Thanks Sparky.
I got up early Sunday morning to try to see Saturn and Orion's Nebula but Orion had gotten behind the trees. By the time I got finished trying to get through the branches (there was a tiny spot I could see through) the dew got me, so no Saturn.
I'll be in darker sky country next week, just hoping there's no clouds.
Hubby thinks I've gone nuts. When I first saw Jupiter and came running back in to tell him to come look at it, he looks and says "hmm". That was it. How can you not be mesmerized by a sight like that? Maybe he'll be more interested in Saturn. Oh, and I already have my eye on an 8" dob Just gotta figure out where I can put it and save the $$. I've already decided I need an observatory, LOL.

 

Very cool thread. I will check out the website you got yours from. I would love to get a telescope. There is no light pollution at my property.

 

And you don't already have one? j/k You are very lucky to have dark skies. According to the charts mine's in the middle.

 

I haven't been out for a look at Saturn in so long, I don't know what angle the rings are relative to Earth at the moment. They vary over the years. When the angle is significant, it looks beautiful. Other years, when the angle is low, it's hard to even see the rings.

Jupiter is always great through even a small scope. With good 'seeing' (low atmospheric turbulence) several atmospheric bands on Jupiter should be visible. Another fun thing to do with Jupiter is monitor it's 4 largest moons. They appear as bright little stars all lined up at the same level. On low power, you should be able to see all 4 at once (as long as none are hidden behind Jupiter). You can watch them change positions night-to-night. With enough power and a chart to tell you when to look (Sky & Telescope has this chart every month), you can even see the moons as they transit across the face of Jupiter. Very cool!

Don't forget to check out Venus, the brightest object in the sky (other than the moon of course). With your scope, you'll be able to see it go through phases just like our moon.

I've always been particularly interested in finding 'faint fuzzies,' usually Messier Objects (just over 100). They can be globular clusters of stars, open clusters, galaxies, nebulas, etc. In a small scope, some are just fuzzy blobs; others resolve into beautiful clusters of individual stars when viewed through a scope. Check out the Beehive Cluster sometime - M44. Use low power.

My wife thought I was nuts when I got my first scope years ago in northern Michigan just as winter was setting in. I was all excited and called her outside to view M13, a globular cluster, the first time I found it. She was not thrilled... To this day she rolls her eyes when I talk about finding some cool new faint fuzzy.

A Mak-Cass like yours usually has a long focal length which can make low power viewing difficult. If you don't have one yet, you'll eventually want to invest in a good low power eyepiece. High power is great for viewing planets and resolving closely spaced stars, but low power brings many beautiful objects into view that you would otherwise miss entirely.

If interested in an 8" Dobsonian, check out Orion's SkyQuest XT8. I think it's still the best value out there. Well built and inexpensive.

 

That's the dob I'll probably get, I'm thinking maybe sometime next summer. I almost got that one to begin with but wanted something a bit more portable. I had never even looked through a telescope prior to getting mine so really had no expectations (and had already bee warned that I won't see Hubble type views with any of them) and really didn't know what I wanted to look at. I know now, everything, and since no one scope does it all really, I'll definitely need at least one more.

I looked at M45, Pleiades, through the scope the other night. Just brilliant!! So different from just the teeny, tiny dipper shape you can see without it.

My sister was over yesterday evening before dark and the moon was up, so got it out and let her see. She couldn't believe how different it looks through a scope than what you can see with your naked eyes. I think I got her interested, hehe, and she has dark skies at her house.

Star Walk had an update yesterday, now it tells you the sateliites and degrees between objects.

From what's being said on other forums, Saturn has been edge on but is starting to tilt. Hopefully it will have a good tilt by April when it should be visible in the evening - I prefer evening viewing over morning.

The moon looked really nice last night but I had some trouble with Jupiter. I've been able to see one belt clearly but it was kinda fuzzy last night, did see the four moons though. How the heck do people know which is which? Maybe they just look it up on Stellerium or something because they look the same to me, a pretty, shiney dot.

I definitely need another EP or two, I only have the one it came with, 25mm. hmm, hubby did ask the other night what I wanted for Christmas. He usually adds to my Earnhardt collection but maybe not this year

I have a pair of 8-24 x 50 binos ordered from Cabelas, I needed new ones for birdwatching anyway, mine got moisture inside them somehow.

Thanks for the advice/info. I'm always open for suggestions.

 

No doubt, one scope does not do it all. Ideally I'd have one refractor (about 4") for high resolution needs and one reflector (about 8' - 10") for viewing faint fuzzies. A refractor could do it all, but they get very expensive very quickly. Reflectors are relatively cheap for the size. Though I like reflectors better than catadioptrics (like your Mak-Cass), it's hard to beat the versatility of a catadioptric. Lots of scope in a small bundle. Much easier to put on a good mount.

A good collection of eyepieces will make a huge difference in your viewing pleasure. And good eyepieces make a huge difference relative to cheap ones. You don't necessarily have to spend big bucks, but don't get the cheapies; you won't be satisfied. Good optics (both design and manufacturing) cost more to make.

If you haven't discovered it yet, check out Astromart (http://www.astromart.com). It's a great resource for info and used equipment. Kind of like eBay but just for astronomy nuts.

I almost forgot about binoculars. A few years ago I bought Celestron 70mm bino's. When mounted, they make a great low power (15x) scope. I love just cruising starfields with it. Without the mount, it gets tough to hold them still enough. The bino's are actually a great way to find faint objects that are tough to find through the scope.

The Pleiades is a great example of an open cluster that looks beautiful through a scope at low power (or bino's). Amazing how many stars are really there that you can't see with the naked eye. Viewed through a big dob, you can start to see the nebulosity glowing between the stars.

All this astronomy talk has perked up the astro-geek in me. I'll have to get my scope out of the closet this week. Thanks for kick-starting this discussion!

 

I'll definitely check out that site. I've heard of it but haven't looked yet. I'm a little hestitant to buy used right now since I'm not real sure what I'm about what's what yet.

Yeah, get that scope out, it's calling your name.

 

I just checked out the two Apps you mentioned. They both look great! I think I'll load Star Walk on my iPad tonight. Thanks for the info!

 

Cool! Hope you like them. The moon map is pretty neat too, it tells you the landing sites of the moon missions and the crater names.

 

You might want to wait on Star Walk as I was messing it earlier, looking at the updates, and either I'm doing something wrong or it's acting goofy. I'll check it out again tonite when I can see the night sky and compare.