What’s your best advice for a beginner

[Tippi]

Hi all,

so I went with buying a Skywatcher Skyliner 150p after reading lots of opinions on beginners telescope choices for my budget in a previous post (thank you all by the way!), and it’s arrived and wow it’s exciting to see even in the boxes!! (Also slightly bigger then I expected so wrapping it up and hiding it from my boyfriend ready for Xmas has been a tad tricky haha!).

so I’m now here again asking for some advice on getting him (& me) started with using the telescope, just wondering if there is any good starting points to read up on or tips on what to be looking at first! Any more thorough guides to this Skywatcher Skyliner etc too so setting up goes smoothly?

just thought to ask in advance as it will be nice to point him in the right direction as soon as poss!

 

thanks Tara ?

[John]

Congratulations on your new scope

I'm sure you will get lots of good advice on how to get the best out of it.

My top tips would be:

- Get a feel for how the scope operates in daylight. It's very frustrating to fumble around in the dark trying to work out which bit does what.

- Make sure that the finder scope is aligned with the view through the main scope eyepiece as accurately as possible.

- If you don't already have one get a good introductory guide to the night sky eg: "Turn Left at Orion", to help you choose things to observe and find them in the sky.

- When observing an object start with the lowest magnification eyepiece in the scope first and then move to higher powers if the target needs it.

I'm sure other advice will follow !

Have fun

 

[Ben the Ignorant]

46 minutes ago, Tippi said:

so I’m now here again asking for some advice on getting him (& me) started with using the telescope, just wondering if there is any good starting points

Presume nothing (as was written on an american bumper sticker, an advice valid in every aspect of life). All of the beginners' frustrations come from preconceived ideas, and rushing to conclusions. Presume nothing.

[Galen Gilmore]

Patience is key.

No matter what you are doing in astronomy, you must be patient. Such as waiting for your eyes to adapt to darkness, staring at a grey blob to try and resolve detail, waiting for 2 hours for your exposure to finish (imaging), or just setting up the scope (EQ mounts mostly).

[kendg]

Remember that what you see in the scope is not going to be close to all the wonderful images you see poster here.

Start with the bug stuff (the moon) and work your way from there.

[Nyctimene]

An excellent choice you have made with the 150 p!

Start by daylight, using the 25 mmf eyepiece. Get a prominent target at least a mile away into the center of the field. Align the finder using the three screws, then repeat with the 10 mmf eyepiece. Now you are ready for the moon!  First deep sky target: M 42, the Orion nebula.

And, in addition, to quote Moonshane from here:

"In Dobland, anything can be sorted, so don' t worry!"

Clear Skies, have fun, and Merry Christmas!

Stephan

[MarsG76]

Congratulations on the scope. All I can say is take your time with the scope... Set it up during day light, play with the features and controls and get the feel for it since most thing wil be operated in darknes, or near darkness.

Get a star map/app.

Get to know the basic constellations and stars.

Use low powers at the beginning and target brighter objects. I'd recommend magnitude 8 and brighter...so mag 8 or less.

Write a a list of objects you want to observe during the night so that you have a plan.

Your first should be the moon..it looks great now and will be detailed for the next week or so.

Later in the night, check out the Orion Nebula... You'll love the view.

[brantuk]

Download Stellarium - it's free. Set your location and then you can see the sky as it appears outside your door. Familiarise yourself with the ecliptic (the path followed by the planets) and the east/west movement of the constellations. You'll find yourself pointing south a lot in the early days. Then take it one constellation at a time - discover all the objects in each constellation. You'll soon build up a repertoire over the seasons of objects you can go straight to unaided.

You'll find good guides to what to look for each month in the center pages of Sky at Night and Astronomy Now magazines. A good book to read is Turn Left at Orion - it'll show you what to look for, what each object looks like, tips on how to look at different objects, and gives additional information about what you're looking at. Good luck.

[ImmortalBee]

I hope my advice is useful:

* You may fail to find a target on the first attempt (especially deep sky objects), be prepared for that. Any frustration you have at being unable to find your target will be offset by the relief/happiness at eventually finding it. Plus you might find you enjoy the hunt.

* Collimation may seem intimidating at first but it legitimately isn't that bad.

* Don't dismiss the Moon as a beginner's object which is only useful for learning the ropes.

