Amateur Astronomy for Beginners: The Astronomical Journal

[Seventh7Horizon]

Where do you believe would be a good place to find a Celestial Planetsphere

[truemartian]

@Seventh7Horizon You can start online at sites like amazon. There are many companies that sell them.

[spiritoffire121]

hi im from scotland but it is allways cloudy so im finding it hard to find a clear night what can i do while i wait for a clear night ?

[truemartian]

@spiritoffire121 Scotland is lovely! I certainly understand your clear night problem. Ohio is about the same. Its good to have an observing plan. Cloudy nights are great for planning what you want to do the next opportunity you get to go out. Especially if its a significant scheduled event such as an ISS pass or the transit of Jupiter's red spot. Then too, if you haven't familiarized yourself with the Messier Catalogue its a great time to familiarize yourself with the objects in it as well.

[brucenunn37]

Just picked up me a Journal to log my night adventures in.. got it today, cant wait to get started putting some of these memories down on paper. Great idea..!! So u would recomend capturing everything? Hope i get the hang of it and dont get discuraged.. Thanks T-martian.. New Website is Awsome good info..!! Glad ur Audio sounds better in ur videos too..!! Thanks for all the help Jay..!!

[truemartian]

@brucenunn37 I highly recommend capturing as many details of your observations in drawings and word as possible. You will forget them, even next year. Rereading your encounters can be as good as seeing them again. Thanks so much for watching man! I'm always glad to help anytime!

[brucenunn37]

@truemartian ---- Yeah i always watch when i see a new vid u posted.. get exctied, cause u have good ideas and they really help. So, drawing them too..?? interesting.. lol.. Yeah ur rite, id say going back and reading them is great.. id say u have some old memories cause u have been keeping urs for awhile.. i like how u put kind of a guide line about things to write about, (HELPFUL).. if u think of anything else that will help please let me know.. 

[truemartian]

@brucenunn37 I'll post some of my entries on the journal video page on my web site. I have to say though, I've not been as dedicated as I would like to be to my journal.

[brucenunn37]

@truemartian --- Yeah, that would be Great.. i understand what ur saying about not being so dedicated.. i hope i can keep a well documented journal, with much detail..  Looking foward to reading some of ur entries..!! Thanks again jay..!!

[SaturnAndItsRings]

Great video!

[PurdyBear1]

Im a complete beginner, so thanks for the recommendation.

[mbsta2]

I started making a journal a few days ago, mainly to keep track of the starts and messier objects I identified. However after watching your video, i am going to add a lot more details, and sketches, maybe even photos. and more focus on the memories.

THANKS!!!

[lizardloverboy]

lol!! "now being beginners, you may experience things you have never experienced before while looking at the sky, so you may want to right that down..."

Sounds like a sexual innuendo to me xD

5/5

[lennoxlude]

write that down, not right..

[rayunseitig]

Journaling sounds like a great idea, I run several journals, from work activities to, various projects, I rarely go back and read but, I keep my self organized and on track by writing things down. I even have a journal of things that go on with my computer.

Thanks for verifying this 'obsession'.

[gaz52]

How long have you had a journal? What is the date of the very first entry in it?

[truemartian]

I have kept a journal sporatically since June 6, 1991. Unfortunately I have not made entries on a regular basis. What vivid details I do have recorded in the journal of those early days are golden.

[truemartian]

{The very first entry.}

City of West Milford, WV June 6, 1991 9:58pm {Eastern Time Zone}Noted reentry of artificial satellite or {entry of} very large meteor. Entered through constellation of Leo Major beteen M65 and Regulus. Ended near star Iota in Ursa Major. It was orange with long tail, very bright, and lit up nearby clouds. (Ended in shower of "sparks".)

[mistermuffin420]

wow that was ~18 years ago. how long have you been observing? since galileo? :P

[truemartian]

I think I got my first telescope around 20 years ago.

[gaz52]

How old were you when you got your first telescope?

[truemartian]

Well I was a teen at the time. I cant remember but I must have been 15. I'm 37 now so that makes it really about 22 years ago. Its been a long time needless to say. I still actually have my first scope... whats left of it. :)

[truemartian]

Check out my video entitled "What kind of telescope should I buy?"

