Helping a beginner

[jbloggz]

Hi all,

I've recently bought my first telescope (12" dobsonian, bit bigger than I was intending, but got it second hand for a steal, so couldn't say no).

After playing with it for a couple of weeks I'm wondering if I really know how to use it properly and take care of it. I've had a good look at Jupiter saturn and mars so far, but haven't gone much further than that yet. Ideally I'd like to see some great DSO's but not sure where to start and how to go about it.

It's been suggested to me to attend a star party or similar to learn from some more experienced people, however I think I would feel like I'm just getting in the road of people. Also, it's always scary being the new guy in a well established group of people.

I was wondering whether there would be anyone in the Brisbane region (south west region particularly, I live near ipswich) who would be willing to volunteer some time to show me a thing or two. I'd be happy to bring my equipment to you if you think you can help me get the most out of it.

thanks to any help anyone can give!

[Atmos]

Sounds like you're on the right path there, getting out to a star party will not only help with people coming to grips with your new joy but you'll learn so much more in that one night than weeks of reading and research on the interwebs.

I would suggest downloading a bunch of Star Apps (there are a lot of free ones these days) and decide upon which you most prefer. They're useful as many show not only stars but where star clusters and DSOs are. There is a lot you can see with a 12", but dark skies are needed. I saw more with a 5" refractor in one night at a dark location than with my 10" in the burbs over 6 years :)

[dimithri86]

Amateur hobbyists in any field love sharing their knowledge, especially helping a newbie get started. So don't be afraid to turn up to an event!

[ZeroID]

Hi Joe, thats a big starter scope for sure, should see plenty, even in the 'burbs'. I'd suggest you download Stellarium (http://www.stellarium.org)first. It's free and gives a good representation of what you can see from your location. That should give you plenty of targets to start with, especially with a 12".

[Chris.B]

When I first started I got the current astronomy magazine(southern hemisphere helps) and hunted down the featured object for the month. Usually had finder charts and where to start from. A good star atlas and planisphere are also must haves.

I then joined the ASV, went to a star party and never looked back. All the members and I'm sure the same with every society or observing group are so helpful. they want you to enjoy the sights as much as they do. they will be only too willing to help with set up and finding objects.

A 12" will give you amazing views of deep sky objects like the Messier's and Caldwell's. Welcome aboard.

[jbloggz]

Thanks for the advice everyone, especially about 'Stellarium'. I just had a look and it's going to be VERY helpful indeed!

I guess I will have to summon up the courage to attend a star party at some point, but I'd still like to know if there's anyone nearby willing to give some pointers.

What's the general format of a star party. Do many first timers attend usually?

[Atmos]

You probably won't get a lot of first timers going out simply because a most of the people there go out together as a group. Just keep in mind that everyone there was also a beginner at some stage and as Dimithri says, they're more than happy to impart their knowledge :) It is one of the benefits of being in a niche hobby :)

[janoskiss]

It may feel intimidating to go to star parties, club nights etc but the quickest and easiest way to learn is from more experienced people. The overwhelming majority of amateur astronomers are welcoming and helpful people. In fact it makes their day (or night) to be able to help someone starting out.

Perhaps try one of Astro Pete's weekly observing nights in Brissie? Yeah, the guy has a shop and an open agenda to promote it, but afaik these nights are great for beginners. Learning on your own even with all the resources of the Internet, including forums like these, will be a lot slower and will require a lot more dedication from you to stick with it before you see results.

But I must admit that IIS and the advice I got here 10+ years ago was fantastic and got me exploring on my own for a while. Then the first thing that amplified that 10x was a Snake Valley camp (the first one iirc). Then I also met up with fellow IIS members informally. We went to sites around Melbourne. Also went to ASV Messier and pre-Christmas parties. And to VicSouth 2006. I realise these events are a long way away from you but QLD must have ones similar. Going to a proper star party is like taking an intensive course: learning in one weekend what would take 6-12 months and a lot more persistence at home. And no one is going to think lesser of you for being less experienced than them. In fact people will love you for it because there's nothing we like better than sharing knowledge.

