|
Post by davey360 on Nov 2, 2015 19:36:03 GMT
Hello everyone my name is Davey and I am from Lisburn. I am a complete novice to all things astronomy. As a toe in the water I bought a pair of 10 x 50 binoculars. Well I have never been as glad if a purchase I don't know yet what I am looking at but it looks good. Living in the middle of lisburn their are not too many stars, but through the bins WOW never seen as many stars in my life. Now just to figure out what I am looking at.
|
|
|
Post by stevie on Nov 3, 2015 0:09:41 GMT
Hi Davey, and welcome to the forum. You have made a great start, investing in binoculars. You'll be surprised how much you can see with them. As for starting to find your way around, there are several ways to do that. You can get apps for your phone which will show you what is in the night sky at any time, you just have to point the phone at the sky and the app will show you a star map of that area. I don't know any particular apps, but I'm sure others can give an opinion.You can also download Stellarium, a free night sky map. Again, after setting your co-ordinates (54 degrees north, 6 degrees west will be close enough, you will get a map of the night sky. You can move it around, speed it up, zoom in on objects, and all sorts of other stuff. Highly recommended. stellarium.org/If you invest in one of the monthly astronomy magazines, either Sky at Night magazine or Astronomy Now, you will not only get a sky map, but articles about interesting objects to see and where and when to see them, as well as other interesting articles and equipment reviews. And lastly, if you send an email to secretary@niaas.co.uk, we will book you a place on one of our beginners nights.
|
|
|
Post by davey360 on Nov 3, 2015 9:02:30 GMT
Thanks for the help Stevie email sent and will look into your other suggestions. Some clear sky's would be nice one evening (halloween) in pretty much a fortnight, all very well reading about what's up there but need to put a picture to the face so to speak. Thanks again.
|
|
|
Post by Dave on Nov 3, 2015 12:22:38 GMT
Hi Davey,
A good app, if you have an iphone is PocketSky by the Armagh Planetarium, it may also be available for other platforms. You get the complete working app free if you live in Northern Ireland, which you do. Great for finding your way about the sky. As Stevie said stellarium is also a great programme. I am a beginner too and have used both these utilities to find my way around the night sky.
Regards
David
|
|