1st night using my telescope

[Kaznkev]

I'm just back in after spending a bit of time outside working out the basics of setting up my telescope. Balancing / focusing etc.

As I've said before in another thread I'm new to this and I'm starting from the beginning with everything.

I got some great views of the moon,which I've read is the best thing to look at when beginning.

I had a good look around as well but I'm not really sure what I was looking at.

I suppose I'll have to keep reading.

I was using a skywatcher BK P13065EQ2. With the 25mm and 10mm lenses.

Does anyone have any advice on what would make my viewing even better? (Other than better knowledge)

Should I be looking at buying more lenses or just stick with what I have until I gain more experience?

I can't believe how clear the view of the moon I had. The sky was really clear tonight and (although I didn't really know what I was doing) I thoroughly enjoyed having a look about.

[Sirius Starwatcher]

Hello Kaz best advice is to learn your stars and way around the night sky. A star atlas is a good investment or an app for your mobile phone if you have one then there is the ever popular Stellarium which you can down load free to your computer laptop. Any of these items will give you the position and name of a target in the sky which you can then go and find, this will give you much more enjoyment when deciding what to look for once your familiar with your kit and the sky you could then look at better eye pieces.

[faulksy]

jupiter is in a lovely position at the moment, bright star to the east, then look south and you will see 3 stars in a row this is the great orion. if you look through your finder you will see a grey smudge (probably see it naked eye) use your least magnifing eye piece, highest number and you will see orions nebula m42

[baggywrinkle]

Welcome to SGL.

Get a copy of Turn Left at Orion.

I have a copy and it is highly recommended on this forum. It breaks down many targets into possible groups for different types of telescope or binoculars.

I wouls also recommend a planisphere. Old tech' maybe but you can sit on the sofa and turn the disc so you can see easily which constellations are visible.

As for EP's use what you have  and read and read on ep's. The EP kits are OK but can be limited in the perfomance and sometimes not useable due to them giving too high magnifications with short focal lenghts.

[Kaznkev]

Welcome to SGL.

Get a copy of Turn Left at Orion.

I have a copy and it is highly recommended on this forum. It breaks down many targets into possible groups for different types of telescope or binoculars.

I wouls also recommend a planisphere. Old tech' maybe but you can sit on the sofa and turn the disc so you can see easily which constellations are visible.

As for EP's use what you have  and read and read on ep's. The EP kits are OK but can be limited in the perfomance and sometimes not useable due to them giving too high magnifications with short focal lenghts.

I got a sent a copy of turn left at Orion.

I've just started reading it but it seems to be the best place to start.

I was going to read a bit more before getting out there but thought I'd go out since the sky was so clear.

Thanks for all the advice guys.

[Floater]

Well your intuition is spot on anyhow - on a clear night, get out and look. Unfortunately, there will be many nights when there will be no chance of doing that and you'll be happy to read TLAO and pore over other astro-related literature.

I consider myself a beginner, too. In fact, I'm not sure if I'll ever consider myself to be anything more than a beginner ...!

Many folks on SGL know an awful, awful lot and will, between them, provide you (us!) with top-drawer advice. I've tried to pick brains; got myself in a frankle; been pig-headed and, on a couple of occasions, felt stupid. It's all part of the learning curve, I think, and most folks are very forgiving. [between you and me, a couple can be very stern - but that's allowed too, I guess. :-) ]

In general, the advice and knowledge I've picked up from the Loungers is simply awesome and I doubt if there's a better knowledge base anywhere.

I read as much as I can - and possibly more than I should - anywhere I can find it. Some things are almost intuitive (check my first sentence), others I still cannot get my head round. (I know the how and why about Right Ascension but can't find any reasonable way to use it practically.) But I find the whole journey a buzz. Learning what to do and what not to do is energising and very rewarding.

Two points I would make where caution may be necessary:

It HAS to be fun or else you'd be better doing something else, and

Beware asking about 'which eyepiece/new scope should I buy'. Because your brain will be fried by all the good folks here earnestly trying to help. There are some things a person has to do a person's self ...

That said, I repeat, have fun. And keep posting.

Clear Skies!

[MiguelMJr]

@ Floater...

Excellent post, your advise is spot on.

I would add to this thread that the Messier Objects is a nice thing for the beginners to be working with.  You could start here and then Google each object for more information as the cost is basically zero.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Messier_objects

Miguel

[MiguelMJr]

Stellarium, a great piece of software and it's free. You will learn a lot from this..... http://www.stellarium.org/

[Qualia]

Lovely posts and lovely sentiments all round. I think this thread just shows how great astronomy, SGL and its posters really are . 

