Getting started

[David Cadogan]

I am very new to stargazing and really have  no idea what I can reasonably expect to see with my basic telescope. Can anybody recommend a hands on experience where I can get some expert help?

 

[Rob Sellent]

Sketches are nice indications of what is possible to observe and how the object might appear with concentrated effort in the eyepiece. To get you started, here are a few artist:   Erike Rix, Rony de Laet, Jeremy Perez, Micheal Vlasov. 

SGL has a really nice write up about what one can expect to see here and there's another description here.

Needless to say, SGL and its members and moderators will also be able to help you with your enquiries.

Hope that helps a little