Long time star-gazer, 1st time telescope user

[cd_design (Colin)]

Hi all,

New to this forum and to astronomy in general. I've always had an interest in the stars, but never used anything more than a pair of binoculars.

I just got myself an 8" Skywatcher Dobsonian, with 25mm and 10mm eye pieces. I have spent a few evenings observing planets such as Saturn and Jupiter, but have yet to see anything else as spectacular as those 2 planets.

I live in Dalby, Queensland, so its a pretty good place for low light pollution, plenty of flat land for uninterrupted views.

What should I be aiming to look at in regards to Nebula and Galaxies?

[vaztr (Andrew)]

Hey Colin,

WELCOME

Grab youself a skychart - there are PLENTY downloadable for free and have a poke around with your low power eyepiece in

Orions 'sword' is always a thrill and 47 Tuc is awesome

Look up the Messier Catalog and start finding these one by one - lots of different stuff here Globs, Galaxies, Nebulae

Then as you get addicted you'll begin to feel the need for more equipment - a 24" Dob, 300 different eyepieces, a dome...

Don't worry - it happens to all of us - it's just that most of us don't have the cash!!!

Oh, and ask around here at IIS, they are a great group always willing to help (spend your money)

VAZ

[SkyWatch (Dean)]

Hi Colin and welcome.

The Messier and Caldwell lists are a great start. Try: http://www.deepskywatch.com/files/ds...de-Messier.pdf for Messier, and https://www.astroleague.org/al/obscl...l/cldwlist.pdf for Caldwell (this is Patrick Moore's supplementary catalogue to the Messier list).

A good monthly chart to grab is the "Skymap" at: http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html (make sure you get the southern hemisphere one).

I find a great book to have at the scope is the Pocket Sky Atlas: http://www.shopatsky.com/product/Poc...as/sky-atlases
- if you use this you can go through each object for the constellation you are looking at: most of them will be visible in an 8" scope, but some may be very faint, and some of the planetary nebulae that are shown are very small and only visible to experienced observers.

All the best, and happy observing!

- Dean

[julianh72 (Julian)]

You'll have a hard time finding many other objects with the instant "Wow!" factor to rival Saturn and Jupiter, but don't stop looking yet!

Definitely start with the Messier and Caldwell lists - and if you're new to using a telescope, start with the brightest objects (i.e. those with the smallest magnitude number) that are high in your local sky, as these will generally be the easiest finds. Some are bound to become favourites that you will regularly re-visit, and as you start to tick off the easiest objects, you will enjoy the challenge of finding the fainter targets that are at the limits of your telescope's ability to see.

If you have a planetarium app (like SkySafari etc), in addition to having a database of Messier, Caldwell, NGC, etc, most have a daily updated list of "Tonight's Best", which can be a really good way to identify some of the best targets.

[Allan_L (Allan)]

Hi, and Welocme to IceInSpace

1. Download stellarium (free software).
2. Here are some spectacular Easy finds:

Nebula:
Early evening M42 (The Orion Nebula)
Southward, Eta Carina Nebula
and The Tarantula (in LMC)

Clusters:
Omega Centauri
47 Tuc (adjacent to SMC)
The Jewel Box (near Beta Crux)

Galaxies
Centaurus A
The Sombrero

Also, buy a planisphere like this one:
http://shop.iceinspace.com.au/shop/s...c-planisphere/

[noeyedeer (Matt)]

I think Omega Centauri has the wow factor to rival Jupiter and Saturn. with years of bino viewing you should have a fair idea of what's up there.

with Scorpius and Sagittarius rising, a wealth of objects to see along with what's already been suggested will keep you satisfied.

planets are planets .. I think the moon blows me away more then the planet's ... even thou they are exciting.

the easiest way to find what you're looking for is either with programs, apps, charts and books. do the messiers, that's a year long journey, do the Caldwells .. hunt objects in constellations that are visable, there are plenty at any given time.

good luck, Dalby has great skies!

matt

[ThunderStorm (Alan)]

Originally Posted by SkyWatch

I find a great book to have at the scope is the Pocket Sky Atlas: http://www.shopatsky.com/product/Poc...as/sky-atlases

- Dean

Just wonder does this atlas suit us in Australia?

[Amaranthus (Barry)]

Yes, the Pocket Sky Atlas has no real hemisphere bias (other than being written by an American). It covers the whole sky in multiple, detailed maps. It is ring bound which is nice for keeping the page open at the right page!

[madwayne (Wayne)]

Hi

Definitely worth purchasing. The pages have a plastic/gloss to them so dew doesn't settle on it. Each chapter is a particular particular time of year, evening - May, midnight - June/July, early morning - August, these are examples only. Then map 1 of that section is the North Pole through to map 10 which is the South Pole. All the Constellations and Messier objects have their own index as do Planetary Nebula, Nebula, Open Clusters, Globs and Galaxies. Dark nebulae are also shown on the individual maps as are all the DSOs in that region.

