Night Sky

ThunderCat

Ok, so I saw all these orange lights overhead the last few nights. Are they Aliens or Meteors?

Only Kidding...

My question is to do with a telescope. Im brand new to star gazing/astronomy but I have to say the night sky has always facinated me and its about time that I learned more about it and starting exploring it. I'm thinking of getting the Celestron Telescope PS70/700 Refractor out of Argos for 150 euro. Now I know this is a beginners telescope and that suits me fine, but I was wondering as to what exactly I will be able to see in the night sky with a telescope of that ability. Will I be able to see other Galaxy formations? Will I be able to see the different colour dust clouds that exist? How close will the moon appear? Apologies for the basic nature of these questions but I really dont know what to expect. I also bought the magazine "the sky at night" the other day for the first time. Most of the stuff in there is double dutch to me but it was worth buying it for some of the photos they have in there - amazing. Really looking forward to getting into this hobby. Thanks.

peterako

Hi Thundercat!

A great start is: Boards Astronomy Scope info

Start by asking: "What do I want to look at?"

That'll point you along a scope direction....

Where are you going to be observing from?
Is light polution an issue??

Do you want to observe or take photgraphs....or both etc.

Regardless! Plenty of very helpful people here and at IFAS who'll help with your decision.

The Celestron you're looking at is a beginners scope, but still a decent scope for the moon and maybe som planetary viewing.

Clear skies,
Peter

ThunderCat

Thanks for the reply Peter

Ill certainly check out that link - as good a place to start as any.
With regards what I want to view, my first thought is the Moon. It would be nice to view the Moon in closer detail and possibly Venus (would I be right in saying Venus appears as the brightest star in the sky for the naked eye?). I'd be more than happy with that for a start.
I live in a built up town but my back garden is suprisingly dark when the kitchen light is off, so obviously it is affected a little bit by light pollution as im not in the middle of the countryside but its not too bad either. I plan on looking at the sky from my back garden by basically setting the tripod of the telescope on the lawn and sitting down for a while and looking through it rather than setting it up beside an upstairs window for example. And as for photography, ill steer clear of that for a while. For the moment I just want to observe, although it's always nice to look at other peoples photos. Looking forward to getting going now. And i've always regarded Winter as my least favourite season but it seems these long nights of darkness suddenly have a plus side.

WalterMitty

Venus is a planet and it is not that bright object in sky in evenings last few weeks , that is jupiter ,another planet.
Any beginer telescope would be ok for starter moon viewing , but you wont see any other galaxies in any detail with such cheap telescopes.
You should really go along to a star gazing session with a local astronomy club first to get a taste for it and actually see what telescopes are capable of.

ThunderCat

That link was very informative Peter thanks, and I appreciate the advice WalterMitty.

I think from reading through everything, I'm going to take my time before getting a telescope rather than getting that one from Argos. I know for a fact that this isn't going to be a hobby that i'll drop after a few days so with that in mind I think i'd be better off spending more money and investing in a decent telescope. And in the meantime when im saving, I'm going to try to familiarise myself with the basics of Astronomy and Space so that I'm not completely clueless when I do buy the telescope and start off.

Out of interest, are there any public observatories in Dublin, or any other part of the country, that maybe you could pay to get in to and have a look through their telescope? Does such a thing exist?

WalterMitty

ThunderCat wrote: »

That link was very informative Peter thanks, and I appreciate the advice WalterMitty.

I think from reading through everything, I'm going to take my time before getting a telescope rather than getting that one from Argos. I know for a fact that this isn't going to be a hobby that i'll drop after a few days so with that in mind I think i'd be better off spending more money and investing in a decent telescope. And in the meantime when im saving, I'm going to try to familiarise myself with the basics of Astronomy and Space so that I'm not completely clueless when I do buy the telescope and start off.

Out of interest, are there any public observatories in Dublin, or any other part of the country, that maybe you could pay to get in to and have a look through their telescope? Does such a thing exist?

There is a astronomic society that meet every month at sandymount martello tower in dublin and the people in society set up their telescopes for people to view free of charge. They have high powered telescopes and are all very helpfull. Also they are involved in open nights at Dunsink observatory in dublin where you can look through massive scope weather permitting.

