of Jupiter when the seeing is good.

[Langy]

I'm a beginner too and amd finding posts like the one above useful, but also bought "Turn Left at Orion" which I will be working through - only done the first (M42 and M43) to date, as there is plenty to observe there, but Sky at Night magazine also has a monthly calendar of things to see which I have found useful.

As a beginner, I had just a 10mm and 25mm EP which gave me mags of x120 and x48 in my 120mm focal length dob.....the lower mag is great for finding stuff, before zooming in with the higher, and for looking at deep space objects - M42 and M43 look clearer in the 25mm eyepiece as they give a wider angle which is important on the larger DSOs. I am thinking about getting a wider angle 32mm EP at some point in the next few months.

The 10mm/120x EP is great for Jupiter and the moon, but I have also purchased a BST 8mm EP which gives x150 mag and is much better than the stock EPs I have and gives some fantastic views of Jupiter when the seeing is good.

Rather than just going wider, which is always a benefit had you thought about some binoculars?

For a similar price of £50 you can get some good 10x50 bins which are quicker and easier to use than a scope, ideal for hunting down a lot of objects and just a little bit more portable. For a very small extra you can buy a bracket and mount them on a tripod to allow others to view what you are looking at or just help you star hop between the bins and scope. Pleiades is excellent in 10x50 and even on my scope at 32x just isn't wide enough.

[nebulanebula]

Thanks for the info guys, a really big help! 

The other post is a great idea too. 

[Marky1973]

Yeah, not a stupid question at all - those links are great to see......even just white on black sketches of what I am likely to see is great stuff, and makes me even more excited to get out with the scope......although i won't be trying any sketching anytime soon, I'm not much of an artist.....one of my last art school reports simply read, "Mark is good at shapes."

[Marky1973]

Dang! Was reading another post and typed out an answer in the wrong forum! That'll teach me to pay attention!  

Sorry for any confusion.....what I was planning on saying in here was @Langy - I have a couple of cheap paris of Bins, but they are small, 8x25 and 7x30, so might be a good investment to get some with a decent sized lens.....right, I'm now going to step away from the computer before I do any more damage!!!