Getting more from sessions

[banders808]

Hi all,

I'm still very new to star gazing but I've been out in my back garden with the telescope and casually observing when the weather permits. After pointing towards Cassiopeia last night I was rewarded with some spectacular star field views. I know that there are loads of objects to see there. After some thought, I have no ides what I was actually looking at (to be honest, I don't even know which part of the constellation I was pointing at). Just wondering what peoples thoughts are. Do I continue just pointing the scope at the sky and enjoy the views? Do I pick an object that should be visible and hunt for it? Do I make sketches of what I see in the eyepiece?

[brantuk]

Hi banders - my suggestion would be to obtain a copy of "Turn Left At Orion". It gives you a list of your first 100 objects all in seasonal order, along with finding instructions, an image of what it looks like so you know what you're looking for, and some interesting facts and figures for each one. If you want to make a sketch then that's great - you can then compare your sketch with the pic in the book. Hope that helps.

[davyludo]

Grab a free copy of stellarium for your PC (can also get it for tablet if you prefer). This is a good way of working out what's in an area of sky you're interested in. You can add equipment to it and basically "simulate" what field of view you should be able to see with a certain scope and eyepiece. Sky safari 5 is a similar tool but is available for tablets and phones (at a price). Try stellarium first. 

Turn left at Orion is very good and worth a look when you're just starting out. 

Try things out and see what you enjoy, as long as you're having fun that's all that matters. If you're not, then try something else.

I've tried sketching, but it's not for me. I don't have a tracking mount so I have to nudge the scope constantly, which annoys me when sketching.

[John]

Some good advice above already

I usually find out which constellations are going to be well displayed and then do a bit of research on interesting targets in those constellations. Stellarium (freeware planetarium software) is great for finding out "whats up" and it also shows a variety of object types and their positions.

Sometimes I just stick with one constellation and check it out thoroughly but also have sessions where I skip around the sky doing the "highlights". Depends on my mood really !

I've often found this website useful as a summary of the constellations and the main targets in them:

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

I've also found that a good star map such as Sky & Telescopes Pocket Sky Atlas has improved my deep sky object finding a great deal. Having good finders on your scope, properly aligned with the main scope, is essential too !

 

[davyludo]

I quite like the following book as well: 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Illustrated-Guide-Astronomical-Wonders-Observer/dp/0596526857

Objects are arranged by constellations rather than seasons. I find it useful when observing from certain locations when there may only be a couple of constellations that are well positioned (not blocked by buildings or trees, etc).  

[iPeace]

50 minutes ago, banders808 said:

Do I continue just pointing the scope at the sky and enjoy the views?

Whatever else you do: yes.

[banders808]

Thank all you for the above. 

 

[ronin]

Search out The Monthly Sky Guide by Ridpath+Tirion. They have a monthly prominent constellation and Cassiopeia is Septembers. Their maps of Cassiopeia includes a good number of the objects that are in the constellation - 2 Messiers but 7 or 8 NGC's and a couple of others. I find their information better suited to me and that can be the problem of any book/guide - you need to find one that fits in with you.

To get "more" needs some input. You can go looking for say Galaxies and tick off a few each night, M31, M33, M81, M101 sort of thing, or you can dig out the objects in a constellation. The Monthly Sky Guide is good for that.

The big catch is that you need to decide on which approach and also both need a degree of planning.

Stellarium is useful but possibly a good idea is to limit the magnitude of objects that are displayed - F4, set DSO mag, apply.