Things to look for?

[Beatlejohn]

Hi guys... so im slowly learning my way around and been able to spot the moon!!:lol:
And mars jupiter and saturn... and THINK i might have found the jewel box.. not quite sure but it looked pretty nice!

Sorry if this has been asked a billion times... i want to start finding some other things maybe some Messier objects. So whats out to be viewed this time of year? Im in a suburban area and have a 6" dob so am i likely to see much at all?

[sharptrack2]

Hi Beatlejohn,

Have you loaded up Stellarium on your computer or an Android tablet?

Another easy to use Android app is Mobile Observatory. It can provide a suggested list of targets.

There's the Trifid Nebula (M20) and the Lagoon nebula nearby (M8). Both should be visible from the backyard. Eta Carinae (NGC 3372) is getting on to the west but should still be visible early in the evening.

There are a number of apps for phones, tablets and computers that will help you find targets, best search string is Planetarium software.

[Beatlejohn]

Hi Kevin thanks for the reply..
Yes i have skysafari and sky guide on my iphone i had stellarium on pc for a little bit but it was kinda glitchy.. i'll try it again tho.
I know the apps have all the objects there to find.. i was just curious at what people recommended for a newbie and at this time if year is all.. i'll check out the ones u mentioned.
Also a bright moon isnt ideal to find this stuff is it?

[StuTodd]

A bright moon is great for learning your constellations though as it blots out the fainter stars leaving the brightest, easily recognised patterns.

SkySafari is a fantastic program too. Scan along the milky way with your dob and you will see star fields, nebulae, clusters all dotted along there. Scorpius and Sagittarius are well placed (where Mars and Saturn are). Lots of Messier objects there, look on your planetarium.

Stu

[Beatlejohn]

Hi Stu... thanks for the tips

[StuTodd]

No probs. We are all learning together :)
Perhaps you could look at getting a guide book like "Turn Left at Orion", a good star hopping tour book. You will quickly learn to find some fave objects BeatleJohn.

[Beatlejohn]

I have seen turn left at orion.. i'll look more into that one.. and i was thinking of getting The Year Round Messier Marathon... would that be suitable too?
I know its all a matter of orienting myself and it will take some time before i know how to find my way about.

[StuTodd]

Yeah, any book you like but the object are still in the same place..have a look through them.
We all read books in different ways, some prefer text heavy stuff, others (like myself) like diagrams and piccys.

There are thousands of guide books out there, read reviews and forums (although as you may see) people get 20 different answers to a simple question sometimes :lol:

[sharptrack2]

Highly recommend Turn Left at Orion.

I used to struggle with star charts and other references (absolutely hate those planispheres). But I recently purchase the book and it has helped me immensely. The illustrations are real life and it makes so much of a difference than trying to follow one dot after another.

As previously mentioned, learn the constellations. Once you can spot the patterns quickly, finding other objects becomes pretty routine.

Clear skies! The weekend is looking pretty good even with the moon past midway.

[madwayne]

One of my favourite objects in the night sky is right next to Mimosa (Beta Crux), it is a little blood red carbon star. The Jewel Box is also right next door if you want to confirm your earlier observation. You don't need a lot of magnification for this one, I usually view at 96* through my 12" dob.

If you Google "Mimosa Astronomy" and select images you should get a picture as an idea of what I have suggested.

Enjoy!

Wayne

[Beatlejohn]

Hi wayne thanks for the tip... i'll check out out i think i may have seen what u were talking about.
I MIGHT have seen the lagoon nebula or maybe the Trifid Nebula last night or it couldve been neither lol its really hard to tell but it was something swirly and fuzzy and looked cool lol.... cant be 100% sure but i tried to be as accurate as i could be. I need a red dot so i can get a better idea of where i am.. i feel like the zoom of the finderscope throws me out a little.

[BeanerSA]

Stick at it, with practice things get easier, and more repeatable.

Do you have access to a pair of binoculars? They can be quite helpful.

[Beatlejohn]

Hi paul... yes i will stick with it i know i will eventually find my way around.
Yes i have some celestron 15x70 binos... thats what made me buy the 6" dob... had them for a week and thought well now i want a telescope :lol:

[el_draco]

Look for 47 Tuc and Omega Centauri. They are drop dead gorgeous in any scope.

[croweater]

You can print out a monthly sky map and list of objects to view from skymaps.com There is a list for naked eye, binos and telescopes of most of the well known stuff that are well placed for viewing. Cheers Richard

[Beatlejohn]

Thanks for the tips guys... i think im locating stuff but im not sure...i have just been trying for the lagoon neb and i can see different looking things... but like all newbs im not sure how it is meant to look thru a 6" scope lol u get spoiled with awesome looking pics of these things. It will be all grey and faint right? no colour at all?
I appreciate everyones advice and help.

[sharptrack2]

Hi Beatlejohn,

That's right, nebulae will always be greyish and look a bit wispy unless you have a larger telescope. It's the amount of light that can be collected. If you do have some local light pollution, it will make them even fainter.

The moon getting fuller will make it even harder to see the details. the Lagoon will be washed out quite a bit, as will the Trifid, but should be easily identified by the bright centre and the cluster of stars off to the side. Look closely and you should be able to make out the dust lane in between.

There are filters you can get that will help bring out more detail, but not recommended for smaller aperture telescopes like yours. I have an 8" SCT and I only use my filters when I'm out under dark skies and no moon.

The globular clusters mentioned will be good viewing regardless of the moon, they are bright and you don't need high magnification, anything between 20mm and 30mm eyepiece will do just fine.

[AEAJR]

I use www.tonightssky.com to build my target lists.

Put in your location, what you want to see, how dim you want to go and it builds a list for you. I find it a very useful tool.

[steve.garner]

+1 to omega centauri - beautiful star cluster - easy to find by following the line from Acrux to mimosa and carrying on about 2 and a half times the distance.

[Stonius]

And Centaurus A is bright (for a galaxy) and easily star hoppable from Omega Centauri. And it has those cool dust lanes! :-)

[brian nordstrom]

;) yes the classic cheese burger . Cool the think you are looking at star light 20million years old .
Brian. Hi

[MichaelSW]

Beatlejohn,

G’day.

Welcome to the challenge of finding objects for yourself.

A book I thoroughly recommend is “Star Watch: The Amateur Astronomer's Guide to Finding, Observing, and Learning about Over 125 Celestial Objects” by Philip S Harrington. Go along to your local library and see if they have a copy on the shelf.

This is a wonderful book to get you into learning to star-hop. The stars and objects for each season are presented in 6 or 7 charts with clear instructions how to hop you way to the target object.

Once you realize that YOU CAN find objects – well the sky is the limit.

Here is a link to the book on Philip Harrington’s website. You can see examples of the information in each chapter and the Sky-Charts at http://www.philharrington.net/swtch.htm

The Book Depository currently has soft-cover edition available at AUD $25.92.

http://www.bookdepository.com/Star-Watch-Philip-Harrington/9780471418047

Two good bits of advice commonly given on IIS are to get a planisphere, and to download Stellarium. You should take some time to sit down with your planisphere to locate and identify the constellations in the sky.

A useful bit of advice I got when starting out was to learn the position of the 20 brightest stars.

And join your local Astronomy group – if there is one!

I agree wholeheartedly with madwayne that Ruby Crucis, the little blood red carbon star close by Beta Crucis, is worth a visit. It is a beautiful little gem sitting there in contrast to the blue-white Mimosa. I always include it in my sky-tours.

Cheers.