Ok, you have a brand new scope, possibly a modest push-pull scope, possibly a you-beaut goto instrument. You are armed with a couple of eyepieces, a set of charts, or an astro app on your phone, or just the catalogues on your goto. Yet you have no idea where to start or what to look at, and certainly not what to look for or expect!
Sometimes having too much information is more of a problem than a help when starting out. Sometimes a little bit of help is all that’s required just to guide you to a few objects to get you started, along with some idea on what to look for and what to expect.
This article came about after noticing the difficulties some friends of mine where having, who are new to astronomy and with brand new scopes. They had no idea what to look at or where to start. So thank you Alex, Ivan and Carlton. This article is as much for you as for everyone else who is new to astronomy.
I’ll be preparing a set of four such guides, lined up with the four seasons. I could have done a monthly guide, but it would have meant doubling up, even going over the same objects four or five times with monthly guides. Instead with seasonal guides I can cover in roughly chronological order over the course of a night, so you can look at the end of one season to begin the next.
The guides will showcase not just the more showy treasures of the night sky, but also some more challenging items, and some lesser known objects not because they are less spectacular, but some objects are truly spectacular but because they sit beside especially showy objects that claim all the fame in that constellation. I will also put some objects within special themes that relate them to unique characteristics or historical theme or even something trivial such as a treasure chest (The Jewel Box, The Gem and the Pearl open clusters). I will also include a short description of the object, what details to look for and expect. Some objects will be very easy to see, and others will really test your observing skills and help develop them.
This is by no means a comprehensive list of objects. Instead it is a spread of the variety of objects that can be seen, open clusters, globular clusters, bright nebulae, dark nebulae, planetary nebulae, supernova remnants & stars that are about to go supernova, and of course galaxies.
How well you see most of these objects though will depend on many factors. Best of course if you are under a dark sky rather than under urban skies. Other factors include the aperture or size of your scope, the prevailing seeing and transparency of the night, and of course your experience, expectations and even your own individual visual acuity and eye physiology. Of prime importance is understanding that the larger the aperture of your scope, the better you will be able to see faint objects, in particular with galaxies.
You may want to also read an earlier couple of articles of mine to help prepare you for what you can expect, why you see things the way you do and not with the spectacular colour of photograph, and tips on how to make the most of our human eyes.
Understanding Nebulae - what it is you are looking at
Observing Galaxies - where are they??? A how and why guide
Above all, be patient with yourself! Looking through an astronomical telescope is a very different visual experience compared to our bright daylight one. It actually means needing to re-train our eyes to get the most out of both our eyes and scopes together. It is together that our astro experience comes from, not just the scope alone.
Alex.