Armature Astronomy: Tools for Viewing Venus and Jupiter. Plus Pics of the Moon

I've been doing a lot of Stargazing over the last month or so, and thought that I would share some of the interesting things that I have been doing with my blog readers who have a thirst for scientific things or who just like looking up at the night and early morning sky.

As I posted earlier I got the stargazing bug when I was a kid after my mother bought me a cheap telescope.  And I have kind of continued looking up at the stars and trying to do it without breaking the bank.

I also spent some time in the US Navy where I learned to navigate using the stars.  That was fun and amazing.  Words don't really describe how it feels to fix your position, out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, by looking up at the stars.  At that moment, you realize that with the right amount of knowledge, you can never really be lost.

And it also gave me a respect for the sailors and astronomers of the past who figured out all the details of how to do it.  And they did it with out many of the modern tools that we use today.

So what have I been checking out so far this month.  Well one of the coolest things I've been doing is observing the planets Venus and Jupiter (Read about it).  Not only have I been checking them out in the predawn morning as in the video below.  But to my surprise I have made some observations after sun rise during the day light hours.  



So let me run down the tools that I have been using and tell you about the adventure that I had getting what I wanted.  The goal was to get a few pieces of quality equipment, and not break the bank.

The first purchase that I made was a pair of Celestron SkyMaster Giant 15x70 Binoculars with Tripod Adapter.  Sad to say but that purchase did not work out so well.  There was a problem with the binoculars, and I returned them.  I also picked up the Vista Explorer 60-Inch Lightweight Tripod with Tripod Bag to go along with them.

After reading Binocular Highlights: 99 Celestial Sights for Binocular Users (Sky & Telescope Stargazing) by Gary Seronik I decided that the giant binoculars might not be my best first buy.  I did get to use the 15x70s and agree with Mr. Seronik that the bigger binoculars are too heavy and tiring to use.  Also the restricted field of view make them more difficult for someone like me to use.

So based on that I purchased a pair of Bushnell Falcon 10x50 Wide Angle Binoculars (Black).  I would like to write that this purchase went off without any problems, but that is not how the ball bounced.  The first pair that I got were so misaligned that I was seeing double images.  Several of the websites that I visited to see I could find a quick fix, explained that the binoculars were out of collimation.  And in the case even if I had tried to adjust them myself, there was no way to do it.  So I had to send them back for another pair.

My next purchase, which turned out to be a neat little telescope the Celestron 21024-A FirstScope Telescope with Accessory Kit.  I can not say enough good things about this wonderful little device.  It is easy to use, it came with many cool accessories, and the price was just right.

I started off thinking that this little telescope would be a toy, because of the price.  But I was blown away by the views of Venus, Jupiter (and four of it's moons) and the Earth's moon.  I have just begun to explore some of the constellations, but can see that this telescope will give me many great views of the stars for some time to come.

I'm going to end this post by sharing a few photos that I took with my cellphone through the telescope.  They are for the most part not that good, the fun of it all was just trying to do it.

Just in case you need more information, you can look all the items mentioned above by clicking the links below and researching them at Amazon.com.



                          

Stargazing: Observing Venus, Jupiter and Orion

This morning when I went out side to look up at the stars and to feed the dogs I got a very cool surprise.  Just so you know the details of my observations, or if you live some where near and want to see if you can observe the same objects in the sky, I live in San Diego, CA. 

To the east of where I live are some hills so I can't really see objects that are coming over the horizon until they rise a bit into the sky.  To the north it is often hazy and hard for me to see a whole lot.  I make most of my observations to the south and to the west.

I usually stargaze at dusk and at dawn.  I try to keep a log on my cell phone on my voice recorder of what I see and the various things I learn from looking up at the sky.  I have been looking up at the sky for many years now since I was a young boy and my mother bought me my first telescope.

I started observing the sky with my naked eyes at about 06:05 am and the first thing the stood out was the planet Venus, it was so bright in the morning sky.  it was to the East and I don't think I have ever seen it shine so brightly before.

Next I could make out the constellation Orion, and I could see the three stars that make up the belt and the other stars of that constellation. 

The next really prominent thing that I could see just with my eyes was the planet Jupiter, and it was very bright also.

I decided that I would set up my small reflector telescope and see what I could see.  I really wanted to look at Venus because it was so bright.  I was able to observe it and it really just looked like a small point of bright light and I could not really make out any distinguishing features about it.

At this point I decided to start observing Jupiter.  I was able to see Jupiter and four of its moons.  After I went through my various eye pieces I was able to make out some of the bands on the planet as well.  I continued to observe the planet even after day had broke and I could no longer see it with my naked eye.  It appeared as a light off white colored disk, with darker regions on it against the blue morning sky.  I tracked it across the sky and I believe that my last observation was after 07:15 or so.

What I learned:

The whole experience was amazing to me, and I learned a lot from this lucky observation.  I mean I was laying there in my bed after the alarm clock went off and thinking do I really want to get up.  I am so glad that I did.  I learned that you can see Jupiter's moons, and I also learned that I can observe objects in the sky even after the sun has risen, and I also learned that you can see the bands on Jupiter through a telescope.

Tools I used:

1. I used my unaided eyes.  It is cool that during this month you can see a lot in the sky, and that I live in a place where the night time sky is accessible.

2. I used my Celestron 21024 FirstScope Telescope to look at both Venus and Jupiter.

3. I used Google Sky Map to make sure that I was looking at what I thought I was looking at.  It is a useful tool and I recommend it for any stargazers out there.