Hi AppleGecko,
I'm reasonably new to this too.
I raided my local library and got out a pile of Astronomy books.
I'm currently reading 'Astronomy for Dummies'.
I'm sure your local library will have lots for you to read too.
That bright star that looked round in your telescope with two 'stars' on one side and one on the other was most likely Jupiter, the fifth planet in our solar system. The little stars on either side are its some of its moons. If you look at Jupiter each clear night, you'll notice the position of the moons changes as they orbit the planet.
I haven't collimated my mirrors yet so I can't help you with that (haven't had to so far).
When looking for nebulae and star clusters, so far I've just looked on the star charts to see their general position and then waited for that part of the sky to rise high enough to see them from my backyard and then searched for little fuzzy spots, which is what they (the bright ones) look like to the unaided eye. Then I just pan around with my scope till I find it.
Do you have a planetarium program? I have Orion's 'The Sky'. Its a big help in learning the positions of things, and how the sky changes over the course of the year.
As I said above, I raided the library. I also attended a Star Party held by the Astronomical Society of Victoria, which was open to the public. If you're a little nervous about going to a Star Party, drag a friend or relative along for moral support. There's no pressure and everyone lets you look through their telescope and answers any questions that you can dream up. I dragged my hubby along 'cos I was a little shy, and I was so glad I went. It was awesome.
The Brisbane Astronomical Society has public viewing nights, anyone can go along.
www.bas.asn.au
Hope this is a bit of a help to you.
