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Old 01-07-2012, 08:05 PM
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shelltree (Shelley)
Stargazer

shelltree is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 842
Quote:
Originally Posted by astroron View Post
I am glad you had a good night Shelley onward and upward from here on
Cheers

Being my pedantic self
Mars is Setting in the West
PS good first report by the way
LOL how embarrassing! I suppose I should have researched that before adding it to my report Glad you liked it besides that silly detail, more to come soon I'm sure

Quote:
Originally Posted by jjjnettie View Post
It's a sign of good things to come. Clear skies for first light.
Thanks for the report Shelly it was wonderful.
I know J, I was rather shocked! Although still almost full moon so it wasn't the greatest conditions, was just really glad I got to see something Thanks Nettie

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lismore Bloke View Post
Hi Shelley,

Congrats on the new scope, a 10" is a great instrument. Don't worry too much if you don't find everything you look for first up. We all have our ways of finding objects. I printed off star maps that covered the sky I could see, making sure the constellation stick figure and brightest stars were easy to see. These were inserted into plastic sleeves and a red torch used. I also made sure the DSO's I wanted to find were clearly indicated. My best aid to align the scope to the area of interest was the Telrad. I used it far more than the viewfinder. I also used standard geometric shapes to pinpoint DSO's, eg lines from one star through another star, pointing to the object or triangles using a couple of bright stars as the base to point to the target. A low power eyepiece (eg 25mm) is a good choice for finding - something like a 10mm just makes finding more difficult. Sometimes I just went outside with a low power eyepiece and just scanned the sky, not caring which constellation I was in. I hope you have many more enjoyable nights viewing. Cheers, Paul.
Thanks very much for the helpful tips, Paul! It will take a lot of time and practise but the more familiar I become with the sky again, the better. This week I may just head out for awhile and pinpoint my constellations and learn some of the bright stars so I know my way around the sky a bit better. I have a general idea, especially at this time of year, I am more familiar with what's in the sky but I still don't know much in comparison! I will keep on keeping on and I'm sure I will learn more and more as time goes on!

Quote:
Originally Posted by mozzie View Post
great report shelley,
once you get use to your new scope you will star hop with ease.....
are you coming to astrofest and some dark skies to give berenice a real workout ?????
Hi Peter, thanks very much, I'm glad you liked it! Alas, I will not be at astrofest this year I took a big holiday in March to Tassy so the funds aren't very good at the moment, especially with the purchase I just made, not to mention I'm on the job hunt at the moment and didn't want to have pre-planned holidays that may not be in my favour with a new employer. I really hope to finally get to one next year, will see what the new year holds!
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