The Night Sky - Tips For The First-Time Telescope Owner

The Night Sky - Tips for the First-Time Telescope Owner - In this edition of The Night Sky, Darrell Heath explains what First-Time telescope owners should know in order to get the best outcomes when viewing the night sky.
To view more The Night Sky programs - go to ualr.edu/tv/night-sky

[@robertlegato8686]

At the tender age of eighty, my kids gave me a NexStar5SE scope for Father's Day! I guess they thought I needed something to take my mind off my diminishing capabilities. Well, it's working. I just stumbled across this video and -WOW - it really set me off on many new paths. Thanks to my kids and thanks for this KZbin video.

[@timmylee41]

Good luck Bob , great story 🙂

[@suzannegad]

Not as young as yourself but my daughters surprised me with a Telescope for my 57th Birthday a week ago

[@raymarvelez]

Good to hear 😁✅

[@Bruhmoment42O]

80 is not a tender age

[@GrandmasterBBC]

That is the best getting started with astronomy video I have ever seen. It reminds me to travel to dark skies and get outside.

[@timmylee41]

Ditto

[@iggwhy5380]

This is my 4th video I watch about telescope for dummies. Finally a video that actually gives me good tips.

[@martynh5410]

This was very well presented. I learned about astronomy many years ago when I was maybe 12. I went to a local library and started reading astronomy books. I also went outside and started to learn the constellations. This helped a lot when I got my first scope, a 4” reflector. Now about 50+ years later, I have the time to get back to this hobby. I bought an 8” go-to SCT and it’s been a great scope for me.

[@lordprotector3367]

Me too. I recently bought a Nexstar 8SE (8" goto SCT), after first getting into Astronomy in 1979 at age 14. I got some Zeiss 8x30 binoculars for my birthday, and, after that, knew every star name or Bayer designation in the sky at one point. Time got in the way, and recently got back into it. I didn't forget much, apart from some Bayer designations!

[@toecutter8002]

The night sky has changed where I live. I remember as a child in the 80s looking up at the night sky & seeing billions of stars & now I can count about 10 to 15 stars in the night sky. This troubles me a lot because both of my kids will never see the night sky in its true form the way it was meant to be seen. I believe we should start having natural blackouts from city lights so we can observe our night skies again. If your ever up in the early hours between 3 & 4am you can see some anomalies. You can download night vision on your phone & you'll start to see things you weren't meant to see.

[@username6135]

Like what? Could you please explain?

[@username6135]

Saw a 1 mm black dot transit moon today around 02:35 et.

[@gracefrancis950]

This is due to light pollution. If you go out in the middle of no where with no light you will see many more

[@username6135]

Who cares... it was a bird I think.

[@tenzinsmith7991]

You can also just travel to somewhere that’s dark

[@joebond5012]

Thank you for a very interesting video, I found it most useful. I have just taken up the hobby after my children bought me a telescope for my 70th birthday, so I’m a bit of a late starter!

[@frederickacerra7766]

I am 68 and wanted one for 50 years and got one this past Christmas . It is a lot to take in but i am retired now so i am going to hit it hard . Good luck

[@phillcotterill6264]

Great presentaion - got to the point straight away - no waffling - well done Darrel

[@memerzzz1735]

Idk why these informational channels r so underrated . why would i watch " *M Y N A M E I S C H I K I* " if i can watch this masterpiece

[@adamben-shimon7513]

I also received my first telescope for Christmas as well. I assembled it but I didn’t know how to use it. Thanks for this video. It really helped!

[@blinkybill2997]

Excellent, clearly-explained. Good job Darrell!

[@Feteh4all]

You really are an amazing guy to give us guidance when it comes to the wonders of the night sky! thank you!

[@southtxgal9077]

Thank you for this video. I got my telescope 2 yrs ago for Christmas and was overwhelmed at its complexity and it sat in my closet and was even tempted to sell it. For a moment i thought you were talking about me! I feel like I am somewhat well versed with the night sky and was mostly happy stargazing unaided. After seeing this video I am readyto step it up.

