Lesson learned.....Plan ahead

[Beefybean]

Well i just returned from a weeks holiday in North Wales. I took my scope along hoping to have some clear skies. Well as per UK weather only had one clear night. I set everything up and looked up at the night sky expecting the ussual suspects. Well i got a suprise the sky was much darker here than at home. There must have been 3 times more visible stars than i am used too and yes i got totally lost. It took me a while to get my bearings but without any idea of what i wanted to see and the excitement of seeing darker skies i never really got see anything new. Except for the spiral cluster which i could make out with the naked eye so explored that for a bit (which was quite amazing) then it was back to Jupiter and orions nebulae. So i think its time i sat down and started planning some sessions. Very big lesson learned ?

[rockystar]

Get a pocket sky atlas that stays with the rest of your kit, then at you can have a go at some of the things it lists, once you've found a familiar constellation. I was at a dark site a couple of weeks ago, it was the first time I could make out cancer and I could see the beehive cluster with the naked eye - amazing. Having the pocket atlas meant that I was able to fond my way to the other open cluster in cancer too.

[Floater]

Nice, honest post, Beefy. The thing is that now you know, now you can plan.

Most of us, more's the pity, just don't see those skies and it's easy to be disoriented when we do. 

But when we do - ain't it just great?! Plan or no plan.

[laudropb]

As well as the pocket star atlas I take a planisphere with me. This lets you see what constellations are visible and where they are in the sky.

[mickshere]

Thankyou for raising this topic, there is some great advice being offered which I shall follow