* As well as doing internet/book research, get out there and use your 'scope. You'll learn more, and it's probably more fun

[Tippi]

The info you all are giving is brilliant, thank you again. To have these great starting tips coming from more experienced users is so appreciated and I will be sure to take it all in. I don’t have any expectations yet on exactly what I will see when first using the Skywatcher Scope & have only ever viewed the moon and stars etc with my own sight so it’s all going to be a big learning curve but hopefully an exciting & rewarding one once we get to grips with the basics!  I’m going to get Karl to join this group as well so he too has access to all the site has to offer and I’m sure Christmas Day will be occupied with setting up & testing the scope in daylight! 

I’ve also brought him a visit to our local Observatory used by the county’s university, they have evening talks & activities where enthusiasts can use their big telescopes & planetarium. So all in all I hope he will be very pleased with his Xmas gifts!! ?

i haven’t brought any extra lenses or equipment other then a moon filter & 2018 guide to the night sky book so hope all that’s with the telescope is sufficient for now? But have noted all your suggestions as what else will be useful!

thanks again all ?

[Nyctimene]

Tippi,

thanks for your reply! You've made a very sensible decision to go slow with extra equipment at the moment. With your scope, the supported eyepieces should work fine.

You might add a star map/app, as suggested by MarsG76 above; many on here use  the Sky+Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas (PSA); for smartphones/tablets  I'd recommend SkySafari Plus. Two or three times a year it's offered at a reduced price (-50%),often announced from members on here.

A dimmable red light torch, or combined red/white light, will be useful.

Start a small astro diary/logbook, reflecting your way to the skies.

Stephan

[Stu]

2 hours ago, Tippi said:

I haven’t brought any extra lenses or equipment other then a moon filter & 2018 guide to the night sky book so hope all that’s with the telescope is sufficient for now? But have noted all your suggestions as what else will be useful!

I think that's very wise. Just get used to your scope and what it can do, you will work out what you find you need to buy to suit how you observe.

One thing I would say, is to be prepared for the confusion of the views being different orientations.

What do I mean by that? Well, in astronomical scopes things don't often appear the right way round. In your 150p, which is a Newtonian reflector, the image you see will be upside down, as will the finderscope.

This can be confusing when trying to find and identify things in the sky, but by being prepared for it you will hopefully get used to it sooner.

There is nothing you can do (or need to do) to correct the view through the scope, but the standard finder can be improved.

One purchase which may be worth considering is a Telrad finder. This shows a set of circles against the sky and is the right way round so makes finding things much easier.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/telrad-finder-astronomy.html

The other thing to be aware of is focusing. If totally out of focus the you won't see anything through the scope (strsbwill be too spread out). Best thing to do is to focus on something a mile or two away during the day using the 25mm eyepiece, then you won't be too far out when it comes to observing. You can do this when aligning your finderscope.

There is a little article here which may help with getting started.

http://www.popastro.com/help/help.php?title_pag=Starting to Use Your Telescope

Have fun with your new scope  

[smudgeball]

My advice, save your money and take up stamp collecting !

It's cheaper and not weather dependant.

........but seriously to not go over the points above, my advice is don't feel you have to do it all at once.

All those galaxies, stars, planets are going nowhere soon.

Just enjoy yourself when you get out (you don't have to go out everytime it's clear)

The time it feels like an expensive burden is the time you start thinking about selling your kit, and nobody on SGL wants to see you do that.

Whatever part of astronomy interests you, stick with it.

Have fun.

Regards

Neil

[Ricochet]

One specific bit of advice for the telescope you have bought is that the focuser has two extension tubes. One is 2" in diameter and one is a 2"-1.25" adaptor.  When using the telescope you only want one of these extension tubes in place, depending on which size eyepiece you are using (so you will want the 2"-1.25" piece). The scope will have been delivered with both the 2" extension and 2"-1.25" adaptor both stacked in the focuser. In this configuration the scope will not focus on astronomical targets and many new owners have been caught out by this at their first attempt to observe, However, when aligning your scope and finder on a distant daytime target you may need to use both tubes as focusing on things closer to you requires the eyepiece to be further out.

You should also be aware that it is significantly colder at night than during the day so make sure to wrap up well. Don't forget your feet as they will be in contact with the cold ground all the time you are out.

