Planisphere

rccaulfield

Right i'm taking the plunge and am gonna get a good scope and begin observing the stars and planets for myself but before i do, i'm gonna get a planisphere and get my bearings and learn a few of the positions of the constellations while i'm at it, followed by a good pair of binoculars after i've done that.
So where to buy? Ebay have some good plastic ones that are geared for Britain-are they ok for Ireland( stupid question probably but have 2 ask!) I know you can print off star charts on the heavens above site but i'd rather a hard copy that can show the movements to me!
Cheers!

peterako

Or....you could download Stellarium Stellarium

Fantastic piece of (free) software!

Real time view of the sky, from any location you want.

Peter

djhaxman

+1 for Stellarium, great program.

Also the Microsoft Worldwide telescope is pretty good.

Sykk

+2 Stellarium, it's what I use anyway

Cú Giobach

A UK planisphere is grand for here, what you want is one for the same latitude as yourself (for Ireland thats one for 50 deg north approx).
Easons and many bookshops sell them.


edit; As the others said get Stellarium also...

rccaulfield

Thanks all- Stellarium is amazing. Will pop into easons 4 a look too! Thanks a mill!

Flukey

Put off getting the telescope for a while. A good set of 10x50 binoculars is what you should start with. Get the planisphere and also get a good star atlas. All the good bookshops have them. Then spend your next few months and through the winter getting used to the wonders of the night sky. Even without a telescope you'll find a lot to enjoy. In many ways it is easier with binoculars as you can very quickly look at what you want in whatever direction you want. You are a lot more portable in other words.

You'll often find with a telescope than when you point it at an area of sky, that you see so much, you can't work out where it is you are looking. You'll perhaps see a patter of stars with the naked eye or a pair of binoculars, but the telescope shows you a lot more and your pattern of stars is mixed in with it and harder to detect. Sometimes you may see a very similar pattern, and think it is the same thing. So before you consider getting a telescope you really need to know your way around and what to expect to see. That's why a pair of binoculars is the best thing to start with. Even us telescope owners find we do more observing through our binoculars than our telescopes for some of the reasons I've mentioned, and others.