Hello from a noob

[Cloudbegone]

Hi all,

Just introducing myself I have been lurking IIS for a while now and ordered my first scope (6" Saxon dob with included 10mm and 25mm eyepieces) and a 2x Barlow last week. After days (nights) of incessant clouds and pouring rain managed to get my first glimpse through the scope.

Was still very cloudy but managed to get a view of Jupiter and Saturn as well as the moon and was very pleased with my purchase.

Anyway, currently living in Adelaide and hope to get some more viewing in soon!

Anyone got any suggestions on what else I should be able to find relatively easy? Hoping to have a look at the Orion nebula when there's a clear night.

Cheers,

Lachy

:)

[raymo]

Welcome to IIS Lachy. Some of the easiest brighter objects for you would be the Eta Carina nebula,[ looks like a densely star packed region to the right of the Southern Cross], Omega Centauri, [ the fuzz ball visible well
to the left of Bete Centauri [Hadar], 47 Tuc [ the fuzz ball to the right of the small Magellanic cloud, and the Tarantula Nebula,[ in the Large Magellanic cloud at bottom left.]
raymo

[Cloudbegone]

Thanks Raymo, I will add them to the list!

[BeanerSA]

Hiya,

Another Adelaide stargazer here, with almost the identical setup (no barlow). It's my 12y/o son's scope, but we both spend a fair bit of time with it. If your viewing conditions are good, you will be amazed what you can see with that scope!

[PeterM]

Welcome Lachlan,
If you have a smart phone a good starting point might be to get the app Star Chart - its a good guide at your fingertips to the sky.
The Jewel Box star cluster in Crux is one of the Southern Skies finest objects.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewel_Box_%28star_cluster%29
http://oneminuteastronomer.com/848/jewel-box-cluster/

[Cloudbegone]

Thanks Peter,

Funny you mention the app. I was trying out Skeye last night with an older phone mounted below the finder scope but found it didn't recognize the names of certain objects I wanted to find. Will give Star chart a go.

Cheers.

Lachy