Disappointed

[Sempei]

I imagine  that  there are several  like me out there right  now.  Just wanted a little support  and advice.   I recently purchased a new scope and anticipated viewing Saturn  on the 15th.  Unfortunately  it  didn't  happen, and hasn't  happened  since.  The weather  has  been  extremely  uncooperative.  I admit  to  being  new to this but what is the usual response to this kind of disappointment?  

I have set out every night since the 14th  hoping  for  a  break  in  the  clouds  to no avail.  It has been quite frustrating.  

I can feel many of you telling me to suck it up and Believe me I will.   I'm totally hooked, but my wife is a little upset with my sitting up late only to hear me griping about it the next morning.  I'm wondering  how often  I  can  expect  this  kind of frustration.  Is it a common  complaint, or am I just having a run of bad luck.

[bottletopburly]

sounds normal ,though Saturn will delight 

[Peter Drew]

This is the bain of the astronomer's life. Cloudy nights following the purchase of a telescope, specially the first one, is par for the course. We all suffer from this and patience is a particularly important viryue for this subject.What I can say, in mitigation, is that your first good night will make the waiting so worthwhile.  

[Ouroboros]

It can be a very frustrating hobby, but also very rewarding. Sounds like you could benefit from looking at a good local weather forecasting website and sine satellite images before setting out to observe. Personally I never set up unless I'm pretty much guaranteed to get a clear night. Summer doesn't help either because it gets dark so late. But I know what it's like when you get somr new kit, you want to get out there. Keep at it though. It'll be worth it if you're really interested. 

[Mr niall]

Yeah it's fairly typical! I got my first scope for Christmas and managed to use it 3 times by the end of Feb! First light optics have an app called "clear outside", it's an absolute godsend and a pretty reliable guide of what the weather is doing over the next few days. Can't recommend it enough. And chin up!

[barkis]

You will need a good seeing night, and an unobstructed Southern Aspect to view Saturn.  It's declination is quite low
which means the earths atmosphere is much deeper to penetrate at such a low angle.
You may get lucky, and get a decent sight of the ringed wonder, as long the air is steady, with no turbulence.
It is a sight never to be forgotten, I wish you good luck.

 

[barkis]

Sempei, your Latitude is around 38 degrees N. So your view of Saturn would be a lot better than here in the UK.
The planet is higher in the sky, so perhaps you will be getting your good return from the planet soon.
Just  Stick with it. You need much patience to practice Astronomy, Observational, or Astro. Photography.

[billyharris72]

My advice would be don't sit out on cloudy nights waiting for them to clear, at least unless the forecast says it will. It's understandable, and I've been there and done it (especially at first when I wanted to use my scope for the first time) but it just makes the frustration worse.

Best advice is chill out, do something else and wait for a decent night that will give you the kind of first session you'll actually want to remember. Easier said than done though; we feel your pain!

Billy.