Suggested star hopping tours for a novice?

[LittleSkink]

When we go somewhere new on holiday we buy (or borrow from library) a tourists guide to find the stuff worth seeing and make a plan of what we will try and see when

As a kind of star tourist I feel the need for something similar. I know there are a couple of great star hopping books but they arent cheap/easy to get

So for me (and lots of other novices I suspect) would you share one or two nice hopping tours to try - thanks

[ronin]

For a tour you need to define the time of year, saying to go look at M42 when on your summer break is not going to work.

That is a prime example.

Another in the other direction is Albireo, it is generally a Summer object but in reality you could easily see it 4-6 weeks ago if you went out. Cygnus has just gone out of view and that is part of the Summer Triangle.

More common in the US they used to have star maps that were based on the season, and I assume a time, often 22:00 or midnight.

I keep a set of simple diagrams of the constellations and find that this is a reasonable option. If a constellation is up high enough then I can simply grab the chart and work through the stars and objects. It is a sort of midway option but I find it works fairly well.

If I wanted I can print it on A4, the actual diagram is small, then list as a table under the daigram the interesting bits.

Then I have a record of what was observed and the sheet is something to write on.

[Joves]

Just sent you a private message with something that might help, LittleSkink.

[Moonshane]

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/197640-collimation-and-star-hopping/

[Qualia]

With Shane's guide in mind and a star atlas in hand, you can make your own star-hops .