Kaznkev, if you haven't used your gear much, give yourself a really good number of sessions to appreciate your scope, mount and eyepieces. Get to understand their virtues and limitations and make sure you have valued and evaluated your gear before pressing the buy button for your next astro purchase. The bad news is that astro gear is not cheap, so you ought to spend wisely. The good news is there's no hurry; there's plenty of time and there are plenty of mind blowing creations of nature to view in the night sky with what you've already got.

Handy Gear

What follows can already be found in other threads and will no doubt be known, but for the sake of coherency it's worth going over again. Needless to say, these tips are guided by my own experiences and may not be to yours or everyone’s liking.

Stellarium

Stellarium is a planetarium software which can be downloaded for free and is extremely useful for planning sessions, seeing what is about, learning the positions of constellations, distances and sizes of chosen objects, planetary motion through time and much more. If you haven’t got it, download it now.

Star Atlas

It’ll also be a good idea to find a decent star atlas. Out in the field and for planning your sessions, you’ll find it indispensable. They’re not that expensive to buy, they’re pieces of art in themselves and are extremely useful. Quite literally, you’ll be lost without one.

RACI Viewfinder

A 9x50mm, right angle correct image viewfinder will also help when it comes to hunting out deep sky objects. It will deliver stars right down to about 8 magnitude, even if you're in an light polluted (LP) area, meaning you’ll be able to see every star plotted on your sky atlas and when you move amongst those stars, your left is left and your up is up.  As the evening wears on and brain fatigue sets in, this correct-image feature is a huge aid when it comes to moving amongst the stars and following your star map.

Telrad or Rigel

Red-dot finders will also be a big help. These can’t deliver more stars than your eyes alone can see, so if you're in an LP area, you're relatively limited. But, they really do speed up your finding, really do help judge where you are, but I feel it must be used in conjunction with the finder-scope. Whether in decent dark skies or light soaked LP areas, you position the bull’s eye or the other two rings in the proper place against the stars and you’re done. If you're out a little you can work out where you are by either looking through your viewfinder or the three ringed circles of the red-dot finder giving you varying degrees of the sky you're looking at.

Low Magnification Eyepiece

A long focal length, low magnification eyepiece (EP) will be your star-hopping workhorse. The low magnification EP should offer sufficient field-of-view to manage along with your star map, finder-scope and red-dot finder and ought to be able to pick out or hint at what you're hunting. I feel an EP which offers a magnification of between 50x and 60x with a little over 1º true field of view will be sufficient for the job.

Observing Chair

Stargazing requires time, patience and comfort. You need the patience to spend time at the eyepiece waiting for those brief moments of atmospheric stillness where everything is perfect and comes into view. To have this kind of patience you need to be comfortable and so you need to be seated. This cannot be stressed enough. If you want to do some serious viewing, do yourself a favour and buy or make an observing chair.

Red Light

To retain night vision you also need a red light but red light in itself doesn’t equate to suitable for night vision. Any light impacts on dark adaptation, but for the minimum impact, a very dim red light is best. I think a decent astronomy light should start out dim with no chance of triggering any kind of white light by mistake and it should be able to go from that dim light to truly dark adapted dim settings. This variable light feature will also be handy when confronted with the usual conditions of a night’s observing: a certain amount of light may be needed to read the fine detail of star charts, another amount might be needed for a midnight collimation check and another amount will be necessary for sketching or looking for something that has been mislaid.

Eye Patch

Many people find it best to keep both eyes open while observing, since squinting strains the working eye. You can cover the off-eye with one hand or you can use a large hat to carefully pull over the non-working eye. Both methods will keep the eyes open and with quick adjustment, you’re back to stereo. As handy as these two maybe, I prefer using an eye patch, not the horrid plastic ones, but those made of card and covered with black material or those picked up at your local pharmacist. You might also find it handy to have a large piece of dark cloth or towel to drape over your head whilst observing. This may sound a little excessive but it seems ridiculous to have spent a lot of money on a telescope, pricey eyepieces, and other astro-related gear, only to be limiting your observing potential by silly stray light. The whole thing, eye patch and cloth will cost you no more than a few €s but will probably turn out to be one of the most useful non-optical bits of kit in your astro-gear.

Handy Tips

When looking at objects on Earth, a microscope or telescope’s main function is to magnify the object. When stepping from Earth into the Solar System, a telescope helps collect light and magnify the distant detail on the Moon and planets. But generally speaking, a telescope looking at deep space objects has a different role to play.

Reaching out to cosmic wonder, thousands if not millions of light years away, the principle function of a telescope isn’t to magnify the object but to collect light from it. When peering into deep space, you are not using a telescope to see objects because they are too small, although they might be, but rather because they are so dim, you need light.   

