I need a good book that will "guide" me to the stars?

Question

I just bought an orion skyquest xt6 Classic, and i dont really have any idea on where to point my telescope, i have found saturn and jupiter but i dont know where to look to see all the other planets and galixes and nebula, whats a good book that will direct me to all these points of intrest?

Answer 1

A good preliminary purchase would be a planisphere - it's a small device made of plastic/cardboard that you can set for certain times of the year to see what's overhead. They often include easy things to find other than stars, like Andromeda or clusters.

Do you know how to use the setting circles on your telescope - the right ascention and declination circles? If so, then look up the Messier objects online - many are easy to find coordinates for. These are some of the brightest clusters, nebulae, and galaxies in the sky.

If you don't know how to use the setting circles, get ready to go 'star hopping' - using easy-to-find stars to locate objects. Here's a page with a bunch spelled out for you.

http://education.gsu.edu/spehar/FOCUS/Astronomy/star-hop/Monthly/index.htm

But as far as books go, I know David Levy has a good one about the night sky - it might actually be called that - and then there's the yearly published observers guide. But you'll need the setting circles for that one.

Good luck!

Answer 2

A planishere will certainly be useful. You might even want to pick up a simple star atlas. The Cambridge Star Atlas shows all the stars visible to the naked eye in a dark sky and the position of about 800 nebulae, clusters, and galaxies. The Bright Star Atlas has similar numbers of stars, though fewer other objects, and is only $10.

There are a number of books written for beginning astronomers that will give you detailed information on things to look at and how to find them. Two good ones are "Turn Left At Orion" by Guy Consolmagno and Dan Davis, and "NightWatch" by Terence Dickinson. Astronomy Magazine and Sky & Telescope have monthly charts that will show you where to find the planets. You can also find some online charts; Sky & Telescope's website is http://www.skytonight.com/ . Check there for astronomy clubs near you, too. You can learn a lot from observing with other amateur astronomers.

There are also some good astronomy forums online. The forums at http://www.cloudynights.com/ and the Yahoo starry nights group at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/starrynights/ welcome beginners.

Answer 3

There are a lot of good star atlases in the book stores (in the Science>Astronomy section). I have a pocket one "Petersen's First Guides - Astronomy". Its small so its portable and has some good information as well as star maps of most binocular and telescope objects for each month.
You could also check out astronomy.com, they have great monthly star charts and tips on viewing, as well as reviews on the latest equipment.