Hello, I have a newbie question.

[Gavin chapple]

Hi, I've just ordered my first telescope, an Orion Starblaster II 45 EQ. I've had a very big interest in space as long as I can remember and thought I'd finaly get a setup at the age of 41. I'll probably make myself sound silly with this question but I'll ask anyway. Where I live is bortle 6 but my house backs onto a large field but there are light sources around the perimeter of it, will the large field have any impact on bortle? I'm hoping it may lower my bortle to 5 but I'm guessing this is wishful thinking. 

[Louis D]

In my experience in Bortle 5/6 skies, your sky darkness will be highly dependent upon where the light sources are greatest.  My sky facing a city of over one million and a giant freeway interchange is closer to Bortle 8/9.  My sky facing open farmland is closer to Bortle 4/5.  Only overhead is Bortle 5/6.  Local lighting of a field won't impact sky darkness very much unless it's stadium level brightness.

[Jiggy 67]

Welcome to the forum Gavin. The Bortle scale is a measure of the brightness of the sky in your area. In my experience it is very unreliable, Clear Outside states my area is a 6 but I suspect it’s higher as published elsewhere. I don’t think a field would change much but it is clearly better than having house’s overlook your observing site. If you’re in a 6 you’re in a 6, I don’t think you can lower it. There are devices including apps that can measure the brightness of your sky.
Unfortunately light pollution is a curse to all of us, we just have to deal with it the best we can

[M40]

Hello Gavin and welcome to the site. Having similar conditions, my favourite observing position is a shaded area in the garden which does make a difference; If you can find or create a shaded area it might help. You have chosen a good telescope to start with as the primary mirror is already down the bottom of a tube, maybe something to consider in the future would be a dew shield which would have the effect of lengthening the tube, but unfortunately, as Jiggy67 says, not much is going to help the sky glow. Enjoy

[Louis D]

35 minutes ago, Jiggy 67 said:

If you’re in a 6 you’re in a 6, I don’t think you can lower it.

As I said, it depends on where you are located.  If you're on the edge of an urban center as I am, 6 is probably the value at zenith.  Looking away from the urban center will have a better Bortle value.  Looking toward it will have a worse Bortle number.  As such, choose your targets when they are positioned in the darkest parts of your local sky.

If you're in the middle of either an urban center or dark site, then the Bortle value will probably be fairly consistent around the sky, and it won't matter when you observe targets.

Edited March 5, 2021 by Louis D

[Floater]

Welcome. Hope you have fun, however constrained by the light pollution. 🙂

[laudropb]

Hello and a warm welcome to the SGL.

[Starwatcher2001]

Welcome aboard SGL Gavin. Good to have you with us.

As others have said, there's little you can do about it, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy astronomy.  I border Middlesbrough which is bortle 7/8, but I've seen a lot of really cool objects from here: clusters, globulars, doubles, brighter galaxies and nebula, planets, moon, asteroids.... Obviously getting out to a dark site is much better, but getting out under the stars in a poor locale is much more rewarding than sitting watching the tv.

Enjoy your scope.

[stevenson166]

There is a lot of filters that can help if you cannot get away from such skies....

[Gavin chapple]

Thanks for all the help guys I didn't expect to get so many replies. Louis D, the field does face away from the center, towards the coast so maybe it will help a bit. Starwatcher2001, I'm from up north too, whitley Bay near Newcastle 😁

[dannybgoode]

The biggest issue with say a dark field with perimeter lighting isn't the impact those lights have on the sky darkness quality but what it does to your sights dark adjustment if you glance at one. 

At a properly dark site you'll let your eyes adjust over 30-60 mins and will do anything o preserve that adjustment and big perimeter lights are likely to come into play in stopping your eyes becoming properly dark adjusted. 

But, you are still in a way better position than many of us in the UK where city viewing is all we have much of the time and nice Bortle 8/9 skies, security lights, a conveniently placed street light etc

[Mr Spock]

Hi Gavin, welcome to SGL 

Despite being on the edge of a city my skies used to be Bortle 5. Since the introduction of LED streetlights city wide I'm now 7-8... 

[Dave Lloyd]

Hi Gavin, welcome. 

[sloz1664]

Hi Gavin, and a very warm welcome to the Lounge

Steve

[SaberJeff]

Hi Gavin, welcome.

[Spile]

As well as the Bortle map, I have started using the light pollution map which gives me an indication of local areas that are less polluted.

https://www.lightpollutionmap.info

 

[PeterStudz]

Hi Gavin,

I’m new to all of this having only had a telescope for a couple of months. Well, technically it’s my daughters. So I’m not as qualified as many members here. However spec wise our telescope is very similar to yours. I’m also in Southampton which in my apart of town is around Bortle 7. Still we’ve had some fun and success from the back garden. As far as dark sky’s go this is what I’ve found.

