I recently received a telescope for Christmas. I no nothing about the stars or how to watch for planets. I can find the North Star and the big and little dippers but that's about it. I was wondering if there were any brothers or sisters into this hobby. Here's what I got. http://www.telescopes.com/telescopes/catadioptric-telescopes/celestronnexstar4se.cfm
Astronomy
- Thread starter Andytex
- Start date
thejavaman
BoM December 2012
I've been known to break out my telescope & star gaze on a clear night every now & then. It's a cool hobby, but can be difficult - especially if you live in or around city lights. There's some cool free software programs (can't think if the names off the top of my head) that will help you find your way in the night sky. The telescope you've got looks like a very nice one. Does it accept coordinates?
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It has a gps that connects to it. I also have the power tank for it and all the different lenses and filters too. It came with the software to connect it to my laptop so I can set points for it as well.
That's my plan Josh. We live on a lake so i plan on putting on the dock and watching the planets.
Small scopes like that are OK for viewing the moon and planets, but beyond that you really need to travel to a dark sky site for decent viewing.
Consider getting a book like this to assist in the learning process: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Turn-Left-Orion-Hundred-Telescope/dp/0521781906/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325031992&sr=1-5"]Amazon.com: Turn Left at Orion: A Hundred Night Sky Objects to See in a Small Telescope - and How to Find Them (9780521781909): Guy Consolmagno, Dan M. Davis, Karen Kotash Sepp, Anne Drogin, Mary Lynn Skirvin: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Ql%2B33XpEL.@@AMEPARAM@@41Ql%2B33XpEL[/ame]
Consider getting a book like this to assist in the learning process: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Turn-Left-Orion-Hundred-Telescope/dp/0521781906/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325031992&sr=1-5"]Amazon.com: Turn Left at Orion: A Hundred Night Sky Objects to See in a Small Telescope - and How to Find Them (9780521781909): Guy Consolmagno, Dan M. Davis, Karen Kotash Sepp, Anne Drogin, Mary Lynn Skirvin: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Ql%2B33XpEL.@@AMEPARAM@@41Ql%2B33XpEL[/ame]
Check out this link
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/
They have a really nice star chart and will provide information regarding viewing highlights.
Regarding the telescope being a warm weather activity, The winter sky typically more interesting and has much better viewing (much clearer atmosphere).
Also, forget about putting it on a dock. Even a strong dock will have way too much movement to see anything. Solid ground is the way to go.
Right now Jupiter is easy to see, and you'll notice it's 4 moons easily. Jupiter's bands are evident, but I've read they are becoming less pronounced. The Orion Nebula is easy to see and pretty cool. Follow Orion's belt to the right and you'll see the Pleiades star cluster (to the naked eye you can count 7 stars, but through your telescope you'll see thousands).
Stars are boring to look at, so stick with star clusters, binary stars, planets, nebulas, and Galaxies (Andromeda is easy to see and will look like a snowball).
My daughter and I have located comets in the past that skyandtelescope have highlighted. They are more common than most think.
Also, the moon is cool. If the moon is full you might need a filter to reduce some of the light. When the moon is crescent, you should focus on the area between dark and light, the shadows on the craters are cool.
Any faq about telescopes will say that the power means near nothing. It's all about clarity. Raising the magnification just makes for a blurrier image. Start low and work up to higher magnification.
Good luck dress warm.
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/
They have a really nice star chart and will provide information regarding viewing highlights.
Regarding the telescope being a warm weather activity, The winter sky typically more interesting and has much better viewing (much clearer atmosphere).
Also, forget about putting it on a dock. Even a strong dock will have way too much movement to see anything. Solid ground is the way to go.
Right now Jupiter is easy to see, and you'll notice it's 4 moons easily. Jupiter's bands are evident, but I've read they are becoming less pronounced. The Orion Nebula is easy to see and pretty cool. Follow Orion's belt to the right and you'll see the Pleiades star cluster (to the naked eye you can count 7 stars, but through your telescope you'll see thousands).
Stars are boring to look at, so stick with star clusters, binary stars, planets, nebulas, and Galaxies (Andromeda is easy to see and will look like a snowball).
My daughter and I have located comets in the past that skyandtelescope have highlighted. They are more common than most think.
Also, the moon is cool. If the moon is full you might need a filter to reduce some of the light. When the moon is crescent, you should focus on the area between dark and light, the shadows on the craters are cool.
Any faq about telescopes will say that the power means near nothing. It's all about clarity. Raising the magnification just makes for a blurrier image. Start low and work up to higher magnification.
Good luck dress warm.
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Thank You for the info. I'll keep you posted on how I make out.
oops, I meant Orion's "belt".
BTW, your telescope looks really cool. Mine is a 90mm refractor that is totally manual.
Put June 6th on your calender, but only if you buy a sun filter. Venus will transit the sun at sunset on that day. The picture attached is exactly what it looked like. On June 6 2012 Venus will be in the upper third of the sun.
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/transit/venus0412.html
My older daughter was 8 when the last time it transited in 2004. She watched venus (which looked like a dark hole in the sun) transit all the way until it was gone).
BTW, your telescope looks really cool. Mine is a 90mm refractor that is totally manual.
Put June 6th on your calender, but only if you buy a sun filter. Venus will transit the sun at sunset on that day. The picture attached is exactly what it looked like. On June 6 2012 Venus will be in the upper third of the sun.
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/transit/venus0412.html
My older daughter was 8 when the last time it transited in 2004. She watched venus (which looked like a dark hole in the sun) transit all the way until it was gone).
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that is a very nice scope. yeah skyandtelescope should give you all the info you need. I have a 90mm refractor haven't used in a while but i loved watching the moon in it's different phases, and you will need a moon filter for when it's full.