55 replies to this topic

[Keith Rivich]

Yes, the Double Cluster is right up there too. Actually a lot more interesting than the Pleiades through a medium to big scope, though I prefer the Pleiades through small scopes, binoculars, and to the unaided eye.

The Alpha Persei Cluster is also amazing through binoculars and very small scopes.

The Alpha Persei Cluster is on my March beginners observing challenge. So far no takers. Or at least they didn't post their observation. 

 

https://www.cloudyni...month-of-march/

[areyoukiddingme]

Jupiter is my most viewed object. I like the fact that it is so detailed and changeable from night to night. Great Red Spot some nights, when seeing is good there's all kinds of details in the bands, and shadow transits are always entertaining.

 

Galaxy clusters are also entertaining to me. Seeing galaxies with structure is always fun, but seeing multiple in the same field of view is especially interesting and captivating.

 

On the other end for me, comets and eclipses are not that interesting to me, and I don't have any sense for why. Indeed, remember when people were all abuzz with Halley's comet, and I remember thinking, meh, I'll see it next time round (I hope so, I will be 88 years old).

[WillR]

The Alpha Persei Cluster is on my March beginners observing challenge. So far no takers. Or at least they didn't post their observation. 

 

https://www.cloudyni...month-of-march/

Thanks for the link. I didn’t know you did this. I’ve observed Mel 20 many times. I like observing it in the finder.

 

I’m going to have a look for IC 2149.

[Astro_In_Tampa]

The Alpha Persei Cluster is on my March beginners observing challenge. So far no takers. Or at least they didn't post their observation. 

 

https://www.cloudyni...month-of-march/

Uh oh! A challenge? Always up for a challenge! I'll check out the link and see what it's all about!

[Keith Rivich]

Thanks for the link. I didn’t know you did this. I’ve observed Mel 20 many times. I like observing it in the finder.

 

I’m going to have a look for IC 2149.

I started these back in November. Each month I will post one easy beginners object plus two more difficult DSO's. The more difficult DSO's are ones that I have never looked at, so they will be new to me. 

 

Enjoy!

[fullthrottle_man]

I recently (this past fall) got back into it after spending the last 35-40 years away from the hobby. I started with a small Tasco refractor back in the Halley Comet days of the mid 80s. Not long after Halley's appearance, we moved to a new city and in the move my telescope got lost. The next few decades I was out of the hobby completely. It was always on my mind throughout that time, just not in the cards so to speak.
I've spent more time on Jupiter and M42 than anything else. But my favorite targets are galaxies, especially face-on galaxies like M101. Nebulas are right up there with the galaxies, though. The first time I spotted M57, an audible "oh wow!" escaped my lips. I now have 3 different scopes (Nexstar 102slt, a cheap 6" Bird-Jones which was the first purchase getting back into it, and a Dynamax 8). The DX8 has been getting the most time under the stars as of late just due to the larger aperture. Not great optics, but good enough to see some faint targets. Once my Nexstar mount gets back from warranty repair (it popped error 16 the first time I tried to get stars in it less than 24 hours of it being delivered, and it's brand new), I'm sure the 102 will be getting the majority of the time under the stars. Especially once I get this whole EAA with a planetary camera thing figured out. 😉