M31, the Andromeda galaxy, is one of the easiest galaxies to locate and observe during the fall and winter evenings.
The pleiades is probably the most striking star cluster to observe in the Northern Hemisphere.
Probably the most memorable sight you will see in your telescope is Saturn. Although you may not see many features on the surface of Saturn, its ring structure will steal your breath away. You will probably be able to see a black opening in the rings, known as the Cassini division.
Saturn is not the only planet that has rings, but it is the only set of rings that can be seen with a small telescope. Jupiter’s rings cannot be seen from Earth at
Optional color filters help bring out detail and contrast of the planets. Meade offers a line of inexpensive color filters.
Beyond the Solar System: Once you have observed our own system ofWhat’splanets,Next?it’s time to really travel far from home and look at stars and other objects. You can observe thousands of stars with your telescope. At first, you may think stars are just pinpoints of light and aren’t very interesting. But look again. There is much information that is revealed in stars.
The first thing you will notice is that not all stars are the same colors. See if you can find blue, orange, yellow, white and red stars. The color of stars sometimes can tell you about the age of a star and the temperature that they burn at.
Other stars to look for are multiple stars. Very often, you can find double (or binary) stars, stars that are very close together. These stars orbit each other. What do you notice about these stars? Are they different colors? Does one seem brighter than the other?
Almost all the stars you can see in the sky are part of our galaxy. A galaxy is a large grouping of stars, containing millions or even billions of stars. Some galaxies form a spiral (like our galaxy, the Milky Way) and other galaxies look more like a large football and are called elliptical galaxies. There are many galaxies that are irregularly shaped and are thought to have been pulled apart because they passed too close
You may be able to see the Andromeda galaxy and several others in your telescope. They will appear as small, fuzzy clouds.
You will also be able to see some nebulas with your scope. Nebula means cloud. Most nebulas are clouds of gas. The two easiest to see in the Northern Hemisphere are the Orion nebula during the winter and the Trifid nebula during the summer. These are large clouds of gas in which new stars are being born. Some nebulas are the remains of stars exploding. These explosions are called supernovas.
When you become an advanced observer you can look for other types of objects such as asteroids, planetary nebula and globular clusters. And if you’re lucky, every so often a bright comet appears in the sky, presenting an unforgettable sight.
The more you learn about objects in the sky, the more you will learn to appreciate the sights you see in your telescope. Start a notebook and write down the observations you make each night. Note the time and the date.
Use a compass to make a circle, or trace around the lid of a jar. Draw what you see in your eyepiece inside the circle. The best exercise for drawing is to observe the moons of Jupiter every night or so. Try to make Jupiter and the moons approximately the same size as they look in your eyepiece. You will see that the moons are in a different position every night. As you get better at drawing, try more challenging sights, like a crater system on the moon or even a nebula.
Go your library or check out the internet for more information about astronomy. Learn about the basics: Light years, orbits, star colors, how stars and planets are formed, red shift, the big bang, what are the different kinds of nebula, what are comets, asteroids and meteors and what is a black hole. The more you learn about astronomy, the more fun, and the more rewarding your telescope will become.
14 | Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable damage to your eye. Do not point |
| |
| this telescope at or near the Sun. Do not look through the telescope as it is moving. |