Absolute beginner

[Ross gould]

Hi to all!

So I have my scope,star charts,a basic knowledge of stars and there names,but as a beginner what would the members suggest I look for first?

I have a skywatcher 127 goto,trying to acquire better lens,I have the lens that came with the scope,a 25mm wide angle and 10mm plus a 2xbarlow,could the members also suggest which lens to get with this scope on a limited budget.really want to get this one right as I read so many people give up because they can't find/see what they want.

[Bart]

Hello and welcome.

There's the moon at the moment, whose light is glaring out much of the deep sky objects. Look for the Messier objects in Auriga, Taurus and Gemini. It's probably best to appreciate them when the moon is down and it's properly dark. Good luck

Barry

[PeterCPC]

Hello and welcome. I would stick with the eyepieces (lens) that you have for a while until you get more accustomed to finding your way around the sky. If you haven't yet downloaded Stellarium then do so as it will show you what is in the sky at the moment.

Peter

[BeanerSA]

For eyepieces on a budget, look at the 9mm "gold line" eyepiece to replace your 10mm. The 25mm should be good enough.

[Dazzyt66]

Early mornings eastwards will give you great views of Jupiter as well as Venus and Mars to a lesser degree. I've also just started with my first 'proper' scope (150p Dob) and am getting some great views of the easier Messiers (M45 & 42) as a start - when the clouds allow obvs!

Skymaps is great for a beginner as to what's on show each month:

http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html

Clear skies!

Dazzyt

Skywatcher 150P

[ronin]

With a skywatcher 127 - which I as assuming is a Mak/SCT - then get a 32mm plossl, you will want a wide a field as sensible.

Later a 12mm, 15mm and say a 20mm.

All are +/- 2mm as you can never be sure what is available in the different makes.

What to look at can depend on the times you go observing.

Early evening you still have Cygnus around so try Albireo, you can try Lyra and the double double in there, you may manage M57 the Ring Nebula in Lyra.

About 10:00 M45 The Pleiades make an appearance well they did Friday, with Orion a bit below and left of them. If you have a low horizon then at least look at Betelguese and maybe M42 will be possible. You can try the belt stars but you will have to look up the names for the goto, or manually (handset) find them.

If you want M31, Andromeda galaxy, then use binoculars - do not attempt with the scope.

If you get up in the cold, dark, freezing mornings thehn the 3 planets are visible.

Personally I intend to wait until they appear at a more sociable time.

[Astro Imp]

If you are viewing during the evening the moon is going to make observing DSOs very difficult at present but our neighbour is worthy of close study itself and your scope will give great views.

To increase your enjoyment of the moon the Virtual Moon Atlas is a great free resource:- http://sourceforge.net/projects/virtualmoon/

Good luck and have fun.

[Megaman250]

When I started a few month ago I really enjoyed learning the map of the moon and then started general stargazing and learning the constellations   

[BritAngler]

A lot of people decide that when the moon is out, astronomy is all but ruined, but a lot of fun can be had looking at the moon (especially the terminator, which shows the craters at their best). In the same way, most astronomers stay indoors during the day dreaming about cloudless nights, no moon and clear skies, when they could buy a Baader solar filter and go looking for sunspots instead.

Yes the moon isn't best when full, and yes it does block out many of the fainter DSO's, but there are still plenty of good objects to look at. Having a Goto mount helps....

The 10mm eyepiece is adequate but nowhere near as good as the 25mm, and I suggest it is the first one you should replace. Following that, buying a 5mm, 15mm and 20mm will get you a good collection, maybe a 30 or 35mm too. I'm not a fan of the barlow lens however; a 10mm & barlow will not be as good as a prime 5mm eyepiece.

Stellarium is a good choice, probably the best free astro software on the market - it beats many that you have to pay for! For books, Turn Left at Orion is a Must Have book, and I'd suggest Norton's Star Atlas and the Cambridge Star Atlas, both readily available from Amazon

And a flask of hot stuff....

[Ross gould]

Really useful info,many thanks.

The stellarium program seems the way to go!

[Ross gould]

Just got it for the I pad,amazing,really useful for deep sky objects

[Putaendo Patrick]

Try to get a feel for the night sky, how it changes during the night, and how it changes over the year. Try to get a mental map of the brightest guide stars and the constellations, Perhaps compliment your telescope with low power binoculars (cheap will do). This will take at least a year, maybe a lifetime!

Also consider "lists". Charles Messier was a French astronomer living at the end of the 18th century. He was interested in comets, but often confused by non comets. Hence he compiled a list of interesting deep sky objects. Some clubs will even give you a certificate once you have viewed them all (there are 110, I think). Sir Patrick Moore added another 109 star clusters in his Caldwell List.

Astronomy magazines usually have a monthly article on "whats up" for the next 30 days. Also look for internet sites with similar information.

Don't hurry to improve your eyepiece, fully exploit what you have for the moment and it will become apparent what magnifications you need to strengthen/improve.

[Dave Lloyd]

Hi and welcome Ross.