Software wise Stellarium (PC, free) and Sky Safari Plus (Phone/Tablet, not free) as suggested above are also my choices. Clear outside (Phone/Tablet app or use the link in the "Resources" tab at the top of the forum) is also a great tool for letting you know when the skies might be clear.

You will undoubtedly want to have a look at some planets, and at the moment this requires getting up before sunrise. If you have a decent view to the southeast then at around 6-6:30 in the morning Jupiter and Mars will be visible. The scope does need to cool for high power views so you may want to get the scope out a bit earlier to get the most out of it.

[carastro]

Also don't be too eager to try to increase the magnification, objects are usually seen with better definition on lower magnification and the more magnification the harder things are to find and the quicker things will move out of the field of view once found.  Also if you change eyepieces to increase magnification you'll need to re-focus.  

The double cluster will be worth a look.  

Carole 

 

[DavidJM]

Backing up what others say

Align the finder scope in daylight

Get decent software to help learn the skies, stellarium is good

Turn left at orion is a great book

Use your eyes at night and get to know the stars you can see, will really help in star hopping, but remember that what you see in the scope will be orientated differently to what you see with your eyes

You do not have the Hubble telescope, do not expect book like images

Prepare for clouds and frustration, so many times I have planned a session and seen nothing

Don't rush out and spend, enjoy and learn the equipment you have first

Finally.........welcome to the most maddening, frustrating yet beautiful, wonderful hobby there is, enjoy it

[ronin]

If not already a bit familiar then learn a few of the constellations.

Plough (Asterism), Cassiopeia, Orion (Easy peasy), Perseus, Auriga, Cygnus, Hercules, Andromeda, Leo.

Reason is simply that the fuzzy bits are referred to by the constellation they are in. So you have to find the constellation then find where in the constellation they are. There are ways of getting from one to another. Like the pointers of the Plough point "up" to Polaris, they also point "down" to Leo. The 2 on the top bit of the Plough point right to Auriga. Cassiopeia is fairly easy and stars in it point to Andromeda and Perseus.

Having worked out a few then work out wherethe fuzzies "should" be. That way you have an idea of where to aim the scope.

Extra items either a 30mm plossl or a 25mm BST Starguider and at some time a 12mm Starguider or 8mm depends on how well you get on ith it. But immaterial of all said and done you will want and need more eyepieces. You are likely to want to relace the 10mm almost immediatly, it is generally not that good. The BST's are likely the optimum eyepiece based on performance, price and comfort, there are better but better costs a fair bit more. They also look good.

Oh yes, a good jacket and boots. It gets cold.

[Astro Imp]

Your boyfriend is going to love his present, a very capable scope with which to start his/your journey in this great hobby.

It has been mentioned several times to align the finder scope in daylight, it is MOST important not to point anywhere near the sun, you WILL instantly damage your eyes.

The moon is a great target to start with, it is at first quarter on the 26th Dec. and presents a wealth of detail. Look at the area between light and dark(known as the terminator), the shadows here throw everything into relief.

Another easy target is the Pleiades, also known as M45. Stellarium will show you where to look.

Have fun and keep us all informed of your progress.

Good luck and happy Christmas.

 

[Waldemar]

Be aware... the Astrobug is a sneaky creature! If it bites, you will be hooked for life to this amazing hobby, that will never end to amaze you!

Sharing this amazing trip with your spouse will give you both incredible pleasure!

Have Greatr Fun! 

[Paul73]

Warm socks and hat. Astronomy is mostly done standing still in a dark cold dark field. Being cold can ruin a night!

Also, driving the thing takes some practice. The image is upside down and back to front! Think of pulling the object to where you want it rather than the scope to the object.

Good luck. The Skyliners as great scopes.

Paul

[Helen]

That's a great scope - you'll have fun together

Loads of great advice above.  I'd just add: 

Learn to observe rather than just look ie take time over each object and think about what you can see (and describe it to your partner) - as you look longer more detail will probably appear, and as you describe it your brain will think about it more. 

Start recording your observations (and your fails to finds!, challenges etc) and maybe sketch what you saw- great to look back on

Keeping warm is really important, as is being comfortable.

Come and share your successes, challenges, and failures with us - we love observing reports, and solving problems.  

Enjoy the journey!

Helen

  

[Astro Imp]

^^^^^

+1 Great post Helen.