The supplied eyepieces aren’t great. For me I had a 25mm, a 10mm and a 2x Barlow. The 25mm is OK but the 10mm poor and the 2x Barlow next to useless. I’ve now replaced all but the 25mm (but that will go soon-ish) and bought additional filters and accessories. The replacement eyepieces have help a lot but I’ve now spent more on these + accessories than the telescope itself. 

I quickly noticed that parts of the sky are darker than others. For me E-SE is best. But S poor. So if possible I try and look at things when they are E-SE. Also the higher something is in the sky the darker the sky. The horizon is poor. A star chart is helpful for this.

Generally some days of the week are darker than others. For me the weekends tend to be better. Time of night too. For me after mid-night it’s darker. That’s if you are willing and able to stay up late.

Something known as “seeing” plays a big part however dark your sky’s are.  I’ve found that the best seeing is often on still windless nights. But I’m sure that other atmospherics also play a part. If the stars are twinkling like mad you can be sure that seeing will be poor.

Be comfortable when observing. I will see more when I’m relaxed. I find sitting in a chair (I’m getting old) is better. It also means that the telescope is at the same height for me and my daughter. My daughter stands and I sit! And wrap up warm.

Allow time for your eyes to adapt to the dark. I’ll sit in the chair with a coffee (OK more often a beer) and by the time I’ve finished my drink my eyes are far more adapted. During this time I can scan the sky. It’s amazing what you start to see, things that you thought weren’t there. 

Purchase a red light/torch. You’ll need some assistance finding your way around your gear and as soon as you turn on a normal white light your night vision is gone. I’ve got a small red keyring type red light and a red head torch.

Hope that helps and above all have fun. So far the real issue for me has been cloudy sky’s rather that light pollution. This winter has been far too cloudy!

 

[Tiny Clanger]

8 minutes ago, PeterStudz said:

Hi Gavin,

I’m new to all of this having only had a telescope for a couple of months. Well, technically it’s my daughters. So I’m not as qualified as many members here. However spec wise our telescope is very similar to yours. I’m also in Southampton which in my apart of town is around Bortle 7. Still we’ve had some fun and success from the back garden. As far as dark sky’s go this is what I’ve found.

The supplied eyepieces aren’t great. For me I had a 25mm, a 10mm and a 2x Barlow. The 25mm is OK but the 10mm poor and the 2x Barlow next to useless. I’ve now replaced all but the 25mm (but that will go soon-ish) and bought additional filters and accessories. The replacement eyepieces have help a lot but I’ve now spent more on these + accessories than the telescope itself. 

I quickly noticed that parts of the sky are darker than others. For me E-SE is best. But S poor. So if possible I try and look at things when they are E-SE. Also the higher something is in the sky the darker the sky. The horizon is poor. A star chart is helpful for this.

Generally some days of the week are darker than others. For me the weekends tend to be better. Time of night too. For me after mid-night it’s darker. That’s if you are willing and able to stay up late.

Something known as “seeing” plays a big part however dark your sky’s are.  I’ve found that the best seeing is often on still windless nights. But I’m sure that other atmospherics also play a part. If the stars are twinkling like mad you can be sure that seeing will be poor.

Be comfortable when observing. I will see more when I’m relaxed. I find sitting in a chair (I’m getting old) is better. It also means that the telescope is at the same height for me and my daughter. My daughter stands and I sit! And wrap up warm.

Allow time for your eyes to adapt to the dark. I’ll sit in the chair with a coffee (OK more often a beer) and by the time I’ve finished my drink my eyes are far more adapted. During this time I can scan the sky. It’s amazing what you start to see, things that you thought weren’t there. 

Purchase a red light/torch. You’ll need some assistance finding your way around your gear and as soon as you turn on a normal white light your night vision is gone. I’ve got a small red keyring type red light and a red head torch.

Hope that helps and above all have fun. So far the real issue for me has been cloudy sky’s rather that light pollution. This winter has been far too cloudy!

 

 

I’m new to all of this having only had a telescope for a couple of months. Well, technically it’s May daughters. However spec wise it’s very similar to yours. I’m also in Southampton which in my apart of town is around Bortle 7. Still we’ve had some fun and success from the back garden. As far as dark sky’s go this is what I’ve found.

 

The supplied eyepieces aren’t great. For me I had a 25mm, a 10mm and a 2x Barlow. The 25mm is OK but the 10mm poor and the 2x Barlow next to useless. I’ve now replaced all but the 25mm (but that will go soon-ish) and bought additional filters and accessories. The replacement eyepieces have help a lot but I’ve now spent more on these + accessories than the telescope itself. 