As a species, we have evolved to see things under the bright light of the Sun and when there is no Sun, we have developed technologies to take its place. To view objects in the dark with a telescope requires a different game plan and a whole range of new techniques to be learnt. I will try to share some insights into those techniques which will probably already be known, but once again, worth going over.

Light Pollution

The single worst enemy for stargazing is light pollution. It wraps itself around the skies and the delicate diamond glint from stars and the luminous glow from deep sky objects are smothered. My small 3" or 4" refractors in the countryside show galaxies and nebulae better than my 10" in the city. In effect, darker the night skies, brighter the deep sky objects.

Most of us have to deal with light pollution in some manner or other and it is possible to do a fair bit of observing even under city skies. The planets and Moon and double stars are not affected and with diligence, you could probably work through most of Messier’s list. With this said, if you’re into your deep sky objects it is necessary to plan a number of dark-sky trips during the year. There is nothing quite like a peaceful and clear night where the stars are like fists of silver dust pitched in the wind and those hidden cosmic clouds can at last reveal their mysteries. 

If it isn’t possible to visit dark sites from time to time, don’t beat yourself up about it, but you are robbing yourself of detail and beauty that might have been possible. However, observing in light polluted areas can be extremely useful and shouldn't be used as an excuse not to observe. Not only do you continue to hone your star-hoping skills but you can still make great observations and finds and later compare them with your dark site ones. This is an interesting project in itself, for you'll see the effects LP has on your eye and the given object.

Whether in the city, suburbs or countryside, you will find that the observer’s zenith is where the sky will be darker, so try to plan your sessions accordingly. It’s also a bit of a truism that when folk stop hustling and bustling and start going to bed, light pollution tends to improve. It might also be an idea to note the afternoon skies an hour or two before sunset. The deeper blue they appear, better the chances of a decent dark night. Needless to say, the delightful sight of strong Moonlight is a natural light pollution and nature’s way of telling us to stick to observing double stars, planets and the Moon itself.

Dark Adaptation

It was briefly alluded to above with the mention of red torches and pirate’s eye patches, but you’ll also need to think about adapting your eyes to the dark. The human eye takes time to adjust. After half an hour or so, you will start to notice a significant difference, after an hour, you should be pretty much adapted.

If you have planned an evening of observing deep space objects, try not to observe any bright celestial object such as the Moon or planets with your working eye throughout the deep space session. Hence the usefulness of an eye patch. If you’re waiting for the telescope to cool, start out with open clusters, star fields, perhaps some doubles. After half an hour or so, you can start the deep sky observing session with confidence.

Averted Vision

As curious as it may sound, looking directly at deep space objects might not be the best method for observing them. When you look directly at something, the image falls on your retina's fovea at the centre of your eye and is extremely good for picking out detail with the aid of good illumination but is relatively blind to dim light. If you look directly at dim nebulae, for example, they may just disappear. As such, try to train yourself to not look directly at the object. By doing so, you are effectively moving the image away from the fovea and onto parts of the retina more sensitive to black, white and grey.

The technique doesn’t take long to master, but will probably seem odd at first. We have evolved to look at things directly, so averted vision is a little counter intuitive. Practice by centering a dim star or DSO in the centre of the eyepiece’s field of view and concentrate your attention on an area just a little off to one side or above. I find 2 o'clock a good position. Alternatively, place the object a little to the side or below the centre of vision. Either method should work, but finding your sweet spot will be a matter of trial and error.

Don’t Squint, Jiggle and Breath

Again, try not to squint when observing celestial objects, for by doing so you are not only straining your working eye which can lead to fatigue but also limiting your powers to detect faint objects and tweak detail from them. The solution is to observe with both eyes open, and if it helps, to either cup the non-working eye with the palm of your hand, cover it with a hat or to use an eye patch.

There may also be occasions where you are certain you have the specific area where you think the deep space object resides but it appears to be lurking under the limit of visibility. If this is the case, tap the telescope or eyepiece just a little to make the field of view jiggle. It’s not guaranteed but you might find the object revealing itself.

Again, when you are concentrating hard you might find yourself holding your breath without realizing it. Limiting the oxygen to your brain, even for just a few seconds, compromises night vision. So while observing its good practice to breathe steadily and deeply but in a calm and relaxed fashion.

It’s also worth pointing out that night vision is impaired by alcohol, nicotine, and low blood sugar, so try not to smoke or drink too much or go hungry. If you do smoke, when you light up make sure your working eye is completely covered and well protected. You might find you’ll need more than an eye patch to prevent night vision from being damaged by the lighter’s sudden flare up and glare.

