[michaellxv (Michael)]

Tonight I made a start on a more systematic study of the southern sky. In the past I have used the Tour feature of the GOTO and jumped around everywhere. Nice to see things but very random and don't learn much.

After looking at various charts from books, software and Internet I settled on The Southern Sky Guide. After tonight I think this is a good match for suburban skies and my telescope Nexstar 80/900. It's not too cluttered but still has objects that will challenge me.

It was a clear mild night but seeing was nothing special. I setup in my backyard facing south and had picked out some targets from around the SCP.

I won't list specifics as I did not make notes (maybe next time). I was mainly targeting open and globular clusters with only one that I could not be sure I could see.

I will have to find darker skies to have a go at the Galaxies on the chart, there is not even a hint of them from home.

Finally I checked in on the Tarantula Nebula. It's still there and can be easily seen.

Michael.