[steve.garner]

Hi,

I'm in the same boat as you, just bought a second hand 8" Dob. I'll probably have a play about with it before I go to a Star Party so I know which end is which :rofl: I've seen on facebook a group astro anarchy who go to Wyralong dam a little west of Beaudesert which is not too far from me in Jimboomba so I may go at some point when I have some more confidence.
I'll also be visiting astro petes shop near garden city to spend some money - that guy also hangs out with the astro anarchy group so I'll have a chat to him.

[pfitzgerald]

Hi Joe - and welcome to IIS.

Although I'm another 'Mexican', Steve's post (#8) pretty much says it all - you learn so much more and more quickly by attending a star party or Astro camp. I've been in the hobby in a relatively serious fashion for about three years now, and I've learnt and enjoyed so much more by attending the Snake Valley ACamps that Steve mentioned - I've been to three now and have really enjoyed looking through solar scopes during the day, monstrous dobs for visual and drooling over other people's AP gear - and my experiences mirror Steve's - the amateur community are only too willing to share their knowledge and expertise with others - so jump in with both feet and enjoy the ride - it's a great hobby (weather not withstanding!)

Paul

[MichaelSW]

G'day Joe.

Only 57 more sleeps till Queensland Astrofest 2016 starts. http://www.qldastrofest.org.au

I went to my first Astrofest in 2009 just for a look - didn't even own a telescope. There was no shortage of people happy to give me a look through their telescopes and show me the sky. I will be there on the observing field for seven nights from first Friday with my Skywatcher 12" collapsable dob and more than happy to help as best I can.

Good advice already given about Stellarium.

I recommend you borrow a book from Brisbane City Library Service called “Star Watch: The Amateur Astronomer's Guide to Finding, Observing, and Learning about Over 125 Celestial Objects” by Philip S Harrington.

This is a wonderful book to get you into learning to star-hop. The stars and objects for each season are presented in 6 or 7 charts with clear instructions how to hop you way to the target object. (It is NOT just Southern Hemisphere specific). You can also check it out on-line at http://www.philharrington.net/swtchtoc.htm

Once you realize that YOU CAN find objects – well the sky is the limit!

See you at Astrofest maybe.

Cheers.

[xelasnave]

Hi Joe
All the advice given is excellent.
My suggestion is to cruise "up and down and along" the Milky Way.
You will discover stuff.
Another approach is to use some binos and see what you find and then use the 12 inch.
And start with low mag you get more light.
Good luck
Alex

[AEAJR]

Joe,

Welcome to the universe. You are going to like it here.

I have been at this for a year now so here are some suggestions.

1) don't be afraid of the star parties. They will welcome you with open arms. You can leave your scope at home and just go to see what everyone else is doing the first time. That is what I did. Wonderful experience.

2) I presume this is a manual scope, no computer assistance, so you are going to have to find your own targets. Here are some tools to help.

Stellarium - mentioned above.
SkEye for an Android phone or tablet. Point the phone at the sky and it will tell you what you are looking at.

Turn Left at Orion - or its Southern Hemisphere equivalent. A great book for getting started. I love mine.

3) Pick an area of the sky that is your best. For me it is East. Using Stellarium and SkEye study that part of the sky. See what is there to be seen. Start with the brightest objects and work to dimmer things over time. Get to know that one part of the sky.

4) www.tonight'ssky.com

When you are planning an observing session there are a variety of way to
proceed.

* You can set up your scope and just wander around the sky. I sometimes do
that.

* You can scan with binoculars or the finder scope and when you see
something interesting, zero in on it with the telescope.

* You can start to organize you observation sessions with a target list
using "Tonight's Sky", a free web site that will allow you to run a report
of what is in your sky tonight. It will let you select the difficulty of
the targets and will provide a printed, PDF or HTML report that you can use
when you are at your telescope.

The default sort is by difficulty, from brightest to dimmest. That is
great but you could end up all over the sky trying to work the list. I
normally sort it by constellation. Then I can mark the constellations that
are in my best part of the sky and focus on them. You could spend an
entire evening working on small part of the sky finding all sorts of cool
stuff.

