my first light

[william martin]

Tonight was my first light, I saw the moon finally but with my  telescope.

By the time I set up my telescope, the moon was setting fast in the Harz on.

I just have to wait until the moon is higher in sky.

But I did get a veaw if star , I use the Barlow lens it help out good the red dot veaw finder was fast to find it .

I started with a low 9mm eyepiece than stopped with a mid power eye piece

The looked like a crystal diamond

I wish the bright star  Venus  would show up.

[D4N]

Well done, I'm afraid Venus will be disappointing as there isn't really much to see.  It has phases like the moon but it has no discernible surface detail.

Saturn sets after the moon at the moment, that is a beautiful sight to behold and few people forget the first time they see it through a scope.

9mm isn't low power by the way, the longer the focal length of the eyepiece the lower the magnification.  So 40mm would be a very low magnification whereas 2mm would be very high.

[Knighty2112]

Well done. As the moon goes through its phases you be able to see it much better as it grows in size and is better placed to look at it too. Saturn and Mars can be seen in the sky low after sunset for a while, but you need a relatively clear horizon to see them, so if observing from a city they may not be as easy to see hidden by buildings or houses. As you learn the night sky you will be able to start to see and find other things too like M31 Andromea, M81 & M82 in Ursa Major which are galaxies, along with various globular clusters too (M13 & M92 in Hercules been relatively easy), along with a whole host of star clusters too, with the Pleiades been one of the most famous to see, which you can see even with the naked eye too. Enjoy all the views you see as you explore the night sky. 

[Akiainavas]

Glad to hear you enjoy it - and as others already pointed out, it's a good idea to hunt for Andromeda, Dumbbell Nebulae ( M27 ) and Hercules Cluster - they are all very nice sights, apart from what was already suggested above.

Clear skies!

[william martin]

I wonder about the morning star might be,

[D4N]

1 hour ago, william martin said:

I wonder about the morning star might be,

The morning star is a colloquial name for Venus as it is often the brightest object in the sky just before sunrise.  It is also a misnomer as Venus is just as frequently up in the evening and is not actually a star.

[william martin]

I give a try, but can Meade infinity 80 can do that?

[Paz]

5 hours ago, william martin said:

I give a try, but can Meade infinity 80 can do that?

I've got a record in my notes of seeing Venus and making out a crescent using (supposedly) 70mm binoculars - they were poor quality zoom binoculars that could go up to (supposedly) 60x. The 80mm Meade telescope is better quality and can do higher magnification so it should be fine for showing the crescent of Venus when the conditions are right.

[Knighty2112]

I can make out Venus with my 70mm frac OK enough to make out the phases of the planet, so yours should pick it up OK if not better. 

[william martin]

It is very interesting to find outer space.

One time when I was out side in pinal county  Az, at night  I was able to catch shooting stars at the corner of my eyes.

My eyes are faster than my telescope.