I always dreamed about observing celestrial bodies every since my rich cousin got a small telescope for christmas when I was about 7 years old. He pointed it at the moon and allowed me to look. I was hooked from that day on. Unfortunately, I always thought you needed a lot of money to be an astronomer.  Needless to say I have never dabbled more than reading for my night sky sights. This was until recently I decided that I can start working my way into Astronomy. That is when I found out that you can use binoculars to start off with and not buy a 8 million dollar telescope.

After 31 years I finally began my astronomy journey. I brought a pair of Nikon 10X50 binoculars and printed out a star chart and off I went. It is amazing how lost I got once my night vision started to kick in. I actually had to go naked eye just to re-orient myself.

I have been trying to locate the planets but I don't see enough detail to know if I have actually found them or not. So far I have been able to see Orion, Big Dipper, Sirius, Taurus and Alpha Cetus. I believe I have seen both Mars and Saturn but I don't know how to confirm this. Also I am having difficulty seeing M42 at all which according to the Sky Chart that I downloaded from Sky & Telescope should be right under Orion's belt. Will the use of a tripod make it easier to view Mars and Saturn as well as M42. Also is there a possibility that I am using the star chart wrong?

 -Jace

jace:

Also I am having difficulty seeing M42 at all which according to the Sky Chart that I downloaded from Sky & Telescope should be right under Orion's belt.

You should be able to see M42 with your 10x50s. It's in the middle of Orion's sword, quite some distance below his belt, on your left (his right) side. The whole sword should fit in your FOV and look real purdy.

goon:

You should be able to see M42 with your 10x50s. It's in the middle of Orion's sword, quite some distance below his belt, on your left (his right) side. The whole sword should fit in your FOV and look real purdy.

 This is something that I am a bit confused about. His sword is sheathed at his lower right side? Because if that is the case there is a incredible light show going on in there. I saw a very nice cloudy milky area in there. There are also some pretty bright stars in that area as well. Is this the famed M42? Also that is a great difference than what is on my star chart. Would a planisphere be more accurate? I mean the star chart has it right under the belt in the middle and where the sword is would be much lower and to the right (viewers left) that is a huge difference.

-Jace

Yes, that would be M42.

With regard to charts. What you see may not map one to one with the chart you are using. You look at things through a 10x50 point of view. The chart may not been designed at that magnification, so things may be a little askew. I use the charts as more of guide and a launching point for observing. There is software you can get called Stellarium (free) which may be helpful. There is also software call TUBA which may be useful.

Welcome to the forums and happy hunting!

CG

Pleiades (M45) is my favorite through binoculars.  With the naked eye it looks like a mini small-dipper but through binoculars it really comes alive!

TAC:

  With the naked eye it looks like a mini small-dipper but through binoculars it really comes alive!

That's very true.  I once had someone tell me "Oh....I thought that was the Little Dipper!"

I was looking at Pleiades tonight at about 8:35 PM Central through my scope and I swear I saw a meteor streak by!  It took about 1 to 2 seconds to cross the field of view (about 2 degrees with the eyepiece I was using).  I looked away from the scope and up at the sky to make sure it wasn't an airplane, but nothing was there.  Has anyone else ever seen a meteor through a scope?  I can't imagine what else it would have been.

TAC:

It took about 1 to 2 seconds to cross the field of view (about 2 degrees with the eyepiece I was using).

Its sounds more like an artificial satellite, or a piece of space debris.   A meteor would flash by much quicker than that.    I have never have seen a meteor through a telescope.  You would have to be pretty lucky to be looking in the right place at the right time.   It isn't impossible though.

CGRANT:

Jace,

Yes, that would be M42.

With regard to charts. What you see may not map one to one with the chart you are using. You look at things through a 10x50 point of view. The chart may not been designed at that magnification, so things may be a little askew. I use the charts as more of guide and a launching point for observing. There is software you can get called Stellarium (free) which may be helpful. There is also software call TUBA which may be useful.

Welcome to the forums and happy hunting!

CG

Thanks for the info CG. I have looked at Tuba and it is awesome. Unfortunately by the time I had a few points to look to search, the clouds from the snow front on the northeast kicked in. It has been cloudy ever since. Never before in my life, have I hate a cloudy night more than I do now. Thanks for the tip.

 -Jace

TAC:

Pleiades (M45) is my favorite through binoculars.  With the naked eye it looks like a mini small-dipper but through binoculars it really comes alive!

Wow, M45 does have a lot going on however, it appears to be hard to located. On TUBA it is just above Taurus without much to find it. Any suggestions?

http://homeboyastronomy.com/2008/01/05/finding-pleiades-tips-for-locating-pleiades-m45/

http://ttgnet.com/astronomy/winter-messier-program/m45.html

You should be able to see it with the naked eye.  It litererally looks like a tiny little dipper.  TKerr posted a time lapse video in his thread named "A Short Time Lapse" and you can even see it moving from top to bottom (on the left side of the video) from about 11-15 seconds into the video.  Here's a link to his video.

http://cs.astronomy.com/asycs/forums/t/45117.aspx

TAC:

You should be able to see it with the naked eye.  It litererally looks like a tiny little dipper.  TKerr posted a time lapse video in his thread named "A Short Time Lapse" and you can even see it moving from top to bottom (on the left side of the video) from about 11-15 seconds into the video.  Here's a link to his video.

http://cs.astronomy.com/asycs/forums/t/45117.aspx

Ok, another error on my part. I have seen M45. What I thought I was looking at was the head of Cetus. My error was that I was spanning the sky with my binoculars looking at the "V" in Taurus. I then went over M45 and check my sky chart and figured that I saw the head of Cetus. But what I actually saw was M45 which was a miniature head of Cetus when viewed through binoculars. I think my chart is set for naked eye viewing and I need to keep this in mind when star hopping. I mean the three stars in Orion's belt are spread very wide apart when viewed with my binoculars. I think that will help me orient myself a bit better.