Oh yes Jardinero the kidlet and I are out every year....clear years that is a nd counting meteors. Last year we were just in our back yard and still counted 100+.
Little Hawk I am hoping to see Saturan and it's rings and Jupiter's moons. And of course the moon!
Kit what an amazing picture. I am hoping to be able to take some also.
Ooh, telescope! Didn't you know that as soon as you buy a telescope it's guaranteed to be overcast? The bigger the aperture, the worse the clouds! :D-->
Right after sunset you should be able to see Mars easily. Jupiter and Saturn don't get to a clear spot till after midnight. But once they're up, you should also take a look at M42, the Great Orion Nebula and M45, the Pleaides in Taurus.
What kind of scope did you get?
Clear skies! (eventually)
Astro-Zix
The Zixar Observatory contains:
Meade 90mm ETX-90EC
Meade 10" LX200GPS-UHTC
Secret Signature of the Day==v
If nobody knows what you're doing, nobody knows what you're doing wrong.
Cool. 4.5" is fine for a starter scope! The number 1 thing you have to do is align the finderscope correctly. If it's off, you won't find anything.
You may as well throw that 675x eyepiece away. You'll be using your lowest power eyepiece for 90% of your observing. Remember that higher power = dimmer image.
You might want to go on Amazon and order a copy of "Turn Left At Orion" by Consolmagno and Davis. It's a great book of small-scope targets and how to find them.
You're going to flip when you find Saturn for the first time. And watching Jupiter's moons do their dance around the planet from night to night... Have fun!
Clear skies!
Zix
Secret Signature of the Day==v
If nobody knows what you're doing, nobody knows what you're doing wrong.
My brother is the VP of the Champaign IL Amateure Astronomy Club. In case you don't know, Champaign is the home of University of Illinois, where Netscape was invented, and where the Cray Supercomputer lives.
Anyway, I've been trying to take Chinson and the chinettes down there for the last six weeks, because the Champaign Amateur Astronomy Club has an actual observatory. But EVERY DAMN FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT in Illinois has been clouded over for the last 2 frickin' months! Damn!
This is a demo version of a great computer sky-charting program. It's fully functional, but only displays stars down to about the 6th magnitude. (plenty to start with)
It'll help you see what's currently in the sky and where to look for it. You can print out maps to take into the field with you as well. (Make sure you use a red flashlight to preserve your night vision!)
Secret Signature of the Day==v
Just step away from the keyboard, and no one gets hurt...
Mars is in Aquarius and easily visible from sunset to about 2am. Saturn is in Gemini and gets about 30 degrees above the horizon by 11:30pm local time. Jupiter is in Leo and doesn't really get to a good viewing spot until about 2:30 am.
So, for what to look at when you go out...
After sunset, Mars and M31, the Andromeda Galaxy.
Around midnight, Saturn and M42, the Great Orion Nebula.
Before daybreak, Jupiter and M44, the Beehive open cluster.
Under dark skies, all of these are easily visible with the naked eye, so putting them in your scope's field of view will be fairly easy--IF you properly aligned your finderscope before it got dark!!! Even under suburban skies, all will still be visible in your finderscope.
Secret Signature of the Day==v
Just step away from the keyboard, and no one gets hurt...
When Mars is up, you can star-hop from it to Iota Aquarii and from there you can pan west-northwest to a little green disk.
That's Uranus. :)-->
For a real challenge, Neptune is just a few degrees away in Capricornus. It's a little tiny blue dot, invisible to the naked eye but quite distinguishable in nearly any telescope.
Secret Signature of the Day==v
Just step away from the keyboard, and no one gets hurt...
Recommended Posts
Wacky Funster
Happy Birthday TCAT!!!!
Sure....you can have my cloudless night here
:)-->
I'll fax it to ya
;)-->
xoxoxox
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tcat5
LOL thanks Wacky. And how are you doing? love tcat
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jardinero
Tcat:
Don't forget the meteor showers go for the next 5 days or so, so it's bound to clear up in time for you to see lots of shooting stars (the Leonids).
Have fun with your new toy!
J.
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Littlehawk
Happy Birthday T- Cat.....and I hope you always find that shinning star!
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Kit Sober
Here in Nevada we get some great nites. Lots of stars.
The Astronomy page used picture from a Nevada desert for their picture of the day for Mars' close appearance:
:)-->," God
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tcat5
Oh yes Jardinero the kidlet and I are out every year....clear years that is a nd counting meteors. Last year we were just in our back yard and still counted 100+.
Little Hawk I am hoping to see Saturan and it's rings and Jupiter's moons. And of course the moon!
Kit what an amazing picture. I am hoping to be able to take some also.
