Favourite Sky Thing

[jgs001]

A combo of the moon, M44 and M45... Although, I do have to agree with Dave as well. There's just something about getting lost totally in that huge swath of stars.

[JamesK]

So far, for me, The Moon. Can't pretend that I've looked at any deep-sky beauties live (yet!), as in not on a picture, but the moon is great to watch even without equipment. Looking through Binoculars reveals a whole range of interesting features. Can't wait to go to the next step with the scope. By the way, (newbie question coming up) are any of those eyepiece "Moon Filters" I got with my telescope, work an good?

Other "likes" so far:

Saturn, Hyades and Pleiades, and them nice FOV clusters.

[DemonicOmelette]

They are basically like using sun glasses on a really bright day. I think you can see a lot more detail using the moon filter, as there isn't so much glare....

-eli

[roberte76]

its got to be the milky way

saw it on a moonless extreme dark sky in wales last year whilst camping and i was staggered by it,i suppose its the scale of it in our night sky and the knowledge of the actual scale we are viewing that totally blows me away,

[athlon]

probably either Eta Carinae, Omega Centauri, or the Tarantula Nebula, all of which look amazing from my backyard, that said, i do miss the Veil nebula, that used to pass overhead at my home in Scotland, although here is Oz, it just pokes above the horizon

[insomnia]

You see the moon the moment that you are born and it is not until you see it through a scope that you realise how remote and how lonely it looks from earth. All the dips, curves and craters

It is very easy to dismiss the moon as a quality celestial object simply because we see it every day.

[dark knight]

Has to be the moon for me. The detail observable is just awesome, plus it's the only time I get to wear sunglasses at night.

[The Warthog]

The Moon, and next to that, M42.

[gliderpilot]

I can't decide so I have broken mine down as follows:

Naked eye: night sky from a dark site with bright milky way showing dust lanes. I went climbing in the Alps a few years ago (the joys of university holidays) and the night sky from 3,500m surrounded by snow covered mountains is a very special memory.

Binoculars: double cluster and Stock 20 - so many stars! Pleiades is also wonderful

Telescope: The moon (always stunning and always different), Saturn, Orion nebula, Veil nebula. I spent ages hunting for the veil over a period of nights with binos and scope without success. Then I tried using a UHC and it popped out clear as day. Since I earned my stripes star hopping to it (and over it without realising) the Veil has always had a special place for me.

One day I will see the southern sky: megellanic clouds, tarantula nebula, eta carina, jewel box, omega centauri. Until then I am northern-sky biased!

[Dean]

The constellation of Orion has always been my favorite object. It was the first constellation I was able to recognize as a child. I used to watch it pass my window at home as I fell asleep. I now always find it a comforting object if I’m in a foreign country along way from home.

[Talitha]

The constellation of Orion has always been my favorite object. It was the first constellation I was able to recognize as a child. I used to watch it pass my window at home as I fell asleep. I now always find it a comforting object if I’m in a foreign country along way from home.

That's beautiful!

[SteveP]

For me, it just has to be Saturn and its moons. I can watch them forever especially when I can see the moons moving behind Saturn!

Outside of the solar sytem it has to be the Beehive cluster. It's like watching millons of £'s worth of tiny diamonds sparkling against a dark sky