As noob as one can get

[minks]

hello.. I love astronomy. I took a class in it and I watch a lot of documentaries about the universe. I bought an Orion XT8 which comes with a 25mm eyepiece. the problem is that I dont know what to look for/ what I could see/ how to find deep space objects. I dont know if my scope is capable of seeing those object with that eyepiece, and I dont know how to use a star chart. Is there a device I could use that I could attach to my scope which tells me if im going in the right direction/ give me a sky tour of some sort? I spent hours tonight and last night trying to find any messier object but didnt see anything, is it coz my scope sucks/ eyepiece sucks or is it coz I cannot find anything in the sky!

i would seriously appreciate some help, I wanna spend time observing not searching!

[minks]

ps i love this forum! It has taught me so much and saved my *** from so many beginner buying mistakes!

[russ]

Welcome to the forum And excellent choice of scope.

We all know how daunting it is at first. But there's some good things about to help make things a little easier. Have you downloaded Stellerarium? It's a free planetarium software and absolutely superb. Show you whats up in the sky and where to look.

Another great addition to your kit bag would be the book 'Turn Left at Orion', available from Amazon new for £16 delivered or secondhand for £9. Awesome book and as a starter will set you on your way to learning about your scope and the sky.

[Rui]

Stellarium is really a must.

Adjusting your expectations is aldo a must. When you browse the web you see a lot os colored nice pictures. Forget it when looking thru the scope. Most of the Deep Sky objects (if not all) will appear as faint gray smudges. But the real fun of it is 1-to find them, 2-to see detail in it, 3-to realize what we see.

clear skies

[Moonshane]

Russ's advice is great and it's a great book. also consider downloading star maps from here Messier Maps

have a go at M57 the ring nebula on map 8. this is in Lyra. the main star Vega is right overhead in the N. hemisphere at the minute and is the first star to peep through at dusk.

using star maps like these are just like road maps and you'll eventually see the patterns and know them.

let us know how you got on and welcome to the group. the scope you have is a good instrument as Russ says.

do some research on collimation too. there's lots online but another SGL member Astro Baby did a good one Astro Babys Guide to Collimation

you will certainly need some further eyepieces in due course but consider a decent quality barlow lens first. this would double the magnification of your 25mm to a 12.5mm.

[richbyers]

if you want some first amazing views before you go off hunting galaxies simply just look at the moon for a while- its easy to find and gives great sights

then do as the others say- get a book, stellarium, join a club or society near you.

ps if you look in the south east at around 10.30 youl see a bright orange coloured star- hard to miss- thats jupiter

rich

[Brendan of Borg]

Hello and welcome!

Yeah Stellarium is a must for sure.

[Chris H]

First off welcome to the forum. You have a great scope it is perfect, do you have a red dot finder such as a telrad or a rigel quikfinder? Having one of these makes finding objects much easier.

I would recommend that you first get out under the stars and learn a few constellations these are you sign posts for finding deep sky objects. As mentioned above get a book such as 'Nightwatch' or 'Turn left at Orion' both very good for getting started.

If you have been searching for DSO's in the last few days your search will have been hindered by the brightness of the full moon you'll see faint objects much more easily when the moon is not out.

One final thing you will not see any objects like they appeared in documentaries, we call DSO's faint fuzzies because they are faint and fuzzy and with the exception of the planets everything will be in shades of grey.

[glowjet]

Hi Minks,

A very warm welcome to SGL, I really applaud your enthusiasm, from what you have said you really have jumped in at the deep end, Sir Patrick Moore has often spoken of this, which is why binos are recommended together with star maps to help you find your way about the night sky, when you first venture into the world of Astronomy, some very sound advice has been given and I would echo the point about the Moon, there is a wealth of interesting things to find on it`s surface and you have a superb scope for just that. Enjoy the forum.

John.

[minks]

Thanks for the help everyone! I have heard about Turn Left at Orion before, I will def check it out... Stellarium also sounds like a good idea. My expecations are certainly not hight. I know perfectly well that images from the HST are not something to look for with an 8"! I have dont a lot of research about it and have used telescopes before but they where already pointed to the objects in the sky. I have little interest in planets to be honest. I mean they are cool and all, and so s the moon but the Messier objects are what I really wanna see!

