we just bought an Orion 10" dobsonian telescope-any DU hints?

[NMDemDist2]

hubby has been working with binocs for 6 months

I'm sure here in the elitist left wing liberal bastion, there is some astronomers with some suggestions :hi:

[DarkPhenyx]

1. Make sure to take the caps off before viewing.

*smart ass grin*

[mr_hat]

2. Don't look directly at the sun.

[NMDemDist2]

3. you two were a world of help <sarcasm off> ROFL eom

[Birthmark]

4. A serious answer

Since my two smartass answers were already taken.

Always give the mirror time to equalize its temperature to the temp outdoors. I live in FL, so I usually let my scope sit for 45 minutes to an hour to allow it to cool. If you don't do this, you will be looking through marvelous, swirling air currents that will erase all detail from the object that you want to see.

Also get high-quality eyepieces.

If you have any specific questions I'll do what I can to answer. I have an Orion 8" Dob and love it. Enjoy.

[NMDemDist2]

5. we live in AZ so it's warmer outside than inside

does that matter?

edit to add it came with a 10 and 25 mm 1.5 inch Sirius Plossls

do you have any recommendations on eyepieces?

[Birthmark]

13. Sorry for the delay

My daughter's HS graduation is tomorrow, so it's been a bit hectic around here tonight.

Anyway, you should probably get a lower power eyepiece, in the 32mm to 40 mm range, to view deep sky objects like extended galaxies and nebulae.

You will probably find a good barlow lens helpful, too. It's the easiest way of getting high power on a short focal ratio Dob. On most nights you probably won't find any magnification more than 400x useful; although living in AZ you will get some steadier, darker skies than I ever will in FL.

If you intend on observing planets then a set of color filters can help bring out the fine detail. This is especially true on Mars.

A full-aperature, glass solar filter can be fun, too. I'm not much of a sun watcher myself, what with getting sunburn just from think about the sun.

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head.

[NMDemDist2]

19. thanks so much! hubby acts like that all made sense to him

and he is over there saying stuff like "oh wow" and "alright, that's interesting" so I assume it's good info for him

he just said "so when i look for my 2" i'll look for a 35 or 40"

he says thanks a bunch!

re the light, we live in metro Phoenix, lite pollution is a pretty big issue

[Bertha Venation]

6. Here's a tip: If it's not twinkling, it's not a star. It's a planet.

You probably already knew that.

Unfortunately, I'm not familiar w/ the summer sky, and the winter sky is almost completely gone.

Try to find Saturn. First time I saw it, I thought it was an orange star. I trained my telescope on it and it looked like a little orange ball with ears. Then I realized it was Saturn, and I couldn't stop staring at it and saying to myself, "oh, my god, that's Saturn!" I was really stunned. It's a cool sight.

You can probably also find Jupiter & may be able to see some of its moons.

Get a sun filter and check out the sunspots close up. That's cool. And the moon is WAY cool through a 'scope.

When the winter sky comes back, look for the Horse's Head Nebula in Orion (I think it's inside the belt), and the Pleiades (sp?), a tight cluster of 40 or so stars. The brightest few are visible straight above in the winter sky -- that is, around, say, 8 pm in January at about the 38th parallel -- but really, wherever you are in N.A., you can't miss it.

Have a blast!

[NMDemDist2]

7. thanks, hubby has a good book that has taught him a lot

"NightWatch" by Terence Dickinson

[BlueJazz]

8. I've always loved Astronomy. Tell your hubby to

look at Polaris (north star)...it's a double star.
Also... the star in the middle of the handle of the big dipper is
not only a double but is actually a quadruple! thru a good scope.

[NMDemDist2]

9. cool thanks! that's great advice eom

[Speck Tater]

10. Get up to the top of a good-sized hilll and...

...make sure there are apartment buildings below with a swimming pool and lots of good looking chicks. ;)

[NMDemDist2]

11. we have a swimming pool, and i can swim nekkid

but if he takes his binoc's in the car i'll tease him unmercifully hehe
:smoke:

[WillParkinson]

12. Yes!

It's illegal to peep in the neighbors windows.

I mean, really now, who knew?

[ThoughtCriminal]

14. Pointing

Finding objects is the hard part.

I put one of those LED bb-gun sights on my scope - helps get it pointed. It's on an 80mm refractor on a equatorial mount rather than a Dosonian, but I think it work.

Hope you have dark skies (The reason I moved out here)

[EstimatedProphet]

15. The second star in Orion's belt

Is a very pretty object called the Orion nebula. Quite nice.
In Hercules there's a nice globular cluster.
In Andromeda there is the Andromeda galaxy.
All of these things are worth checking out, and make great observing/photographing objects.
BTW how much is a scope like that?

[NMDemDist2]

17. we spent around $600 eom

[freethought]

16. Your hubby already has a book but,

I'll reccommend one called "Nightwatch". It dosen't tell you where to find obejcts by coordinate systems like "36 degress Northh by 27 degrees, blah blah". The book tells you to aim a this star of a particular constellation the go slightly right then up a touch. It has great sky charts that show the placement of the constellation seasonally. A great book!
Make sure you tell your husband to try the moon. The moon under high magnification is absolutely awesome. "Nightwatch" will provide you with map of the moon with crater names and even points where the Apollo missions landed.
I have a Tasco refractor. I was able to view the Hale/Bopp Comet and another a year or two before the Hale/Bopp but I can't remember the name. Oh yeah, and I viewed Mars on its recent close pass. Great Stuff!

[NMDemDist2]

18. see post #7 that's the one he has but thanks! n/'t