I am less experienced than a beginner - Help with maps and finding objects

[brett05]

Hi, I'm new here and very new to astronomy. I bought a Celestron telescope (I'll have to confirm the model when I get home) to view the last lunar eclipse. We ended up having quite bad whether that night, but the following night I viewed some excellent shots of the moon and even managed to take some reasonable photos by holding my digital compact camera up to the eyepiece. I am really interested in viewing other objects in the sky in particular some planets, however I have no idea how to identify where to point the telescope in the sky. I've tried doing some reading and am totally lost and feel out of my depth.
Is there a guide for complete no knowledge beginners like myself to locate a planet or something else interesting in the sky?

Cheers, Brett

[turbo_pascale]

You've got lots to learn... but plenty of people to help here.

Star maps are hard to understand until someone kind of shows you what it means, and they are hard to use because you have to factor in the time of year to get the orientation right.

To visualise where things are, I would strongly suggest you go and get Stellarium. http://www.stellarium.org/ It's free!

I wish I had a program when I started out, as simple to use to visualise the sky as I would see it from where I live. You just plug in your co-ordinates (or click on the world map), and you can see what they sky looks like at any time. It's great to orient yourself.

Once you get more in to it, there are more advanced programs with more details. Depending on the scope you have (if it is a "GOTO" scope), this will help you find objects much more easily. From the sound of it though, it's probably not motorised, otherwise you would have been asking what the control pad on the scope was for!

Turbo

[Blue Skies]

Planets might be a problem right now - Jupiter is just about to disappear behind the sun, Mars doesn't rise until mid-evening in Gemini and wont be the best target for a beginner and Saturn rises after midnight in Leo.

For hardcopy help you can't go past Quasar Publishing's "Astronomy 2007" or for next year "Astronomy 2008" You should be able to find it at most bookstores and ABC shops or your local bookstore should be able to order it in. It has a month by month guide to where to look in the sky to find the planets.

Also take some time to learn some constellations. Goto or not you still need to know some bright stars and by learning which stars aren't supposed to move you'll also be able to find the planets a bit easier.

Lastly, get down to a local club meeting. Just having someone point out a few bright stars and constellations as well as help you point your scope is often better than reading too many books.

[Dennis]

Hi Brett

Welcome to Ice In Space.

I would recommend visiting a local astronomy club, such as the Brisbane Astronomical Society (http://www.bas.asn.au/). There, you will be able to chat to members who can show you their planetarium programs running on their notebook computers, and how they use these to navigate the night skies.

You should also be able to get some tips on how to set up and use your ‘scope. Unfortunately, the next club meeting at Kelvin Grove will not be until February 2008 as the Dec meeting is their Xmas party and the Jan meeting is a field night at Whites Hill Reserve.

Cheers

Dennis

[Solanum]

The only problem I have with Stellarium is that right now it shows a beautiful sky that makes me want to get the scope out, but when I look out the window there is a thunderstorm going on!

Seriously Stellarium is great and runs on almost any operating system (Windows, Mac, *nix). You almost don't need the scope! It's open source and it's totally free. You can even add in your own horizon if you have obstructions to your view (neighbours etc.).

[brett05]

Thanks very much for your replies guys.:thumbsup: They are some good starting points for me.

You're correct Turbo, my scope is not motorised.

Cheers, Brett

[rmcpb]

Try getting a planisphere and a set of 10x50 binos then out you go and start working on the sky, bit like learning the streets of a new city. Find the easiest constellation you can identify at present then start working your way out from there. Pretty soon you will have quite an area in your head at the macro scale and be ready to dive in with guides for a more micro study. This also gives you a feel for where things are in the sky at any time and how they move over the period of a year.

Keep looking up :)

BTW Welcome to IIS

[brett05]

Thanks mate. That's a great analogy - learning a new city. Also a good method by working from a known constellation eg southern cross or big dipper (everyone knows those ones).:)

Cheers, Brett

[Ric]

Hi Brett and welcome to IIS. I see you already have been given a lot of great advice to get you started so I won't add too much more except that joining your local astronomy club is a good move. The more experienced members will definitely be able to get you going in the right direction and get the most out of your scope.

Cheers

[brett05]

Thanks Ric

I just checked. I have a Celestron Astromaster 70.

[rmcpb]

Once you have the planisphere and are ready to start digging in some of the constellations have a look at these two sites:
The Constellations Page (http://www.dibonsmith.com/constel.htm) - I have the field copy of the Constellations book and its a great reference right where you need it, at the telescope.
Astronomical Society of NZ (http://www.rasnz.org.nz/) - check out the constellations page and print the guides ON A B&W PRINTER. Their one mistake is that they use red on many of their maps which disappears under a red light at night.

Both brilliant reference sites for beginners and experienced observers.