stargazing

[goddasgirl2021]

now that we our in the month of May, and I am out on my porch looking up into the cosmos what would be visible to look at with the nacked  eye , I will try 

and take my  CELESTRON  Binoculars out on the porch with me, I am trying to find somthing different to study even though amateur  astronomer,I am 

wanting to see different  objects in our  vast universe , I  would love to see something like  Saturn,Jupitor or just trying to find Nebulie 

[PEMS]

The trick is to have an idea of suitable objects in mind. Which also means some idea of where to look to find them. Naked eye there are very few, unless your location is somewhat dark, which is getting rare when people are concerned.

M42 is the obvious, Orion Nebula. Then is M45, the Pleiades, and between them is the Hyades cluster, easy to sort of find as the red star Aldebaran sits at the edge of the cluster. I suppose that Orions Belt counts. Also good for navigation as Left to Right directs you to Hyades then Pleiades, Right to Left directs you to Sirius, our brightest star, well after the sun technically.

Not overlly sure of other naked eye in the view from general populated locations.

Binoculars -  M13 globular cluster in Hercules, Double cluster in Perseus, M31 in Andromeda, 3 (or so) open clusters in Auriga.

You will need to have a book to show where the objects are, then you the binoculars and be able to aim them. Strangely not always easy. Finding a simple guide to the sky may not always be easy. As the book or giuide needs to be one that you can follow easily. I would suggest the least complex one you can find.

[laudropb]

With the naked eye you should try to find the various constellations. This will help you to learn how to find your way around the night sky. When I started out many years ago I used a device called a planisphere to help. They are still available but now many prefer to use apps on a tablet or phone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dark Vader]

A quick look on Sky Safari shows Saturn and Jupiter to the South East in your approximate location at around 3am. In binoculars you'll only see Jupiter as a bright disc but you should make out the 4 moons. Saturn will be a yellowish slightly oval shape. You don't say what size binoculars you have but, unless they're seriously big, you won't see any detail.

 

 

[Stu1smartcookie]

As we approach the summer the nights get shorter and as such true darkness is a very short window. Use the program  Stellarium ( or sky safari , as indicated above)  to indicate what is in the sky at a certain time from your location . Binocular astronomy is very worthwhile as you will get wide field views , but seeing Deep sky objects will be a challenge . The likes of the Orion Nebula is probably long gone by now and will reappear in the late autumn , but , there is still plenty of things to hunt down in the sky . And don't forget the Moon ... its a great target to observe , especially identifying the various landmarks . 

Good luck and clear skies

 

[RT65CB-SWL]

The planets at the time of writing are morning objects and to make it even more infuriating they are not very high up.

To get the best views download SkySafari [available on iOS or Android OS] or SkEye [available on Android OS only]. Also, if your porch is south facing, then that is a start, as this is where all celestial bodies will reach the highest point within the celestial sphere.

You may wish to consider purchasing a monopod or tripod to mount your binoculars when viewing too. Many binocular brands have a removable cap on the front hinge if they are small/medium size, so you can attach an ‘L’ bracket. Bigger binoculars have a central bar and support point for attaching to a monopod or tripod. If you want ‘luxury’ then there is the parallelogram [these are not cheap] and a sun-lounger. A ‘cheapskate’ solution for a support is an upturned soft broom/brush with the head wrapped in a cloth/duster.

Above are images of my 7x50’s and 20x80’s. 

Edited May 7, 2021 by Philip R

[Stu1smartcookie]

5 minutes ago, Philip R said:

You may wish to consider purchasing a monopod or tripod to mount your binoculars when viewing too

Good call ... a tripod makes observing with Bino's an even more pleasurable experience . 

[goddasgirl2021]

21 hours ago, laudropb said:

With the naked eye you should try to find the various constellations. This will help you to learn how to find your way around the night sky. When I started out many years ago I used a device called a planisphere to help. They are still available but now many prefer to use apps on a tablet or phone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ok thank you  for that info 

I will start with  the constellations ,and see which ones i can find and study,I have already  learned about the Big Dipper aka  Ursa Major and the little Dipper aka URSA Minor

[goddasgirl2021]

21 hours ago, PEMS said:

The trick is to have an idea of suitable objects in mind. Which also means some idea of where to look to find them. Naked eye there are very few, unless your location is somewhat dark, which is getting rare when people are concerned.

M42 is the obvious, Orion Nebula. Then is M45, the Pleiades, and between them is the Hyades cluster, easy to sort of find as the red star Aldebaran sits at the edge of the cluster. I suppose that Orions Belt counts. Also good for navigation as Left to Right directs you to Hyades then Pleiades, Right to Left directs you to Sirius, our brightest star, well after the sun technically.

Not overlly sure of other naked eye in the view from general populated locations.

Binoculars -  M13 globular cluster in Hercules, Double cluster in Perseus, M31 in Andromeda, 3 (or so) open clusters in Auriga.

You will need to have a book to show where the objects are, then you the binoculars and be able to aim them. Strangely not always easy. Finding a simple guide to the sky may not always be easy. As the book or giuide needs to be one that you can follow easily. I would suggest the least complex one you can find.

I  will do that first, the last time that I saw jupitor was to the west where I live

its somewhat dark,but with the security lights on all night it makes it hard to view the early morning sky,I will try 

going down to the back drive where we live which is in a condo,our unit faces out to the golf course I can still stand out on the porch

and  look away from the securty lights if I go to the left side of my porch I can view the night sky pretty well