Quote:
Originally Posted by Jacko
Thanks for the warm welcome!
Probably a stupid question.. but is there a catalog or something of the brightness of objects (clusters.. nebula etc)? If there's any chance of me finding anything before i venture out one night i should probably pick the brightest thing i can right? 
And yes very much looking forward to Saturn.. when is the best time for viewing at the moment? Very early morning?
Jack |
I find Tirion's Bright Star Atlas handy for highlighting the 600 or so brightest objects, nearly all of which you could make out from a backyard in the suburbs (though the views of galaxies would be very poor). That said, Bright Star`Atlas isn't much good for locating the objects with your dob because it doesn't have enough stars plotted, since it's only meant for binoculars and small telescopes. So I use it in conjunction with bigger atlases.
There are plenty of downloadable atlases, but people tend to pack many of them with more objects than Bright Star Atlas, so that they aren't as good a filter for brighter DSOs. That said, I haven't checked them all out.
Saturn rises just after midnight, but doesn't really get to a nice elevation for good viewing till towards 4am where I live. But if you live somewhere with a clear horizon and steady atmosphere, you can check it out much earlier.
Regards,
Renato
New Member!
if you haven't seen it through a scope before.