Thanks you all for the kind wishes! love tcat
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Zixar
Ooh, telescope! Didn't you know that as soon as you buy a telescope it's guaranteed to be overcast? The bigger the aperture, the worse the clouds!
:D-->
Right after sunset you should be able to see Mars easily. Jupiter and Saturn don't get to a clear spot till after midnight. But once they're up, you should also take a look at M42, the Great Orion Nebula and M45, the Pleaides in Taurus.
What kind of scope did you get?
Clear skies! (eventually)
Astro-Zix
The Zixar Observatory contains:
Meade 90mm ETX-90EC
Meade 10" LX200GPS-UHTC
Secret Signature of the Day==v
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tcat5
LOLOLOL Zixar! Aint it the truth! And it's supposed to rainy here for the next three days!
:(-->
My telescope is an reflector orbitor 4.5 altazimuth. And has the monitor so everybody can look.
It can do 45x to 675x power. Not the very best, but we will have fun with it. Am still trying to figure out how to hook up the camera.
But me and the kidlet will have fun with figuring it all out. We may have join the astronomy club now.
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Zixar
Cool. 4.5" is fine for a starter scope! The number 1 thing you have to do is align the finderscope correctly. If it's off, you won't find anything.
You may as well throw that 675x eyepiece away. You'll be using your lowest power eyepiece for 90% of your observing. Remember that higher power = dimmer image.
You might want to go on Amazon and order a copy of "Turn Left At Orion" by Consolmagno and Davis. It's a great book of small-scope targets and how to find them.
You're going to flip when you find Saturn for the first time. And watching Jupiter's moons do their dance around the planet from night to night... Have fun!
Clear skies!
Zix
Secret Signature of the Day==v
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Steve!
My brother is the VP of the Champaign IL Amateure Astronomy Club. In case you don't know, Champaign is the home of University of Illinois, where Netscape was invented, and where the Cray Supercomputer lives.
Anyway, I've been trying to take Chinson and the chinettes down there for the last six weeks, because the Champaign Amateur Astronomy Club has an actual observatory. But EVERY DAMN FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT in Illinois has been clouded over for the last 2 frickin' months! Damn!
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Ginger Tea
...a Planetarium instead! (;
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tcat5
Thanks for the advice Zixar. Am going to Borders today to get the book.
The sun is trying to break through this morning so maybe tonight I can try out my new toy! tcat
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Zixar
You might find this Windows program very helpful:
http://www.southernstars.com/skychart/demo...o351Windows.exe
This is a demo version of a great computer sky-charting program. It's fully functional, but only displays stars down to about the 6th magnitude. (plenty to start with)
It'll help you see what's currently in the sky and where to look for it. You can print out maps to take into the field with you as well. (Make sure you use a red flashlight to preserve your night vision!)
Secret Signature of the Day==v
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tcat5
Hey thanks again Zixar. We may only get to look at the charts as it is raining AGAIN.
But one day there will be clear skies! tcat
If you throw a cat out of a moving car, does it become kitty-litter?
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Zixar
Geez, this must be your first scope. Normally, you only get a week of clouds if your new scope costs over $3000...
;)-->
Secret Signature of the Day==v
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tcat5
LOLOLOLOL!!!! NO not my first, just a better one than the tin can I was trying to use. tcat
If you throw a cat out of a moving car, does it become kitty-litter?
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Wacky Funster
So, tcat...did you get to see Saturn and her rings??? Is it clear yet???
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Zixar
Mars is in Aquarius and easily visible from sunset to about 2am. Saturn is in Gemini and gets about 30 degrees above the horizon by 11:30pm local time. Jupiter is in Leo and doesn't really get to a good viewing spot until about 2:30 am.
So, for what to look at when you go out...
After sunset, Mars and M31, the Andromeda Galaxy.
Around midnight, Saturn and M42, the Great Orion Nebula.
Before daybreak, Jupiter and M44, the Beehive open cluster.
Under dark skies, all of these are easily visible with the naked eye, so putting them in your scope's field of view will be fairly easy--IF you properly aligned your finderscope before it got dark!!! Even under suburban skies, all will still be visible in your finderscope.
Secret Signature of the Day==v
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Zixar
When Mars is up, you can star-hop from it to Iota Aquarii and from there you can pan west-northwest to a little green disk.
That's Uranus.
:)-->
For a real challenge, Neptune is just a few degrees away in Capricornus. It's a little tiny blue dot, invisible to the naked eye but quite distinguishable in nearly any telescope.
Secret Signature of the Day==v
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tcat5
If you throw a cat out of a moving car, does it become kitty-litter?
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