Telescope Reviews: Living in the burbs - white zone observing tips?

Shindog--you're getting a lot of great advice here. I started about a year and a half ago with dob, and in the spring picked up a C6 (same as your scope without GoTo). Both are great fun even in a white zone on the south side of Minneapolis.

Like others have said, the Urban Club is a perfect list to start. Some objects won't be much to look at, but it will all help you figure out what's visible and not. There are other Astronomical League lists/clubs that play well in the glare: Double Star, Lunar I and II, Carbon Star (really unusual). You could also start on the Messier List (see what you can and save the rest for when you can manage to get to dark skies). A solar filter will let you do the Sunspotters Club. Knowing the right targets is most of the battle.

Once you get the hang of it, SkyTools will help you find more night objects by entering your observing site and equipment--and then filtering any of these lists and more by difficulty. You'll figure out quick enough what you can see and what you can't.

Other thoughts:

1) Try eyepieces with an exit pupil of 3-4mm. It darkens the sky so stars stand out better.

2) Make your scope as easy to use as possible. I can wheel my dob out of the garage in a minute any season of the year.

3) Instead of worrying about what you can't see, just grab time at the eyepiece. I've got bad skyglow and lights in every direction and don't bother to block them. Dark adaptation helps, but it's blown with a glance at the neighbor's yard lamp right across the street. Or the street light in the next yard. Or the three lights on the front of my next-door neighbor's house. (Need I say more?)

3) I often observe early in the morning--which gets easier with fall and winter coming. It's significantly darker. And peaceful.

4) Enjoy the brighter "showcase" objects. I like seeing new things, but I keep coming back to things like M42, M13, and M11 because the view is a little different every time. A narrow pass band filter can make objects like M42 downright gorgeous. I have no trouble seeing other Messier nebulas with the filter in place.

5) I get out to dark skies a few times a year--family vacations, trips to inlaws, club sites about a half hour and an hour away. I finished the Messier List this way and am a quarter through the Herschel 400. I check off what I can from home and leave the rest for later. Your scope is an ideal size for taking anywhere. My inlaws live in a town of 300 in a green zone, and I'm happy to grab an hour from their driveway (lots of local lights but dark sky) or from a church parking lot at the edge of town (I put the street lights to my back for a great view over cornfields). 15x70 binoculars on a so-so camera tripod can be mindblowing if your scope is too big--and that opens up another couple lists--Binocular Messier and Binocular Dark Sky (many of those will be also visible from your home).

I guess my big point is just to grab what you can where and when you can. A lot of people seem to give up on any sort of urban observing, and that's understandable if you've been awed by dark skies. But I'm a half-hour drive (one way) to a yellow zone so I've decided to make the most of home.

I've learned a lot here and through Rod Mollise's Urban Astronomer's Guide. Keep reading, asking questions, and enjoy!