 

I quickly noticed that parts of the sky are darker than others. For me E-SE is best. But S poor. So if possible I to try and look at things when they are E-SE. Also the higher something is in the sky the darker the sky. The horizon is poor. A star chart is helpful for this.

 

Generally some days of the week are darker than others. For me the weekends tend to be better. Time of night too. For me after mid-night it’s darker. That’s if you are willing and able to stay up late.

 

Something known as “seeing” plays a bit part however dark your sky’s are.  I’ve found that the best seeing is often on still windless nights. But I’m sure that other atmospherics that play a part. If the stars are twinkling like made you can be sure that seeing will be poor.

 

Be comfortable when observing. I find sitting in a chair (I’m getting old) is better. It also means that the telescope is at the same height for me and my daughter. My daughter stands and I sit! And wrap up warm.

 

Allow time for your eyes to adapt to the dark. I’ll sit in the chair with a coffee (OK more often a beer) and by the time I’ve finished my drink my eyes are far more adapted. During this time I can scan the sky. It’s amazing what you start to see, things that you thought weren’t there. 

 

Purchase a red light/torch. You’ll need some assistance finding your way around your gear and as soon as you turn on a normal white light your night vision is gone.

 

Hope that helps and above all have fun. So far the real issue for me has been cloudy sky’s rather that light pollution. This winter has been far too cloudy!

 

Wise words ( some weird formatting going on there tho'  : I seem to see a 'shadow post' below the actual one ! Did you use the edit option from the 3 dots to the top right of the post ?)

Very local conditions can make a big difference, one street lamp and some houses with bright outdoor lighting several streets away scuppers my view for about twenty horizontal degrees in the WSW from my garden : the sky is noticeably brighter there,  and I know any target in that patch below about 50 degrees altitude is simply not worth looking at, so if possible I try to catch it earlier when it is further to the East .

The only way for the OP to know for sure if there is any improvement to be had from the middle of the field is to try it , I suspect it may be slightly better if there are no intrusive house 'security' lights etc , but if that improvement will be worth carrying the kit out there only they can decide . Give it a try , if it works, it's a free upgrade !

Heather

[Cornelius Varley]

Now cleaned up.

[PeterStudz]

Apologise for the formatting issues. I did a cut and past from my iPad as I found it easier to type from another app. That’s probably where the problem came from!

Edited March 6, 2021 by PeterStudz
Spelling

[Tiny Clanger]

13 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

Now cleaned up.

Yep, weird shadow post evaporated from the original , but still visible where I quoted it !

Heather

[Cornelius Varley]

47 minutes ago, PeterStudz said:

Apologise for the formatting issues. I did a cut and past from my iPad as I found it easier to type from another app. That’s probably where the problem came from!

If you do a cut/paste use "paste as plain text" to remove any formatting.

[barkis]

Welcome to SGL. Gavin.  Never too late to turn attention to the night sky. It is not the mystery it was once describes as, much has be learned over the many years since man gazed up and wondered what it all meant. It is true to say that much has been discovered by amateur astronomers over the years, so If you are not sure of something you observe, mention it on the forum, and the experts will analyse it, and tell you the answer. Many new comets have been discovered by amateur observers, but of course every smudge in the sky is not a comet, lots of work to do before that solution is arrived at.,,,😀.

Enjoy your new instrument and ask as many questions as you  like, no question is a silly one.  We look forward to your observation posts, there is much to see and enjoy.                Best Wishes.

Ron.

 

 

 

Edited March 6, 2021 by barkis

[Louis D]

13 hours ago, Gavin chapple said:

Thanks for all the help guys I didn't expect to get so many replies. Louis D, the field does face away from the center, towards the coast so maybe it will help a bit. Starwatcher2001, I'm from up north too, whitley Bay near Newcastle 😁

Your situation is similar to mine, except replace my farmland with open seas.  If you look to the east, northeast, and southeast, you'll probably be able to pick out fainter objects thanks to less light pollution in that direction.  Basically, start observing objects as they rise in the east after sunset.  You'll be able to see objects earlier in the season than those like me who have to wait for them to be in my southern skies due to obstructing trees.  At that point, they are less than optimally placed for me light pollution wise.

If the bright local lights to the east around that open field bother you, you can invest  in an observing hood, or simply cover your head with a towel or opaque cloth.

Your southern, southwestern, and western skies are probably completely washed out with severe light pollution as mine are.  Other than solar system objects and the brightest stars and clusters, there won't be a whole lot to observe in those directions.

It looks like you have decently dark skies nearby to the northwest in Northumberland NP and vicinity if you ever decide to observe from a dark sky site.

Edited March 6, 2021 by Louis D

[barbulo]

Welcome!