Ive got a cheap crappy telescope (cost me $40) that I enjoy playing with from time to time - managed to get a good look at Jupiter and saw one of its moons and have had some great sessions just looking at the moon. Haven't tried to find any nebulae yet but they're next on the list. What are the easiest/clearest ones from NZ this time of year TA?
The Astronomy Thread.
- Thread starter The Atheist
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Dancing David
Penultimate Amazing
You can look at the magellenic clouds!
I can't remember but you might be able to see Andromeda, it would be way low on your horizon.
I can't remember but you might be able to see Andromeda, it would be way low on your horizon.
Damien Evans
Up The Irons
You don't need a telescope for that.
MG1962
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Definately M42 in Orion. It is the fuzzy little patch near the belt stars. When the Southern Cross is high in the sky. Have a look for the Jewel Box, and Omega Centari.
If you can pick out the Large and Small Magellenic Clouds with the naked eye. The LMC has a beautiful nebular known as the Tarantula. If it was in our own galaxy it would take up nearly 20 percent of the night sky
If you can spot the smaller of the two clouds. NGC 362 is just slightly north and worth a sticky beak.
Also worth looking for is 47 Tucana, or NGC 104. It is easy to find, but my memory is a little rusty, a quick Google should get you some info
The Atheist
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What MG said.
Plus, to find out exactly what's on view where, go here!
Why is everyone suddenly turning into guppies?
Skwinty
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Good list for starters.
M42 is however in the middle of the sword rather than near the belt.
Expect to see huge whitish cloud like wings. This is ionised hydrogen and would appear reddish if your eye's were sensitive to infra red. Shows nicely when photographed.
If you PM me with your e-mail address I will send you a pdf file called "Deepsky Observers Companion" about 700kb pdf.
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Excellent, thanks for that - next clear night I'll have a go and see what I can find!
Cool website
Check out the aquarium of blood in the community section for the guppies lol.Good list for starters.
M42 is however in the middle of the sword rather than near the belt.
Expect to see huge whitish cloud like wings. This is ionised hydrogen and would appear reddish if your eye's were sensitive to infra red. Shows nicely when photographed.
If you PM me with your e-mail address I will send you a pdf file called "Deepsky Observers Companion" about 700kb pdf.
Done, thanks
The Atheist
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I knew there was an astronomy thread here somewhere.
We had a rare clear and calm morning this morning, so I shook the kids out of bed to get a good look at the Jupiter & Saturn show on right now.
Absolutely stunning!
Jupiter's ring clearly visible and Saturn looking particularly glorious.
Anyone else looking up?
We had a rare clear and calm morning this morning, so I shook the kids out of bed to get a good look at the Jupiter & Saturn show on right now.
Absolutely stunning!
Jupiter's ring clearly visible and Saturn looking particularly glorious.
Anyone else looking up?
alfaniner
Penultimate Amazing
Might wanna check your SkyGuide on that one...
Still, it's great to get kids interested in this sort of thing.
The Atheist
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Must've been the Klingons, then. Looked a lot like a faint ring to everyone here.
Thanks for drawing my attention to this thread.
I have a 12" Newtonian on a Dobson mount, and as a general rule I make a point of taking it out every night possible. However, the fact that I am not at our summer house every weekend (but almost), and the miserable Danish weather, has only made it possible four nights for the whole of the last season from September to April.
Light pollution has also caused a dent in the pleasure. When I first set a telescope up at the summer house, there were nights where we just were astounded of the beauty of the Milky Way, despite the light pollution from nearby towns, but now the best we can hope for is to be able to see the Milky Way at all, and we do not need a lamp to get around, even if we just come out of the house.
We used to ask the neighbours to switch off their lights, but it no longer makes a difference.
Still, a lot of things can still be seen, and the Moon and planets are always fine to show to guests.
However, it will take many years before Jupiter and Saturn return to our night skies before midnight.
The seeing is usually not so good, and it doesn't pay to use the larger magnification, but once in while there a nights where even my 6 mm eyepiece seems to allow for a closer look, and I am thinking of buying a Barlow in order to see even smaller features on the Moon that one evening every second year!
I have a 12" Newtonian on a Dobson mount, and as a general rule I make a point of taking it out every night possible. However, the fact that I am not at our summer house every weekend (but almost), and the miserable Danish weather, has only made it possible four nights for the whole of the last season from September to April.
Light pollution has also caused a dent in the pleasure. When I first set a telescope up at the summer house, there were nights where we just were astounded of the beauty of the Milky Way, despite the light pollution from nearby towns, but now the best we can hope for is to be able to see the Milky Way at all, and we do not need a lamp to get around, even if we just come out of the house.
We used to ask the neighbours to switch off their lights, but it no longer makes a difference.
Still, a lot of things can still be seen, and the Moon and planets are always fine to show to guests.
However, it will take many years before Jupiter and Saturn return to our night skies before midnight.
The seeing is usually not so good, and it doesn't pay to use the larger magnification, but once in while there a nights where even my 6 mm eyepiece seems to allow for a closer look, and I am thinking of buying a Barlow in order to see even smaller features on the Moon that one evening every second year!
The Atheist
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I love studying the moon and hope to one day chance on a meteor strike.
Pity about your location - while light pollution sucks as much here, at least we get plenty of nights to use. We don't get anywhere near cold enough to abort viewings in the winter.
I have made a PDF with the "Lunar 100" from Sky & Telescope, and I try to locate as many of these sights as possible, but I need lots of time with the telescope to do this, and somehow the Moon is so overwhelming when looking at it live that I have found that many sights are only identified on photos afterwards.
I am strictly a visual astronomer, and I can only photograph with my iPhone, and even so, the photos do not catch the beauty that I see with my eyes, but I must admit that going through the few photos l have taken over the years, that I have missed a lot of interesting things during the live session.
How cold must it be for you to abort? The coldest nights are the darkest here, although seeing is often better on warmer nights. I believe the coldest I have stayed out is -6° C. My wife aborts at +5°!
The Atheist
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We don't do negative temperatures. It gets close to zero on frosty nights, but never goes below.
alfaniner
Penultimate Amazing
Just to clarify -- did you mean a ring like Saturn or the bands on Jupiter's surface? I suppose the many moons of Jupiter could look like a ring also.
Not trying to be snarky, I'm just trying to picture what you saw. Heck, I may be able to see for myself in the next few days!
I vaguely remember that sometimes the telescope optics (or condensation on them) or slight moisture in the air can cause ring-like aberrations around very bright compact objects. Any possibility that one of these might have been the cause?
The Atheist
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Definitely looked like a ring - the bands on the planet are easy.
Possibly a combination of both the above.
alfaniner
Penultimate Amazing
OK. Cool. Thanks for clarifying.
Trebuchet
Penultimate Amazing
I'd guess the "ring" was some moons.