It is a small book so very manageable at the eyepiece but with tons of information. My biggest problem is taking my reading glasses on and off to observe and see what's next .

Wayne

[SkyWatch (Dean)]

Originally Posted by madwayne

It is a small book so very manageable at the eyepiece but with tons of information. My biggest problem is taking my reading glasses on and off to observe and see what's next .

Wayne

I have the reverse problem: glasses off to read and on to see the sky!

[Steffen]

Me too, but a cord that goes around the neck takes the pain out of that.

Cheers
Steffen.

[rustigsmed (Russell)]

nice work with the purchase Colin.

with jupiter it is nice to see little events such as the moons disapearing behind the disc, or casting shadows on the surface. although jupiter is quite low and giving poor views this season.

be sure to grab mars before it gets too small.

i think most people have ticked off the highlights mine are:

omega centauri, 47 tuc, the LMC heaps in there!, SMC, Cent A, sombrero, anything in Sagittarius, eta carina, M42, southern pleiades, the Saturn nebula (it appears a greenish hue - colour is rare in deep space stuff) and grabbing a few bright double stars is nice too.

cheers

[julianh72 (Julian)]

Originally Posted by SkyWatch

I have the reverse problem: glasses off to read and on to see the sky!

How about a monocle? Practical, and if worn with confidence, it can look quite dapper!

(Well, it always worked for Patrick Moore!)

[Renato1 (Renato)]

Welcome. When I started viewing with my C8, I had Bright Star Atlas and Sky Atlas 2000 1st Edition, both by Will Tirion.

Bright Star Atlas is only useful for binoculars and small telescopes, but I still found and do find it useful as it plotted the 600 or so brightest and best of what is in the sky, and listed the coordinates of each, as well as relevant details including names and brightness. Thus it was a great filter for the "wow" objects in each class.
If you want to download and print out an equivalent, check out
http://www.geocities.jp/toshimi_taki/atlas/atlas.htm


Sky Atlas 2000 1st Edition had one great advantage over all others - pretty much everything it plotted was visible in an 8" telescope using an eyepiece with a 2mm exit pupil (though you'd need a UHC filter for some of the tiny planetary nebulas). So, whichever page you were on, you could happily move your 8" scope around the page and see all the objects.

Unfortunately Sky Atlas 2000 2nd Edition added a more objects, making it not quite as good filter for an 8" telescope.

I've just been comparing Pocket Sky Atlas to Sky Atlas 2000 1st edition, and it plots nearly all the objects in the latter - which is good, as your 8" will be able to see all of them. The down side is that the individual pages in Pocket Sky Atlas don't cover as much of the sky, making it more awkward to use - especially for a beginner.

I actually shrank each chart of my Sky Atlas from its big size to two A4 sheets, and put the pages in those plastic display folders they sell everywhere. The result is that the scale is about the same as in Pocket Sky Atlas, but that I prefer the shrunk Sky Atlas because more of the sky is visible in each equivalent page.

If you want to download an equivalent to these two, check out,
http://www.geocities.jp/toshimi_taki...5/atlas_85.htm
But unfortunately it has an awful lot of pages.

Alternatively, JR's A and B downloadable atlases might suit suit you (though he packs a lot of stuff in).
http://www.uv.es/jrtorres/triatlas.html
Regards,
Renato

[madwayne (Wayne)]

Hi Renato

The maps on the link you provided are sensational - thank you.

Wayne

[SkyWatch (Dean)]

Originally Posted by julianh72

How about a monocle? Practical, and if worn with confidence, it can look quite dapper!

(Well, it always worked for Patrick Moore!)

I'm not sure "dapper" is the look I am aiming for!

[ThunderStorm (Alan)]

Originally Posted by madwayne

Hi
...Each chapter is a particular particular time of year, evening - May, midnight - June/July, early morning - August, these are examples only. Then map 1 of that section is the North Pole through to map 10 which is the South Pole...
Wayne

Sorry as I am also have lack of knowledge in this.
On the contents page, say now is May/June, I want to have a viewing sessions before midnight, ie. evening, I will go for 12h - 15h (Charts 41-50), right?

So the charts can also be used if I am in USA?

[madwayne (Wayne)]

Hi Alan

Spot on. Maps 41 to 50 for this time of year from early evening. Map 41 starts at the North Pole and each subsequent map works South from there. If you are observing in Northern lattitudes then maps 41 to 47 will be what you are after. If you want you can also follow the ajoining pages.

Good luck and by the sounds of it safe travels.

Wayne