Hi from the W of A

[Khuda777 (Damien)]

Sort of missed this step!
Hi from Aveley WA!
Recently bought my first scope; Australian Geographic Starview 150EQ. Had a couple of peeks through and love what I have seen, albeit I have only seen a few dim stars and the moon, haven't quite worked out why I can't see anything else yet... i'm guessing (hoping) its just because of light pollution and maybe not the right nights ...
I'm looking forward to joining a club and meeting up with other enthusiasts and learning a lot more!
Hopefully see you out there!
Damo

[raymo]

Welcome to the hobby Damien. One reason that you haven't found much
up there yet, is that the sky is mind bogglingly huge, and unless you are pointing your scope at something you can see with the naked eye, you can sweep it around and just see stars and occasional fuzzy patches.
Another reason can be light pollution, which washes everything out.
Yet another reason is that observing is a learned skill, and as you gain that experience you will see more. And yet another reason is [ I assume]
that you don't know where to find specific objects, so if you don't have
one, a planisphere is a great help, as is a set of star charts, or free
planetarium software such as Stellarium.
raymo

[Khuda777 (Damien)]

Thanks for your reply Raymo. I definitely need a bit more education before I can expect to see anything in the sky. I've go some books and a planisphere and an awesome app on my phone (StarView i think its called?) which is reasonably accurate. I'll download Stellarium when i get home. Hopefully i'll find a club near me soon too (trawling through the forum trying to find one haha)
Damo

[Renato1 (Renato)]

Welcome. Firstly you have to align your finderscope with your telescope - aim at a distant street light and get the same light in both finder and telescope.

Then look up at the sky, find the Milky way and look for some fuzzy patch. Aim at the fuzzy patch or brightish star near that fuzzy patch with your straight through finder and, counter-intuitively, do it with both eyes open. You'll be amazed how much quicker you find things with two eyes open compared to only having one eye open (though you close one eye, after I've found what I want in the finder).

After you learn the major constellations and the brightest stars, you'll be able to use maps and your finder to see all sorts of interesting things.
Regards,
Renato

[alocky (Andrew lockwood)]

Welcome to the world of astronomy! You might consider a visit to the Perth observatory up in Bickley. Get onto the website www.perthobservatory.wa.gov.au check out the star viewing nights, and book yourself a night under the stars. We will show you a few things that will be easy to pick up in your scope.
Cheers,
Andrew

[garin (Garin)]

Hi Damon,
Welcome, the two main astro clubs are AGWA and ASWA I'm a member of AGWA and I must admit we aren't very good at advertising ourselves. If you want info pm me. they meet the last Tuesday of the month at 7:30pm currently at the ballujura community centre, but next year we'll be moving the meeting to the first Tuesday of the month at the Bassendean Seniors Hall, 50 Old Perth Road
I'm in Landsdale not far from you so if you want to come around with your scope I'd be happy to give you a hand.
Btw remember the less moon the better, unless of course you're looking at the moon

Cheers
Garin