Beginner stargazing advice

[Mmatt59]

Hi

Firstly I am a real newbie to astronomy and so if my questions are stupid and ridiculous please be gentle!!

For the last few weeks I've been looking online for some good star gazing spots in Melbourne, and things to look out for in the night sky, because I want to take my girlfriend out for a night as I think it's something she would really enjoy.

Basically I am just wondering where some good places to go in Melbourne would be, either in the northern suburbs or the Gippsland area. I am obviously aware of city glow, but I was thinking of somewhere out past Hurstbridge?

I was also wondering if there are any upcoming events that I should be on the lookout for, such as meteor showers. And would it be worthwhile to invest in a pair of binoculars?

Thank you for your advice

[Shark Bait (Stu)]

Welcome.

I love my binoculars. I use them every time I get out with my telescopes. I cannot offer any advice about sites around Melbourne but there are plenty of Astronomical Societies in your area. Get in touch with one of them and you will get to meet the members and have a look through their gear.

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Cool idea Matt(?)
Binocs are an excellent idea, useful elsewhere obviously and a good way to start.
Minimum size for astro I reckon is about 10 x 50. 10 x magnification is good for widefield viewing so you see structure and star asterisms ( patterns ) and 50mm aperture lets enough light in to be useful. Some small scopes are at 50 mm.
I have 12 x 50 and 10 x 50 and they get used regularly even when I am with the big scope. lets me find things before I line them up with more power and if the camera is doing it's thing I just scan the skies for interesting objects for later viewing\imaging and to learn the sky.
Get Stellarium (free) on your PC to learn more and help identify the stars etc.

[Varangian (John)]

Originally Posted by Mmatt59

Hi

Firstly I am a real newbie to astronomy and so if my questions are stupid and ridiculous please be gentle!!

For the last few weeks I've been looking online for some good star gazing spots in Melbourne, and things to look out for in the night sky, because I want to take my girlfriend out for a night as I think it's something she would really enjoy.

Basically I am just wondering where some good places to go in Melbourne would be, either in the northern suburbs or the Gippsland area. I am obviously aware of city glow, but I was thinking of somewhere out past Hurstbridge?

I was also wondering if there are any upcoming events that I should be on the lookout for, such as meteor showers. And would it be worthwhile to invest in a pair of binoculars?

Thank you for your advice

Binoculars are a great way to observe the night sky. If you can't get out of Melbourne I would suggest learning the whereabouts of the 20 or 25 brightest stars, sky hopping becomes much easier after this.
All the best, John (another Newbie)

[erick (Eric)]

Matt, until you can get well away from Melbourne (100km from the outskirts is what you need), concentrate on the Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Venus and brighter star clusters (Jewel Box in Crux, Wishing Well cluster in Carina). With a pair of about 10x or 12x binoculars held steady (on a tripod is good) you can see a lot. Search through these threads over the last several years - lots of good information on choosing binoculars for astronomy. And a great article from Dennis:- http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-374-0-0-1-0.html

For meteor showers, you really have to be out under dark skies and be patient. And be prepared to be up early. Meteor showers are often best seen in the few hours before dawn. But you will see sporadic meteors all night long - about 4-5 per hour and some can be quite startling bright (perhaps 1 or 2 per night). Here is a good site for meteors and lots of other observing information:-

http://home.mira.net/~reynella/skywatch/ssky.htm

Have fun! Congrats if your girlfriend also enjoys observing!

[Mmatt59]

Thank you all for such great responses

I have been reading through the site and learning a lot, so hopefully I'll be able to head out sometime in the next few weeks and see some nice things