Let's talk beginners telescopes (1 Viewer)

Pardon the stupid question but how do you know what you are looking at ?

A couple of things really help out here. First, you should have a good planisphere (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planisphere) which will help you locate celestial objects relative to your position on the globe. Second, an app like Night Sky (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/night-sky/id475772902) is an awesome way to help guide what you're looking at and they are generally full of additional information.
 
A couple of things really help out here. First, you should have a good planisphere (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planisphere) which will help you locate celestial objects relative to your position on the globe. Second, an app like Night Sky (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/night-sky/id475772902) is an awesome way to help guide what you're looking at and they are generally full of additional information.

One thing I'd add. if you are looking for something that's not "readily identifiable" (you'll know if you are looking at Saturn or Jupiter, for example), go online and do an image search for the object you're looking for. Get an idea of the overall shape of it, and other details, that way, you'll know what you "should" be seeing.

On that note. A very important thing to remember. When you image search objects, realize that most of the images you see have been edited and color corrected. For example, here is an image of the Orion nebula ( https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/M42_-_Orion_Nebula.jpg ). Through most telescopes, you'll see it as a grey cloudy area. The colors in that image are the result of a very long exposure, a very large telescope, and some filters and photoshop.
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account on our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Users who are viewing this thread

    Back
    Top Bottom