G'day all...
I note that Neptune is in opposition around now, so I figured it might be a good target to develop some starhopping skills. I think I should be able to spot it with my gear - I'm just after some tips to make sure I identify it correctly.
Stellarium tells me that it will be around magnitude 8 and quite accessible from mid evening onwards. My goto mount should get me very, very close, but I suspect I may have to go old-school and start starhopping to actually find it. I have 25, 12.5, 10 & 7.5mm Plossl eyepieces plus a 2x Barlow and I will be viewing in light-polluted suburban skies.
Can anyone suggest a good general approach to finding Neptune, or for that matter, any small target? If I manage to find Neptune, I might have a crack at Pluto the next time I'm under dark, clear skies with the new C8 I've got on the way.
I really like the look of the oculars feature in Stellarium - I'm hoping that will help me identify surrounding stars so I can centre the target before swapping to higher powered eyepieces.
Anyway, any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Alex.
P.S: It looks very cloudy out there - I don't think I'll actually get out tonight.
