We just got a telescope..............?

Question

nothing fancy and very ameteur. Do you know of any good sites to help me and my daughter learn what we are looking at?

Answer 1

Go to any good Book Store and move over to the Magazine section. Pick up a copy of the latest Astronomy Magazine. In it you should find a copy of this months Star Chart. Study that chart a while in the store to get an idea of what is located where this month. I recommend that you buy the magazine and take it home to play with...When using the Star Chart, use a Red Lens or Red Celophane Film over the flashlight so you maintain your night vision, and don't ruin it with white light. Seeing stars will be lots better then.

You didn't say what kind of telescope you got ahold of, or what kind of eye pieces and barlow it had (if any). The first thing you will want to do is look at the Moon in low power, say with a 30 mm eye piece. You can find all kinds of really neat stuff about the moon on Cornell University's Astronomy site.
Do an Internet Search using the key words:

curious about astronomy

And that will lead you to the Cornell site. Lots of neat stuff there for you to look through and become familiar with.

NEVER NEVER NEVER POINT THE TELESCOPE AT THE SUN.

LOOKING THROUGH A TELESCOPE AT THE SUN WITH YOUR EYES CAN LEAD TO BLINDNESS RIGHT AWAY. IT IS IRREVERSABLE.

I AM SERIOUS.

With most average telescopes you can see Mars and Saturn and Jupiter. Mars is very big right now and should be neat to check out. Saturn is a huge planet with rings, so once you get it in your telescope, you will begin getting the feel of things.

work the focus knob slowly

try different lenses and see what the different effects are.

Power of Magnification is
focal length in mm
divided by size of eye piece in mm

So maybe you wind up with something like
40X
80X
125X

And maybe you got a 2X Barlow Lens Multiplier also...
So
40X x "2X" = 80X
80X x "2X" = 160X
125X x "2X" = 250X

And that is a fairly good range of telescope powers to
start off with.

slowly, and carefully move the telescope around in the sky and see what you can see clearly. Without moving the
telescope - carefully change eyepieces to get closer views of
the object. If you are like me, it won't be there...Your view is now smaller, and you are out of focus...Refocus and hunt for the object you were looking at before. Once you find it you will be amazed.

check out any local Astronomy Clubs that might be near you, and try to attend one of their Star Parties. you will never forget that experience. Count on it.

Regards,
Zah

Answer 2

Eveyrone here gave you some sites.

The first thing you should look at is that bright star like object half way up in the south at Sunset which is Jupiter with 4 bright moons.

About 10 pm Mars is pretty nice in the East about as high as Jupiter and it is reddish. It will be smaller than Jupiter in the scope, but that's because it's a small planet.

In a few weeks the Moon will be up and ready for viewing.

Up over head and to the west are the Pleades an open cluster. You can almost see them with your eye. I the finder scope you'll easy see the 6 or so stars that make up this cluster.

You a lower powere lens in the main scope for thist.

Look on the star charts and see if you can find and identetify Lyra and look around it with the main scope for a dim whips of round smoke. A small spot of diffused light. That's the Ring Nebula. Not very impressive in a small scope and more impressive with long exposure pictures, but ti's still there.

Lyra is probably half way up in the West at sunset by now.

Answer 3

You'd be better off with a good guide to the night sky, like Peterson's Field Guide to the Stars & Planets. It's much easier to locate objects with a telescope when you have some detailed charts right in front of you (use a small flashlight with a red filter to help preserve your night vision). Also, a field guide will have waaaay more information than any website can offer.

Answer 4

I like www.cloudynights.com, but it isn't really intended for absolute beginners.

What kind of telescope is it? If you have bought it uninformed from a department store or ebay, then the first thing you might find out is that it isn't much chop (ie not very good).

The best things to look at in a small scope are the moon and the planets, and a good thing to learn first is to become familiar with the constellations.

Answer 5

Since you own a Telescope, I assume that your interest in the night sky is not just a one time thing.
Why not download one of the free Planetarium programs?
After you enter your location, date and time, it will show you exactly what the sky looks like from your house on any date and time.
If you click on an object on the screen. it will give you some info about the object, such as what type it is (Galaxy, Star cluster, star or Nebula?), You can also print out the chart and take it outside with you to help you find things in the sky. One of these programs will replace dozens of books and thousands of star charts.
One of the most popular ones is "Hello Northern Sky". a google search will find it in no time.

Adolph

Answer 6

The best object for you to view is the moon if you have a beginners scope. You and your daughter will be amazed at the detail of the impact craters and valleys that come out in vivid detail. Get a map of the moon so you can identify the various sites and get familiar with them. As the moon starts to quarter (shadow) it gets even better with the shadow and light detail. Don't be surprised as you focus in, the moon will be moving buy so fast you won't believe it , so start with a low power so its movement does not bother you as much. Have fun, you couldn't pick a more interesting hobby.

Answer 7

Best thing is to search for an astronomy club in your city. Nothing beats hands on teaching and anyone in a club will be glad to help you out.

__(city name)_______Astronomical Society

Answer 8

Find a star chart mine came with one.

Answer 9

go to google and type in our universe from what i have already seen it is some pretty good detailed facts about the stars and planets.

Answer 10

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/basics

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/skychart/

Better idea is to know what you want to look at first and then find it in the scope : )