Advice Needed

[Diver]

Hi All

Ive just started stargazing.........bought my first pair of binoculars this month (10x50). where do i go from here ? ive notcied diffrent star systems......Orion, sirus, canis major etc......how do i go about finding planets ( saturn, jupiter....).Id appreciate any advice.

ps: I'm in the southern hemisphere, Johannesburg South Africa to be exact.......

[piersdad]

heavens above (http://www.heavens-above.com/)
go to this site and register free search for your town or enter your map coordinates and it will tell you what is going on in the sky above your place.
one of the interesting tricks is to find out when a good view of an iridium flare is about to happen and although they only last 10 seconds or so they are very impressive
specially if you have a friend and tell them that some one is up there and will shine a light for you at precisely xxx time lol
So may you be blessed with clear skys

[Dave Mitsky]

Another online planetarium program is available at http://stardome.astronomy.com/stardome/default.aspx

You should also download a free copy of Cartes du Ciel.

http://www.stargazing.net/astropc/

I suggest checking a local library for books on astronomy. _Hartung's Astronomical Objects for Southern Telescopes_ is the very best for southern hemisphere deep-sky observing but is rather expensive.

Dave Mitsky

[StarLab]

First of all, Diver, welcome! :)
Second, follow Dave's advice. ;)

[Dave Mitsky]

From the planetary section of my March calendar, which is pinned in this section of the UT Forums:

Mercury undergoes its best evening apparition of the year for northern observers this month. During the first half of March it decreases in brightness from -1.4 to 0.0 magnitude. On March 12 it can be seen shining at –0.4 magnitude in Pisces about 11 degrees above the western horizon a half hour after sunset.

Venus is not readily observable as it heads towards superior conjunction on March 31.

Mars continues to brighten as it leaves Sagittarius and enters Capricornus in the second half of March. By the end of the month, it's a 1.0 magnitude object that spans only 5.6”.

Jupiter shines at –2.4 magnitude between the bright stars Spica and Porrima in Virgo. The Great Red Spot transits Jupiter's central meridian at the indicated UT times on the following dates: 3/1at 02:17; 3/2 at 08:04; 3/3 at 03:55; 3/4 at 09:42; 3/5 at 05:33; 3/6 at 11:19; 3/7 at 07:11; 3/8 at 03:02; 3/9 at 08:49; 3/10 at 04:40; 3/11 at 10:26; 3/12 at 06:18; 3/13 at 02:09; 3/14 at 07:55; 3/15 at 03:47; 3/16 at 09:33; 3/17 at 05:25; 3/18 at 11:11; 3/19 07:02; 3/20 02:54; 3/21 08:40; 3/22 at 04:32; 3/23 at 10:18; 3/24 at 06:09; 3/25 at 02:01 and 11:56; 3/26 at 07:47; 3/27 at 03:38; 3/28 at 09:25; 3/29 at 05:16; 3/30 at 11:03; 3/31 at 06:54.

Saturn still resides in Gemini. Direct (eastward) motion resumes the night of March 22. Titan (magnitude 8.3), Saturn's brightest satellite, is due north of the planet on the nights of March 3 and March 19. It is due south of it on the nights of March 11 and March 27. Twelfth magnitude Iapetus is about 33" east of Saturn on the evenings of March 5, March 6, and March 7.

The outer gas giants, Uranus and Neptune, are not visible this month.

Pluto has not yet reached its prime observing period.

http://www.universetoday.com/forum/index.p...?showtopic=6648 (http://www.universetoday.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=6648) (this calendar reflects my location of 40 degrees north)


Dave Mitsky

[Diver]

Thanks Guys

Ill be downloading that software tonight, ill let you know how things go........

Regards
Nuno

[Diver]

Amazing ! i saw my first planet last night. JUPITER. i couldnt belive how bright it was !

that software is excellent, especially for freeware !

anyway thanks again.

[Garvs]

Might I also suggest learning the constellations, the main ones atleast. Knowing them is paramount to finding your way around the night sky.

[Diver]

will do...............

[seeker372011]

there are a couple of books that , although they are written primarily for the Northern hemisphere, still have enough for us in the south


the first book is "Turn left at Orion" by Guy Consolmagno and Dan Davis

the other is Crossen and Tirion's "Binocular Astronomy"

with the caveat that these are written for the northern hemisphere, both are strongly recommended, especially since you are starting out with binos

Dave Mitsky has recommended you download Cartes du Ceil and I hope you have followed his advice because this software absolutely rocks.

there is another bit of freeware that goes with Cartes that you should have a look at

it is called rtgui and I believe a recent upgrade has been released in february. once you have rtgui you will never lack for targets every clear night.





one good place to find suggestions is skymaps (free)
http://skymaps.com/
you can downoad a list of objects each onth suitable for binos


having said all that as a fellow southern hemisphere observer my -admittedly biased- list of first objects to find this season are

Tuc 47
eta carina
omega centauri
the orion nebula
the Jewel Box-NGC 4755
M6.
M7

and Saturn is just as easy to find as jupiter right now ..with my 12 x60s binos I can make out the rings..try and see if you can with your 10 x 50s...


enjoy

[Diver]

Never expected to get this much advice ! thank-you for all the input, as for Cartes du Ceil i think its a brilliant program. Its allowed me to find objects with relative ease. Ive purchase 1 or 2 books the better one being nightwatch, this book has put eveything into perspective. Its a excellent beginners "guide". Thanks to Cartes du Ceil i also managed to find Saturn, unfortunaly with the 10 x 50s i was unable to see its rings.....im looking at taking my hobby to the next level and invest in a telescope.

Anyway once again thanks for all the advice

[suntrack2]

the divers are habitual of diving in the water, here you have to fall your vision rays through the binoculars into the deep universe and especially at midnight and early in the morning before the dawn, look venus, jupiter, saturn, and other great stars, take a supplement of lenses to adjoin to get a brighter vision frequency so that you can enjoy much better or just go in the planetorium or the observatory so that you can look there other bigger instruments to search the star and enjoy the planets, diver and also wish you all the best to searh at-least one extra special star and give it some fine name.
AGAIN ALL THE BEST

sunil