Few pointers for newbie please?

[Major]

Hi all.

Was just wondering if someone could give me some hints on what to observe. What I'd be after is few objects that are not hard to find for a newbie like me (clusters, doubbles etc...). I have clean line of sight towards the West, South-West and North-West.

I know question sounds daft (like my all questions...) but am getting a bit lost while out there.

Thanks in advance
Tom

[ronin]

First thing I will ask is do you knoe a reasonable number of constellations?

Reason is 3 "standard" doubles are Mizar, Albireo, Almaak = Ploiugh, Cygnus, Andromeda. Just if I say Almaak in Andromeda, is your next question Where is Andromeda.

More in a few minutes:

Double Stars
Mizar/Alcor    DS    UMa
Albireo          DS    Cyg    
Almaak         DS    And
Schedar        DS    Cas
Rasalgethi     DS    Her

Mag 6
M31        Gal        And
M33        Gal        Tri
M13        GC        Her
M39        OC        "Above" Deneb
C28        OC        And
C14        Dbl Cl    Per

Mag 7
M92        GC        Her
M15        GC        And/Equ
M2          GC        Aqu/And

Ignore anything marked Her, think Hercules is a bit too low now. Need to update a monthly list I keepm this was Oct, the clock change made some irrelevant.

[Major]

Thanks for chipping in .

I know few constellations, know where Andromeda is located.

[John]

Hi Tom,

What I tend to do is to work out which constellations will be on view and well placed (eg: away from the light pollution and not too low down, hidden by trees, houses etc) and then to have a look at what there is to see in a couple of those constellations. This web based guide, constellation by constellation, is quite high level but useful I think:

http://www.dibonsmith.com/constel.htm

The Cartes du Ciel or Stellarium software will help you find where the constellations are going to be from your viewing point and I find a good star atlas (eg: Sky & Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas) is very helpful for star hopping to the chosen targets.

[Major]

Wow, both of you are stars, thanks a lot!

[triton1]

I have a awkward spot where I observe just to keep away from lights etc and generally use the program Stellarium to plan my sessions you can fast forward it so you know what objects you can see at a certain time.

[ronin]

Try this slightly messy set:

Nov_Table.doc

Should be A4, should therefore print easily. Time set was 21:00 most are Southish and Eastish.

M57 may be not easy, but give it a try, double-double should go to 2 stars easily, getting all 4 split not so easy.

M36, M37, M38 are all in Auriga, should get all in less then 30 seconds. (I like easy)

[Guest Tuomo]

Book: Turn left at Orion

[popeye85]

I found this useful-

http://www.themcdonalds.net/richard/index.php?title=Recommended_Beginner_Astronomy_Targets

Also what's light pollution like where you are? The Reason I ask is that although astronomer's normally love a dark sky, as a beginner it can be a bit overwhelming to look at and see a carpet of stars and where constellation's can be easily lost, how about trying somewhere that isn't too dark to begin with (you don't often read a sentence like that in a astronomy forum!!)?

As well as stelarium I would also recommend getting a planisphere, great wee tool and it only cost a couple quid.

[Major]

Yes, planisphere and red torch are bits I am still missing, that be changed soon .

From few days I live on outskirts of small village. Have a lot of sky to peek at, but in the hours I was out there, quite few lights can mess things up - like last night, when church just behind my fence was illuminated by some sort of anti-aircraft seeker lights . Other than that, I can see lights from the street nearby so wouldn't say it is very dark here, but still have a lot to look at regardless.

I did some research, I know that some constellations like Cassiopeia contain many interesting targets. I asked for some easy ones for beginners cause when I go out, usually I am trying to look at too many things and end up with looking at nothingness with naked eyes (which tends to have a good effect anyway) - hence pre planned sessions could bring a lot better results imho .

[A budding astronomer]

You have picked the right time buddy! The winter sky is rolling in and it has some very fascinating objects waiting to be observed! Orion has some spectacular stars and nebulae such as the Orion Nebula which binoculars can pick up as a hazy patch. In Taurus, you have the naked eye Hyades and Pleiades open star clusters. And you have the beautiful binaries such as Mizar in Ursa Major, Albireo in Cygnus, Gamma Arietis in Aries.

Also, how do you apply a Signature Preference to your profile?

[brantuk]

1 hour ago, A budding astronomer said:

Also, how do you apply a Signature Preference to your profile?

Click on the arrow next to your icon at top right of the page and choose "Account Settings" - you'll find "Signature" on the next screen where you can edit in your gear or favourite quote etc...

[A budding astronomer]

Hello Brantuk, Thank you for telling me I don't have enough posts yet though.

[Major]

7 hours ago, A budding astronomer said:

You have picked the right time buddy! The winter sky is rolling in and it has some very fascinating objects waiting to be observed! Orion has some spectacular stars and nebulae such as the Orion Nebula which binoculars can pick up as a hazy patch. In Taurus, you have the naked eye Hyades and Pleiades open star clusters. And you have the beautiful binaries such as Mizar in Ursa Major, Albireo in Cygnus, Gamma Arietis in Aries.

Also, how do you apply a Signature Preference to your profile?

I know mate, winter is usually the time I am getting urge to observe . Waiting for Orion and few other  constellations. I have gazed with binos a while ago and saw some stuff, but now that I have some more flexibility with telescope, I want to go over my findings again . BTW, the single M that I have in my signature is Pleiades, it appears just over my roof in early evening hours. Mizar was ticked off just few days ago, but coming back to it as some kind of warm up before looking for other objects, Albireo is yet to be 'discovered', same as the last one you mention . 

I have downloaded few publications like Messier and Herschel catalogues and Messier checklist, few atlasses like Tri Atlas etc, printed it off and laminated few pages (for now with Ursa Major and Cassiopeia) so they don't get damaged and can be used outdoors, finally got red torch, all I need now is just clear sky.

Also getting better with telescope itself, focus seems to be  a bit smoother, finder is aligned so I can find single star with 100x magnification, think I may be good to go for now . 

[A budding astronomer]

Hi Major, I posted a topic on objects of interest in the constellation of  Eridanus. Hopefully that can be a help too

[Major]

Very interesting indeed, thanks for heads up! Might have to wait few weeks for it to be visible from my location, but it will be worth it

[A budding astronomer]

Hello Major, I can see Most of Eridanus from Ireland at about 11:00 PM, Well the fraction of the constellation we can see from the UK/Ireland! Like every other constellation we will get to see it earlier as the weeks go by.

[sophiecentaur]

On 02/11/2016 at 20:35, popeye85 said:

 

As well as stelarium I would also recommend getting a planisphere, great wee tool and it only cost a couple quid.

I was thinking I could do with one of them. Turn Left and Orion is good to read but sometimes it's hard to use the enthusiastic details because you can't actually find the starting point for star hopping. There seem to be a number of different Planispheres available and I would like to know which ones to avoid.

[ronin]

I just use the almost normal Philips one, think FLO do another that you may find a better "colour". The Philips is white on black, the FLO one is black on white.

I find the key item to using a planisphere is a reasonably tight paperclip.

Set the date and time, then apply the paperclip - stops it rotating. I tend to put the paperclip at the South position.

[popeye85]

The Phillips one is good and highly recommended. Alternatively most monthly astronomy magazines have a night sky chart for that month and it also have a list of events that month as well as 'target of the month' and such which will also help you out with what to look at.

For more detail and a great aid for star hoping Is the 'sky and telescope star atlas' I don't have it myself but have heard nothing but good things about it and is on my list to Santa!