First night with telescope

[Knighty2112]

M31 did the same thing for me the first time I viewed it too many years ago. To be honest I always check out M31 most nights as I use it as a gauge for how good the viewing is. If I pick it up easily in my scope then it should be quite a good night. If I struggle then I tend not to waste too much time on looking for any more DSO's.

[Astro Imp]

^^^^^

I do exactly the same, have a quick squint through the bins, gives a good idea of sky conditions.

[Tim99]

Hello Sagan,  I finally bought an inexpensive laptop and set it up on a card table right next to the telescope.  Stellalarium is so handy when it's there when you need it.  I also made up a notebook of things I want to search for.  I either make a drawing of how to find the object or print out a screenshot of the directions.  Then I can use my little red light, which is clipped to my hat, to look at my directions.  It helps if you plan out what you want to try to look at before you go out.  Otherwise, I find that I am wandering around lost up there.  haha