[ngwx123]

I've been searching on ebay and amazon. But they only have those that are, 20° - 30° , 30° - 40° and 50°-60°. AHHHH.

[truemartian]

i think the 20-30 will cover most of your sky. try the free night sky star chart i have listed in USEFUL ASTRONOMY LINKS on my youtube profile. its free, printable and updated both for northern and southern hemisphere. thats all you really need to learn constellations.

[ngwx123]

Hello is there any planisphere for 5 degrees north of equator. For Singapore specifically

[truemartian]

Im sure there are. You will have to do a little searching. I do not have any resources off hand. Simply do a search on the net for them.

[Messier81Galaxy]

nice video. I dont got a telescope yet (cant hardly wait for it).. but when i get one i will for sure type everything down, thanks :)

[AndyBJ]

Thanks Mr Trumartian, I find myself coming back to your video'a again and again as your approach is very easy to relate to.

I also understand drawing what you see is good and wondered what your approach is to this aspect of record keeping. Do you draw Nebula or planets when you see them?

I am just getting started and taking things slow! Saw Jupiter at good opposition through 10x50 binocs recently.I am aiming to see Saturn the early part of next year with my first telescope. Thanks again!!!

[truemartian]

Hi, thanks for your comment. I dont really have a set approach to record keeping. Although recently I have adopted 24hr UT time as a standard for all my observations. This should be THE standard for all your records. (ex:UTYEARMMDDHHMMSS = UT20070617145532) Also I keep a separate sketch book and journal. I have not attempted to draw nebula or star clustors. I'm to impatient ;-) I have made sketches of surface features on Mars and the positions of Jupiter's moons.

[truemartian]

As of the date of this message you still have a good chance to see Saturn this year at sunset. Its in Leo and very close to Venus.

[gaiald]

Would like buy a telescope. Which type of telescope should I buy?

[truemartian]

Try a 4 inch or 6 inch dob.

[Steveb971]

Well if you are looking to buy a telescope you need to ask yourself what would you like to do with your telescope.If you just want to star gaze then i would go with a dob. But if you want to do astrophotography then i would recomend going with the eq mounts.

[Steveb971]

It all comes down to what you want to do with your telescope. As for the size of your telescope the bigger the mirror the more light gathering power you have. i would start with an 8 inch telescope any thing lower than that in a few years you will want to change it for something bigger. So i would recomend an 8 inch happy star gazing

[freeker1]

Where were you looking for M-51? ...If it was in the city, all you can see of M-51 in the city are the 2 nucleii....I can see M-51 from a dark sky site in a 50mm finderscope....nice video and great points !!!

[truemartian]

At the time I lived in the country. It was also a very exceptional night for NE Ohio. It generally does not get that good of seeing here. If you have zero light pollution, clear skies, and at least a 10 inch you should be able to begin to see detail using averted vision.

[Steveb971]

hello as your log on m57 the star in the middle will not be visable. the only way you would be able to see the star is with a telescope 16" and larger. but the only way that you can get the middle star is if you can put your 10" on a eq mount and with a ccd camera that would work also...

[KanskjeKommerKongen]

What you are saying on this vid is so true and very important. Another qlue is to put a red film on your maglite so that you dont get blinded when you need to write something down. Your eyes need several hours to adapt to the dark again when using bright light. Happy holidays!!

[truemartian]

Yes I have been working to make a video on night vision and the use of red light. I am in the process of deciding on a location to film it. :D

[cateyesTV]

awesome advice.... thanks for sharing this with us! merry christmas(or whatever you celebrate)... by the way, channel tdarnell is starting an astronmy series too.... he's the channel that did the hubble deep space vid... thought you might enjoy it too... peace2U!

~cateyes~

[truemartian]

Thank you cateyes I will check tdarnell out. Merry Christmas to you too!

[JaalaJ]

Ooohh that deep space video is the best video I've ever seen on YouTube.

[JaalaJ]

I've never thought about having a journal before. I shall. When my telescope is fixed, that is!