Newbie!

mbedsor (Matt) · #1 30-07-2008, 05:45 PM

Hi all,
I've just brought myself a Tasco Skywatcher SW500 (I hope I made the right decision) and was wondering if there are any programs out there for making star searching easier, I have heard someone talking about Starry Night 5. Would this be a good program to use?

Thanks
Matt

Jen · #2 30-07-2008, 05:48 PM

Matt have fun with your new scope there is lots of people in here who will help you out im only kinda a newbie here too,
but the information around here will blow your mind cheers

madtuna (Steve) · #3 30-07-2008, 05:54 PM

Hi Matt,

Try Stellarium it's a brilliant free program that shows you what is up there from your location.

fishinglizard (Fishinglizard) · #4 30-07-2008, 06:45 PM

I was advised to use stellarium as well, its really easy to use I was able to find heaps of things using it, only problem your night vision gets hammered walking in and out of the house all the time to get you bearings on the screen and then back outside look up back in back out ect ect

mbedsor (Matt) · #5 30-07-2008, 06:57 PM

Thanks so much guys. I'm thrilled with the response i've gotten so far, most other forums take days to get a reply. I'll most likely be using a laptop out in the field. I've had a look at stellarium and it looks pretty good. Once again thanks for the help guys. Muchly appreciated.

Matt

garyp · #6 30-07-2008, 07:14 PM

Hi Matt

to IIS. I am new to astronomy too and I use Stellarium. I find it's very good. I haven't used anything other programmes so I don't know if it's the best out there but it shows me all I need and more. It's useful to see when something you want to observe is visable from your location.

Gary

Kevnool (Kev) · #7 30-07-2008, 07:22 PM

Hi Matt

and

I,ve been using Starry Night 6 pro plus, i find it great ,i use it to plan my observing nights but it will cost ya heaps

easy choice for you its Free or you Pay......cheers Kev.

Dog Star (Phil) · #8 30-07-2008, 07:51 PM

G'day Matt and welcome to the site.
I'm no expert meself so I downloaded a few programs to see which one was easiest to use and I reckon Stellarium is the way to go

GTB_an_Owl (Geoff) · #9 30-07-2008, 07:53 PM

Hi Matt

have fun with the new scope

and start saving your pennies to help with the inevitable

geoff

Ric · #10 30-07-2008, 09:22 PM

Welcome to the gang Matt, hope you have a great time here.

Stellarium is a great program to start with and will definitely help you find your way around the night sky.

Cheers

mbedsor (Matt) · #11 31-07-2008, 06:58 PM

Are there any little accessories that I should look for that will help me out? i.e. extra lenses or stuff like that?

Dog Star (Phil) · #12 31-07-2008, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbedsor

Are there any little accessories that I should look for that will help me out? i.e. extra lenses or stuff like that?

:rofl :

mbedsor (Matt) · #13 31-07-2008, 07:59 PM

What's to laugh about?

marki · #14 31-07-2008, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbedsor

What's to laugh about?

G'Day and Welcome.

I guess Phil is trying to say that once the Astronomy bug bites there is an tendency to collect a large number of useful little bits and pieces of which there are several million choices

.

Mark

mbedsor (Matt) · #15 31-07-2008, 08:06 PM

Oh ok, ha ha, scary thing is, my telescope hasn't even arrived yet. Hate to see what i'm like this time next year!

GTB_an_Owl (Geoff) · #16 31-07-2008, 08:08 PM

like i said Matt

START SAVING YOUR PENNIES

any little accessories INDEED !

geoff

Dog Star (Phil) · #17 31-07-2008, 08:11 PM

Yeah sorry, Matt. I'm laughing both at you and with you.

Mark managed to put it succinctly and intelligently; two factors which were entirely absent from my post

I could easily spend 3 times what I paid for the scope on accessories.

marki · #18 31-07-2008, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbedsor

Oh ok, ha ha, scary thing is, my telescope hasn't even arrived yet. Hate to see what i'm like this time next year!

There's tons of info on this site in regards to customising your scope and the worth of certain accessories and the like. Have a read of the equipment reviews and the equipment forums. You will find a wealth of knowledge as well as some very fixed pov, it can become a little heated at times

. Enjoy but be prepared to spend a lot of money

. Best advice I can give you is try before you buy. I am a sucker for a good advertising campaign and unfortunately many things are not what they seem. You can end up collecting a lot of junk which never gets used (guilty as charged

).

Mark

mbedsor (Matt) · #19 31-07-2008, 08:29 PM

Thanks a million guys, I appreciate all the help!

montewilson (Monte) · #20 31-07-2008, 08:29 PM

Join the nearest astronomy society and tell them or IIS if you are not happy with the views through your scope.