Cú Giobach

Hi ThunderCat. If your just beginning to get into this hobby a little word of warning, watch where you are walking because you will find yourself walking down the street or road in the dark, looking up and forgetting where you are, quite a lot.

You mentioned galaxies in your op, you'll never see them or nebulae coloured or as clear as in photos even if you get quite a large scope because those are very long exposures and in dim light the eye only sees in black and white, so don't be disappointed when all you see is the hint of a dim grey smudge as opposed to a glorious blaze of colour and detail. The actual joy for most people is the knowledge of what they are seeing and where it is.

For starting the very best thing you can do is begin to learn your way around the sky with your naked eye, no scope needed. Getting to recognise the constellations with a hand held planisphere is the best way to do this.
An invaluable investment would be a pair of 10×50 binoculars, personally I would be lost without mine and use them a lot more than my scope (as do many if not most people).
Good luck with your new endeavour.

Zubeneschamali

Cú Giobach wrote: »

An invaluable investment would be a pair of 10×50 binoculars, personally I would be lost without mine and use them a lot more than my scope (as do many if not most people).

Seconded. I often whip out the binoculars to look at something for 5 minutes, spotted between clouds. It'd take longer just to set up the telescope, by which time the clouds have covered Jupiter, the Plieades or whatever.

ThunderCat

Thanks for all the replys people. Some good tips there and I think ill take my time and not rush into anything. I think the binoculars and trying to familiarise myself with constellations is a good place to start.
Since my first post on this thread ive read that the beautiful colours of the dust clouds/gases etc. are only captured through astrophotography and not by simply looking through the scope so i'm learning already! And as for my question about being able to view other galaxys - its only after watching a youtube video last night did it hit me just how big our galaxy is. It's mind-boggling. The narrator on the video said that if you classed our entire solar system as being the size of a coin, then the Milky Way galaxy is the size of North America. And thats only one galaxy out of hundreds of billions. It really gets you thinking. I learned about the star Canis Majoris last nite too. To say its big is a bit of an understatement. I'm actually dissapointed with myself that im only learning about all this stuff now, but better late than never I guess. Thanks again.

peterako

Lots out there for ALL of us to learn

You can see other galaxies.......really cheaply!

I'm luck enough to have minimal light polution where I am and on a good night I can see Andromeda with the naked eye.

You should be able to see it well with binoculars....but...beware...with visual observation it's like a cotton wool ball with some light going out from the centre.

Never thought of the binoculars...and it's usually the first thing I mention.

I have a pair of Lidl €15 binoculars that work very well. A tripod with these would make observing very good as the biggest problem I have with the binculars is holding them steady.

With a tripod you should be able to observe/see the 4 major moons around Jupiter.

Clear skies,
Peter

ThunderCat

Well after some excellent advice from the posters above I decided to go with the binoculars. I ordered a pair of 10x50 off the internet recently and they arrived last week but with the cloud cover I haven't been able to use them...until last night.
And all I can say is that what I saw blew me away. I've never used binoculars before or a telescope so I've only ever seen the stars with the naked eye. I pointed the binoculars to the orions belt formation and was amazed to see dozens of other stars around/beyond the 3 main stars as well as a very interesting star formation just south of it. It was my first view of the night sky through a scope of any kind and I'll never forget it. Pointing the bincoulars at a seemingly empty part of the sky revealed yet more stars that were invisable to the naked eye. I don't ever remember being awed so much. It was like being let in on a big secret that I was viewing these stars that no-one else can see unless they are using binoculars/telescope aswell.
My binoculars are fixed-focus so i'm lucky that I dont have to twiddle with the focus knob and even though they only cost me about 35 sterling they could well be the best purchase i've ever made. I'm so proud of them!
So thanks to all the recommendations, I certainly am pleased with the outcome. But the mind wanders still... even though I was awed by what I saw I could not help but think what I'd be able to see with a proper telescope. Its greedy to want more after just 30mins of viewing the sky but there is so much out there! Think i'll spend next year reseaching telescopes and seeing whats what and learning more about the constellations etc. Haven't even got to see the moon with them yet, hopefully tonight is clear. Thanks again for all the advice and merry christmas to you all.