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local groups for amateur amateurs?? (Somerset)

catwoman

By catwoman
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catwoman

catwoman

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Hello from the catwoman in Somerset, I have a 700 x 76mm telescope, but sadly not much no how! Love to look at the sky and the constellations but would like to know more, not sure where and how to start. Is my telescope powerful enough to see much? I have been able to look at the moon not sure what other things to look out for and focus on. thanks to ron for post. My telescope is a reflector, and the focal length is 700mm. the lens clear aperture (quote from leaflet) is 76mm.

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Sam

Sam

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Welcome to SGL Catwoman! Joining SGL is a great place to start. :rolleyes: Ask away with your questions and I'm sure someone will give you the information you need - or at least point you in the right direction.

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barkis

barkis

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Hello and welcome to SGL. Not sure about your telescope. 700 could be it's focal length and 76 it's objective diameter, which makes it's f ratio f9.2. I would have to assume it is a refractor at those kind of numbers. Does it have a lens at the front of the tube.

Could you supply a picture of it perhaps or a model name or number. If it is a refractor, then it is a 3", and will be useful for the moon and planets, also looking at double stars. I am afraid it will work poorly on nebula and galaxies though.

Anyway, a proper assessment can be made with more information.

Ron. :rolleyes:

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phillc

phillc

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Hello and welcome :hello1:to SGL catwomen. Newbie her myself so can't say much about your scope, but the first few items i got were a Planisphere (lat 51.5*),a beginners book Eg " Stars & Planets" by Ian Ridpath and a small red light torch.

And find out where your local astro club is. Hope this is of some help.

phillc :rolleyes:

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catwoman

catwoman

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Hello and welcome :hello1:to SGL catwomen. Newbie her myself so can't say much about your scope, but the first few items i got were a Planisphere (lat 51.5*),a beginners book Eg " Stars & Planets" by Ian Ridpath and a small red light torch.

And find out where your local astro club is. Hope this is of some help.

phillc :rolleyes:

Thanks phillc for advice, don't want to sound too dim - but why the small red light torch?
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catwoman

catwoman

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The red torch helps to preserve your night vision. A white light would destroy your night vision which can take up to half an hour to develop fully.

Sam

Thanks Sam, I've got lots to learn, but I guess we all have to start somewhere
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Vega

Vega

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Hi Catwoman, Im from Bridgwater, Somerset. Nice to have you on-board. Regarding your scope, it will be fine for the moon and planets. Its also capable of showing some of the brighter star clusters. It won't fair too well on other deep sky objects as a 76mm scope doesn't have enough light gathering power to bring them out.

To find your way around, I highly recommend downloading Stellarium. Its free software, very realistic and a great way to see where things are in the sky at a given time. Another recommendation by many is the book "Turn Left at Orion" readily available from Amazon. It shows how to find most of the well known deep sky objects in the sky (again many will be out of the reach of your scope though).

I highly recommend hunting down Saturn. Look for two brightish looking stars in the Eastern sky which are quite close together. One is a normal star, the slightly yellowy looking one to the lower left is Saturn. Just point yer scope at it. First use your highest number eyepiece and center the planet in the eyepiece, then use your lowest number (highest magnification). Although it may look small, you can easily see the planets rings even in your scope. Its a stunning sight.

Over on the other side in the Western sky is the Pleiades (Seven sisters). To the naked eye it looks like a small cluster of stars. In a small scope its quite a pleasing sight. I recommend having a gander at these too.

Matt

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radioactive

radioactive

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Catwoman

Hello how are you today? Nice to have you join us all here As you say you may have much to learn but its fun along the way a good book for you to get you more in the know would be one like "Turn Left At Orion" you may even get it from your local Library

Enjoy yourself its a very rewarding hobby :rolleyes:

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Gene

Gene

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Hi Cat,

I'm also in Bridgwater like Vega. Welcome to SGL. The main thing to remember is not to be overwhelmed with all the facts and figures... astronomy is such a huge subject. I would suggest buying a magazine like the BBC Sky at Night or Astronomy now from WHSmiths. They have lots of good articles for beginners.

G.

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catwoman

catwoman

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thanks for all the tips and advice, plus the warm welcome from everyone. I'm in Wellington near Taunton, I've found out about a local astronomy group in Tiverton, but was hoping for somewhere closer. I will also be off to the bookshop for supplies!!!

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Gene

Gene

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Hi,

We have a modest Astronimical Society in Bridgwater.

As you'd expect its friendly and informal, with members ranging from complete novices to very experienced amateur astronomers. We meet at Bridgwater College each month on a Wednesday evening with an observation evening away from the town on the Friday of the same week.

Hope the link to the website works:

http://dbown100.tripod.com/BWASTRO.htm

Its not too far away...

G.

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