Help locating Saturn, Mars and Venus - any assistance is very much appreciated)

[pblackwell]

Hello all,

Just got my first telescope for Christmas which I'm so happy about as I've always been interested in space, been to lectures, met Prof Brian Cox, Lucie Green, even saw Stephen Hawkins.

I've just set up my new SkyWatcher BK 1309 EQ2 and I'm quite confident I will be able to locate the moon, but my desire is to see Saturn, and Mars and Venus to start with.

I have absolutely no idea how to locate them despite some google searches. I'm going to install Stellarium on my iPhone will this help?

I live in London in the UK, no idea what direction or what time I should look.

Any help would be just amazing.

Many thanks thanks

Paul

[Tinker1947]

Stellarium will show you where they are not only in real time but you can advance the time while a planet is on the screen and watch it rise or fall making a note of times there in favorably positions and times....

http://www.stellarium.org/en_GB/

[Davey-T]

Seems to be a recurring theme ATM , download Stellarium (see link) 

All planets rise in the East on the Ecliptic, Jupiter quite bright and unmistakeable about 11.30 followed by the others and just before dawn the Moon.

If you stay up 'till 5.30 you can see the ISS pass over

Dave

 http://stellarium.org/

[ronin]

Someone else has asked almost the same:

Search out Stellarium, download and install.

Enter your location, 51.5N and 0.5W should do, or use whatever look up they have.

Open it up, there will be 2 red lines on the screen Ecliptic and Galactic centre. You want ecliptic.

Mars Saturn and Jupiter are generally presently morning objects although Jupiter is rising in the East about midnight but it is low.

Venus is always a morning or evening object, not a night one.

Mars is SMALL, expect only a tiny red disk, Jupiter id OK at 60x or more Saturn want 100x preferably 120x.

[Ruud]

Stellarium always helps!

Also install it on your laptop / desktop to get a bigger view. It really is a very beautiful program.

[Davey-T]

Open it up, there will be 2 red lines on the screen Ecliptic and Galactic centre. You want ecliptic.

You need to press the "coma" to get the ecliptic line to show.

Dave

[triton1]

Hi there and welcome to SGL +1 for all the advice given

[Stu]

Jupiter transits the meridian at around 4.42am tomorrow morning, that's when it is at its highest in the South for the night. You should see Mars at the same time.

For the others it's a hang out till just before dawn, or an early start [emoji6], 6.30 or 7 ish.

[pblackwell]

Thank you all for the quick responses and helping me. Stargazing is something I can't wait to explore and is something I should have done many years ago.

I will download Stellarium and have taken note of all your responses.

If you have any guidance or starting recommendations for please let me know, like what to start looking at, where to look and at what time, I couldn't thank you enough.

Many Thanks once again everyone

Paul

[laudropb]

Hello and a warm welcome to the SGL. Play around with Stellarium then go out and look at the evening sky. I would also recommend that you purchase a planisphere. I found this to be an invaluable tool for learning the night sky.

[Craig20264]

One of my stocking fillers for Christmas was a great lkitte book. The 2016 Guide To The Night Sky. Published by Collins it has everything you need to know for the coming year with regard to stars, planets, Moon Phases and dates. All set out month by month, with views to the North on one page, and to the South on another page. Just make sure you get the correct copy for your location in the Hemisphere. It even gives you a Twilight/Darkness scale.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/2016-Guide-Night-month-month/dp/0008141312

[Davey-T]

Good book to help you find your way around, click on the First Light Optic Logo at the top of the page to order.

Dave

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/turn-left-at-orion-book.html

[JamesM]

Hi Paul and welcome to the forum - Happy hunting!

Clear skies and hope you enjoy your stay here.

[Pete Presland]

Hi welcome to SGL from Pete in Bedfordshire  ​ 

[michigander]

Welcome to SGL, Paul!

Dana

[pblackwell]

'The 2016 Guide To The Night Sky' book reserved and collecting after work today. Planisphere ordered. Done.

Many thanks guys!

Paul

[Hitman77]

I like to use stellarium as already mentioned and found Turn Left At Orion very helpful in the beggining - once you get to know your way around the sky it all starts falling into place

Andy

[Vox45]

Hello Paul and welcome to the forum

the cool thing is that the sun/moon and planets all follow the same path (the ecliptic) Basically, the ecliptic it the plane of the earth orbit around the sun, but since most planets are also on the same plane we can consider that the ecliptic is the plane of the solar system.

So if you know where the sun rise and set or are aware of the path of the moon, then all bright objetcs around that line will be planets (jupiter,saturn and venus are reeeaaally bright) You will not find planets in the north or super high in the sky (at you location). They can be low though (setting or rising) east and west, but always along that line.

Best thing is to use Stellarium and run it at fast speed to better understand the movement of planets and sun/moon ... plus it is really fun to watch

Cheers!

[glowjet]

Hi Paul and welcome to SGL. If you would like a one to one talk with experienced and seasoned Astronomers, then I would recommend you pay a visit to the Baker Street Irregulars Astro Soc, who hold their meetings in Regents Park. With this on going bad weather, you would need to search their web site for details of meeting times. Enjoy the forum