Hi Everybody from a cloudy Kent.

[cloud9]

Hello everybody on here. Ive recently taken a huge interest into viewing the sky and i look out every night with my binoculars but unfortunately i live in a very built up area (Maidstone) which isnt very good at all.

One problem im having is that im seeing stars every night but i dont have the first idea on how to name them. Ive looked at star maps and they all seem gobbledegook to me.

Although my main interest is definitely viewing the planets but im not sure how to distinguish them from stars.

[Talitha]

Hi and welcome to SGL, Cloud9. A planisphere is easy to use, and will help you to make sense of all the gobbledegook.

[Bizibilder]

Hello Cloud9

Welcome - I see the advice has started to flow!! take easy steps and you will learn fast.

[Rusty Strings]

Hi and welcome to SGL

Try not to learn too much sky at once. Pick a constellation (Orion would be a good choice at this time of year) and become familiar with the shape and position of the main stars and if you use a planisphere like Talitha suggests you soon be picking up start names.

John

[Starjumper]

Hi,

Welcome to SGL.

John

[SpookyKatt]

Hi cloud9, welcome to the forum.

Kathleen

[albedo0.39]

Hi Cloud9 (apt name for current viewing conditions..) - good advice is to get a very simple planisphere and some warm clothes. Patience and familiarity are good teachers and at this time of year, you need to stay warm !

[michigander]

Welcome to SGL, Cloud9!

If you're looking for a good, basic primer for beginners, I always recommend H.A Rey's 'The Stars - A New Way To See Them'. It includes info on the planets too!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0547132808/sr=1-3/qid=1242337954/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1242337954&sr=1-3&seller=

Dana

[Astro_Baby]

YOu could also bag a free download of Stellarium. Might help a bit.

I have the memory of a goldfish myself and can never remember the names of more than a dozen or so. Honest.

Anyway Hi and welcome from me too

[glowjet]

Hi Cloud9,

A warm welcome to SGL, a very nice star map program accessed through Philip S. Harrington`s web site called TUBA, intended for bins, might be of use, you can print off sections of the night sky adjusted to your own requirements for basic star identification, whatever you do enjoy the forum.

John.

[Scott Tilley]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Agree program such as starry night (if you want to pay for one!) at least lets you have a scoot around the night sky even when its cloudy.

Scott

[peeceeTal2M]

Hi and welcome to SGL from a wet & windy South Wales

[johnh]

Welcome Cloud9 and we will have you learning the sky. JohnH.

[ron.s.g]

Hi cloud9 and welcome from Ashford,

not much better here but agree stellarium will help you pick up the names and identify what you are looking at.

regards ron.s.g

[Brunty12345]

Welcome to SGL! Stellarium is a great piece of software it's just a shame it runs slow on my comp lol