I couldnt even see the dimmest of dim dust like clouds last night! I am sure the full moon was a serious light polluter!

Final question, is there a digital device that I can directly attach to my telescope that would tell me where to find stuff exactly/ give me a guided tour of the sky? the EZ finder my scope comes with is amazing but I would still need to star hop..

I am still waiting for my 6.3mm and 40mm as well as a 3mm Barlow to arrive, in addition to my 25mm, would you say I have a good telescope and eyepiece set for a beginner? Would my 25mm is capable of catching cloudy nebula ?

love

minks

[minks]

Hi Minks,

A very warm welcome to SGL, I really applaud your enthusiasm, from what you have said you really have jumped in at the deep end, Sir Patrick Moore has often spoken of this, which is why binos are recommended together with star maps to help you find your way about the night sky, when you first venture into the world of Astronomy, some very sound advice has been given and I would echo the point about the Moon, there is a wealth of interesting things to find on it`s surface and you have a superb scope for just that. Enjoy the forum.

John.

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone!

I have no lunar filter so the light from the moon is way intense and is too painful to watch for more than 20 seconds at a time!

minks

[minks]

Also, I live in Jordan all the way in the Middle East, I am not sure we have an astronomy society here that meets regularly. I have heard of the meeting but I am not sure it is a regular thing. But apparently star watching out in the desert is beautiful except the desert is at sea level so the atmosphere might cause some not so excellent viewing conditions.

Has anyone every star gazed in the desert ?

[themos]

Final question, is there a digital device that I can directly attach to my telescope that would tell me where to find stuff exactly/ give me a guided tour of the sky? the EZ finder my scope comes with is amazing but I would still need to star hop..

You could try out the SkyScout.

[Chris H]

Final question, is there a digital device that I can directly attach to my telescope that would tell me where to find stuff exactly/ give me a guided tour of the sky? the EZ finder my scope comes with is amazing but I would still need to star hop..

Is your scope the XT8? There is the XT8i which comes with the computerised object locator but I don't think you can easily fit one to the scope you have.

[Chris H]

Also, I live in Jordan all the way in the Middle East, I am not sure we have an astronomy society here that meets regularly. I have heard of the meeting but I am not sure it is a regular thing. But apparently star watching out in the desert is beautiful except the desert is at sea level so the atmosphere might cause some not so excellent viewing conditions.

Has anyone every star gazed in the desert ?

I did some naked eye stargazing in the Australian outback and the views were amazing absolutely zero light pollution.

[KingOfColly]

Welcome minks,

I concur with Russ, I have both Stellarium (is that spelt right? lol) and Turn Left at Orion. The book especially is worth it's weight in gold

[Questions]

Do you have an iphone or android phone, both have very good apps that use gps to point out the direction of various stars, planets etc. Very handy if you have nothing else.

[minks]

Wow!! so i was able to spot M22 and M28 as well as some other clusters the other day, it was breathtaking!! it took a really long time for me to figure it out! I used Turn Left at Orion, Stellarium (Which is not really too accurate BTW, it exaggerates some shifting of objects throughout the night) as well as Google Sky app on the droid...

Questions, is that the app you where referring to?

I still think a Goto scope or some digital interface directly attached to the scope would be much more accurate and quick!

Thanks for your advice everyone, patience is the key!

[brantuk]

I'm with everyone else on Stellarium and Turn Left at Orion. I'd also suggest getting The Sky at Night and/or Astronomy Now magazines. They both give a monthly guide to what's up and which interesting objects to look for, along with what equipment is good to use.

After a year of going through the mags you'll have a great idea of stuff to look at and where to find it

[Questions]

Wow!! so i was able to spot M22 and M28 as well as some other clusters the other day, it was breathtaking!! it took a really long time for me to figure it out! I used Turn Left at Orion, Stellarium (Which is not really too accurate BTW, it exaggerates some shifting of objects throughout the night) as well as Google Sky app on the droid...

Questions, is that the app you where referring to?

I still think a Goto scope or some digital interface directly attached to the scope would be much more accurate and quick!

Thanks for your advice everyone, patience is the key!

Yes it is, its very handy to get yourself close to the object, its not GOTO of course but its free

[ubique]

I agree with Rui, Stellarium is a must; it's also free!