Is there anything good to look at tonight or soon?

Question

I'm an amateur astronomer and my telescope is not that great. What can i look at, i have a 25 mm and 9 mm lens. Anything will do i'm just looking to see new things everynight.

Answer 1

Hey coolman

I cannot tell from your question the type of scope you have - I would certainly recommend that you start with the 25 mm eyepiece. Low power is best for:

1. Finding objects.
2. Getting a nice clear view of them.
3. Keeping them in the field of view long enough to figure out which way to move the scope to keep them there.

Certainly, Jupiter is a fine target just after sunset. You should be able to get a good enough focus to see four moons and at least a few features on the cloud tops. After that, I would recommend:

1. M13 in Hercules. Looks like a fuzzy ball in binoculars. Even a small scope will resolve hundreds of stars in this beautiful globular cluster. Actual number of stars in this ball is close to a half million.
2. M11 Wild Duck Cluster in Scutum just below Aquila. Easy to find, bright, open cluster.
3. Albireo - Gorgeous blue and gold double star at the head of Cygnus
4. Double Cluster - Easy to find brilliant open cluster in Perseus.
5. M15 - Similar to M13 but a little smaller.

To know where to look for these, I would highly recommend T. Dickinson's excellent book "Nightwatch." You will find very intuitive sky charts that will show these targets and a hundred more arranged by season and portion of the sky. You should set up on a simple target like the Moon first, then set up your finderscope to make sure it is centered on the Moon while you see it in your eyepiece, then go hunting the more challenging stuff. You may have to set up in the right general area, then do a little pushing the scope around while you look through the eyepiece. Be aware that your view may be inverted or backward or both, depending on the type of scope you have. You will find that your patience will be rewarded. Good luck.

Answer 2

full moon is the biggest of the year this week, but thats not something great to observe in a scope during a full moon

go to spaceweather.com

everyday they have suggestions of events to look for

with a crappy scope, depending on the amount of light pollution at your location, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus and the moon are your best targets, maybe orions nebula

Comet Leones is visible now but is a pretty tough target for a novice

Answer 3

you might catch the last bit of the Orionid meteor shower. It radiates from the orion constellation, but your telescope won't help much. They travel much to fast.

you might see about 10 - 20 per hour, key is to pretty much look anywhere but orion and you should see something.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orionids

this is pretty cool looking too, but its not in space
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7AupwRJrgM