Quote:
Originally Posted by AndyG
G'day Dave,
I'll leave the EP questions to someone more enlightened/experienced, but perhaps I can share an idea on the above from a similar "beginners" POV as myself.
I suggest you install a copy of SkySafari for your phone/tablet etc. Go to [Search] > [Deep Sky Objects], and "sort by visual magnitude". SkySafari should grey out objects that are not visible from your location. You should find "NGC 3372 - Eta Carinae Nebula" as an item towards the top. This is going to be amongst the brightest and largest things you'll see visually (Easy mode).
Once you can see this, you'll get an idea about what is realistic in your situation. Things like scope aperture, your eyes' health and dark adaption, ambient light (light pollution, etc), and air cleanliness/weather etc, will all play on what you can percieve. Start with the example above, then work down the list of fainter objects.
As you work down the list, you may attempt to identify the challenges working against you (listed above), and do what you can about them to get a better result. Consider: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Averted_vision
All the best 
Andy. |
Thanks Andy, i will give it a try this weekend.