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Old 18-12-2011, 02:32 PM
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stephenb (Stephen)
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: all over the shop...
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Welcome to the hobby Jake and Pat,

Stellarium is very popular, free to download and use, and is one of the easiest programs to navigate through. You'll pick it up in no time at all: http://stellarium.org/

Also, another free program is Jupiter 2.0: http://astrosurf.com/rondi/jupiter/

After setting up the date and time it will show and tell you which moons of Jupiter you are looking at. You will only see the 4 inner moons, namely Io, Ganymede, Callisto and Europa but you can watch them move over the course of a night or nights!

One of the best resources for Australia is the 2012 Yearbook: http://www.iceinspace.com.au/73-332-0-0-1-0.html

Good on you for seeing Jupiter. The bright planets are often the objects which 'gets people' into the hobby and captures their interest! Summer is a great time in Australia for observing as it's not too cold in the evenings and there are plenty of bright, easy objects for newcomers to look at.

Regards,
Stephen
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