what should I look at?

[Sunwind]

i've had my 10" dob a couple months now and only used it about 3-4 times, mostly because it's been cloudy/raining/snowing or whatever or when it WAS clear I had to work(!) but it's clear tonight and I was going to take it out but I just don't know what I should look for, I was just going to go for the usual orion, andromeda, take a peek at mars and maybe the pleides but after that I just don't know, are there any guides which give good targets for each season of the year or something?

thanks

[jarralad]

hi sunwind.

download stellarium,free programme.punch in where you live,it will give you real team,whats to observe from where you are.

ken.

[Sunwind]

hi sunwind.

download stellarium,free programme.punch in where you live,it will give you real team,whats to observe from where you are.

ken.

I have stellarium and it may show what is over my head to look at but it doesn't tell me what is interesting and what is just a regular single star like the thousands of others D:

[jarralad]

hi sunwind,,

try m36,37,38,in auriga,saturn is also up,,,m31(andromeda)mars,

persues double cluster.should keep you going,have fun.

ken

[yeti monster]

Go on a fuzzy hunt. The Messiers will keep you busy for ages.

[Sunwind]

thanks for hte list, anything not in auriga though? it's behind a house right now

and andromeda is far too low down now

edit: came inside farrr too cold, thought I was going to get frostbite on my ears. maybe I need to get one of those russian hats with the ear flaps. and also some gloves which are warm but also thin enough so that I can use the focuser properly and type on my laptop.

spent about 45mins looking at mars hoping for a few seconds of good viewing but I don't think I got one, it mostly just seemed "too bright" to see any detail it was like trying to look at the filaments inside a switched-on light bulb or something. I think I might have saw some dark area near the bottom left and maybe some white-ish bit at the top (or would that be the bottom since my scope flips the view around?)

[TheThing]

Try getting hold of a copy of Turn Left at Orion. It not only tells you what is good to look at on a season by season basis, it also tells you how to find them.

Absolutely invaluable!

[Capricorn]

Running around the general mess I have is The Monthly Sky Guide. For each month it give the details of a specific constellation and everything in it. The constellation being one that is most prominent.

Since we seem to be getting only one or two clear nights a month you might manage to see the bits in one.

Alternatively go to the RASC site or the Irish Astro site and down load their observation guides and work through them.

Royal Astrononomical Society of Canada - Observing | Certificates

Index of /~astro2/IFASData

Seem to have lost the Irish Astro link, the minds.may has the same guides I believe.