Aperture and High Power

When it comes to viewing deep sky objects, aperture rules. As explained in the introduction to this section, the more light gathering capacity your telescope has, the more you are likely to see. You’ll recall that in the chapter on possible gear, I mentioned a low power eyepiece (EP) which would be your working horse EP for hunting out deep space objects. This advice is based not only on personal experience but also from the fact that lower powers tend to concentrate the object’s light into a smaller area and thus increasing its apparent surface brightness. I feel this advice is sound, but high powers must also be used when it comes to viewing deep space objects in general. As such, try a wide range of powers on any object and don’t limit yourself; the best magnification is the one that shows you the most amount of detail.

Sketching and Log Book

There’s no correct way for enjoying a stargazing session. Some nights it's a good idea to just run around the heavens, other times to pick an object and tweak as much detail as you can until boredom sets in; there is no right or wrong way.

But I often feel it is better to be a space visitor, rather than a space tourist. Many people will go to a museum, for example, and will rush all the paintings, but at the end of the day, they only remember one or two of them at best and not that well either and by analogy, the same can be used when it comes to stargazing.

As said, there is no right or wrong way to plan your sessions and the following procedure is certainly not one I'd recommend all the time, but I do think it is important to slow down from time to time and either sketch or report what you see.

There are two essential features to visual astronomy. The first is to find the object and the second is to observe it. The former process involves star-hopping and reading star maps, the latter requires you to slow down and to engage yourself with the complexity and beauty of what is being observed. It's been said many times before but anything glanced at will always look like a featureless something or other but the trick is to go beyond this style of looking and practice picking out features and textures.

The point of sketching or making a log book is not to create some beautiful rendering of the object itself, or writing literature but rather to train your eye to see better which is what a lot of visual astronomy is all about.

Hope this helps a little

[Pig]

I think Rob just about covered everything above apart from keeping warm, this is because he lives in a super warm climate and probably has a wonderful tan  being cold can really shorten the time you spend observing and limit the enjoyment, so make sure wear appropriate clothing.

Astronomy can be an expensive hobby so it probably best to stick with the kit you have until you know which way you want to go, a good tip is to read peoples signatures on the bottom of their posts and see if they have a similar size scope as you, you can then simply ask the person there advice / experience with that particular type of kit.

As mentioned above "Stellarium" is very good as a guide to the skies, but do not despair it does take quite some time to remember celestial body names etc....  but in the end you will know enough names to find your way around. There are also quite a few Apps available that you can point at the sky to identify objects. I found this quite helpful when I first started observing.

There are also quite a few astronomy groups dotted about the globe where you can meet up with like minded folk who will will also help you to find targets etc... please use your brain and do not go anywhere on your own until you know people, you could end up in a sticky situation or worse.

By using a specialised scope or a full aperture solar filter the sun is also an excellent target to view and one of the most dynamic and enjoyable experiences, Please note you do need specialised filters or a dedicated solar telescope scope to view the sun, failure to do so will blind you.

[Kaznkev]

Thanks for the great posts.

I will have a look at everything that you guys have suggested and see what works for me.

I realise this hobby is all about learning and I have a lot of learning to do. I always liked looking up when there is a clear sky but never took the next step of getting some equipment to help me enjoy it even more.

Qualia that was an excellent post, some great tips for a beginner.

Thanks again to everyone for making me feel welcome.

[Floater]

Qualia/Rob, that is a tour de force.

Power to you, sir.

[RichM63]

The main thing is that you can enjoy this sport without any extra expense at this time.

Clear skies.

[Astro Imp]

Great post Rob/Qualia, before I read it the one thing that hadn't been mentioned that increased my viewing enjoyment more that any other was getting something to sit on and taking my time.

[faulksy]

and the darkest skys you can find

[phoobar]

Great post Rob/Qualia, before I read it the one thing that hadn't been mentioned that increased my viewing enjoyment more that any other was getting something to sit on and taking my time.

Something to sit on is essential as Astro says.

I would also add to get a dark (black) blanket to cover your head and eyepiece while gazing, I find this adds to the experience and also enables me to observe with both eyes open rather than squinting or using a patch.

If you manage to get jupiter you will need to observe for a good hour at the least to get the best views, detail will slowly come out and you will be rewarded.

Be patient and persevere.

[StarSapling]

Welcome to SGL.

Get a copy of Turn Left at Orion.

I have a copy and it is highly recommended on this forum. It breaks down many targets into possible groups for different types of telescope or binoculars.

I wouls also recommend a planisphere. Old tech' maybe but you can sit on the sofa and turn the disc so you can see easily which constellations are visible.

As for EP's use what you have  and read and read on ep's. The EP kits are OK but can be limited in the perfomance and sometimes not useable due to them giving too high magnifications with short focal lenghts.

+1 especially with regards getting a planisphere.  It will really help you in learning to know your way around the sky.