Aside from making it easier to observe, you get to know a specific region of
the sky. You can focus on Orion, for example. See all that is in Orion
up to the capability of your telescope. Then move on to Taurus or
Cassiopeia or whatever constellations are in the best areas for you to
observe.

Not sure which constellations are in your best viewing area? I use
Stellarium to help me see which constellations are in my best viewing area.
For me that is East and directly overhead. But you could use a Planisphere,
a star chart, "Turn Left at Orion, or an app on your phone or tablet.

Here is how you do it.

Tonight's Sky Web site
http://www.tonightss...om/MainPage.php

Put in your location and time settings and click the box to remember them

Select the difficulty level - If you are using binoculars then select that.
If you are in a highly light polluted area work naked eye and binoculars
first, maybe small telescope. If you can find all of those then on the next
report raise the difficulty level. I attached a screen shot of the
settings I use.

Select what types of targets you want to see - Planets, clusters, whatever
you want.

Run the report - standard sort that will be displayed is by increasing
magnitude number, that is to say brightest to dimmest

Choose which ones you want in the printed report, or select all.

Select Print or right click and select print. If you want a PDF select
"save as"

I change default print out sort to "by constellation"

Run the report and it will be sorted by constellation. This is how I
normally sort it.

You can print it or save it as a PDF or a web page. If you save it as a web
page there are live links to resources for each item.

Just another resource.

[Pinwheel]

Welcome to IIS, I too have a 12"Dob..Itś a light bucket & your in for one hell of a visual ride. Enjoy.:D

[Allan_L]

Small correction Ed
(hope you don't mind)
no apostrophe in the address line

www.tonightssky.com

but yes, its a great site I use regularly.

Another one just mentioned recently here on IIS is Deep Sky Object Browser

dso-browser.com

cheers
Al

[AEAJR]

Thanks for the correction. Oops! ;)

[jbloggz]

Thanks for all the great advice everyone, I have already got A LOT of use out of stellarium, and those two website will also be quite handy (www.tonightssky.com, dso-browser.com).
We went out west last weekend and got some amazing sky's, but unfortunately it's now made me realise how much I love the photography side of things (doesn't help that my wife is a keen photographer and now also wants me to go down that path).

Obviously, the dob is quite limited it what is can do photography wise. Does anyone have any advice on which equipment would be a good start (when I can manage to dip into the pockets further!!!)

[AEAJR]

There is plenty you can do with the Dob while you are thinking about that next scope and expensive AP appropriate equatorial mount. I took the attached moon photo with my smart phone. This was a first real attempt. Note the green edge to the photo. I don't know if that was a camera setting issue or due to my using a short, 400 mm, refractor that does exhibit chromatic aberration.


=================================== ====
BASIC ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY USING COMPACT CAMERAS AND SMART PHONES

Orion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz63FnLnswE
Make a smart phone Bracket
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQwRnwwNQTA

Beginner Astrophotography
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx0OGsuZTUY

Orion StarShoot 5 MP Solar System Color Camera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjFYg_J9pGM


WEBCAM ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY - PLANETS

Introductory astrophotography using a Webcam for planetary imaging -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeHj6qT5JSE
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?annotation_id=annotation_7 04642307&feature=iv&list=PLdvoDms8MWF7UNvrv-4Bkw3-eibwbLUWh&src_vid=CeHj6qT5JSE
http://www.universetoday.com/108692/from-webcam-to-planetcam-planetary-imaging-on-the-cheap/

[geolindon]

g day Joe,

inexpensive equatorial platforms seem to make it possible to utilise big dobs for AP; home made http://www.sff.net/people/J.Oltion/flexeq.htm ,or bought http://www.faintfuzzies.com/CrossBow.html

regards, L

oh n PS; smart phone apps are a great way to learn your way around and select and find new targets. skEye can even make your 'scope an "inteli" scope by indicating the direction to your target.

[AEAJR]

I use SkEye to identify stars Is there a way to calibrate it. Mine is off by quite a bit.

[geolindon]

g day Ed,
holding the tablet/phone at arms length and moving it through a large figure 8 apparently helps it calibrate gyros? and compass? i got that from an IIS thread a while back.
i attach my tablet to the 'scope and align it on 2/3 stars/planet near where i want to search.
L