[@thatgoose2639]

Great presentation! There is an entire book worth of information in this video. I'd suggest ditching the star charts and purchasing the book Astronomica. Also Goto electronic mounts are very affordable and you should get one. Not only do they get you to your target but they track the target so you don't have to keep adjusting the scope to keep it in the eyepiece.

[@zainbaig5381]

Who is the author of Astronomica?

[@VirgilTStone]

​@@zainbaig5381 George Jetson

[@antonytheolddog8626]

Fantastic video... Like the gentleman who is 80. I'm 54 and want to introduce myself and my young 7 year old boy to the stars.. I was intrigued as boy but never followed it up.. Now I have more time and patience, I'm all in..🙏👽

[@chrissalsy4331]

Thanks for a good clear explanation for starters like myself. A lot of people trying to explain things about anything talk too fast. thumbs up for your presentation.

[@phileagle8432]

This is a really great video for us first timers! Thanks so much for making such a clear, informative and interesting video that is a great guide for getting into astronomy 😊

[@erichowry7197]

I received this telescope for Christmas and anxious to use it. Thanks for the video!!

[@memoirsjade2692]

Applause! Excellent! This is very nice introduction for me, I just purchased my very first telescope and I have zero knowledge on how to use it. Thanks!

[@TonyFisherPuzzles]

1. Look through the small end.

[@anthonyw5261]

This video is stellar!!! Thank you 😊 💓

[@dansharayko7198]

Excellent video! Very informative.

[@yormpbirdhouse4407]

I actually own Nightwatch, but I’ve never actually looked into it. I was a few years younger when I first got my telescope and stargazing stuff so I did what any kid would do and I looked at a few stars and got bored after a few hours. I think it’s time for me to dig that book back up.

[@vojkotravner6413]

Hi, this was very clearly explained and without ballast. Thank you very much, master!

[@dunringill1747]

Great presentation.

[@tmosbornmd]

This was great! Thank you. We are just getting started - so this was helpful.

[@SchecterNZKayakFishing]

Excellent advice

[@MarkMphonoman]

Ha, watching your video and noticed you had a photograph of my living room and refractor in your presentation. Cool. Mark

[@rich-ard-style6996]

I am not interested in Astronomy but plainly wanted to see what the sky shows us to see it.But this gentleman does a good job in explaining👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻😊⭐️

[@davidgrajeda2986]

Thank you sir! This has got to be one THE best videos I have ever seen on KZbin and I learned lots! Thanks again! : )

[@Mungu-Akubariki]

Thanks. That was useful. Have always wanted one, this video prevented a possible impulsive buy.

[@jamesadcock5235]

I'm happy just viewing the Sirius star with the naked eye. Have seen a nice telescope in lidl that tempts me as I get more interested in the night time sky

[@erichowry7197]

Thanks for the video! I received a celestron telescope for Christmas and watching videos on how to use it. Thanks a lot!

[@pheobs]

Thank you so much for all the information. I am heading to the library tomorrow.

[@alkoenig85]

Nicely done, excellent advise. I would also suggest limited using of goto drives. Learn the night sky and when your drive quits working you will still know your way around.

[@PafMedic]

I Got My 1st Scope When I Was 10,53 Now,lol A 70/300 Nat Geo(Still Have It)And For Some Weird Reason My Dad,Who Was In The Air Force Knew A Lot About Stars,Constellations,Planets,And Other Astronomy Things😂He Told Us He Wasnt Sure Where He Had Learned All Of It,and Not All At The Same Time😂I Age With Apollo 11 Every Year..Yes..Thats a Real Thing,lol.and Am My Fathers Only Space Nut,My Collection Has Grown Over The Years,and Ive Gotten Into Astro Some Over The Last 3-4 Years,and Love My 8-24 Zoom,The CelestronXL’s,This Was A Great Video Even For An Intermediate,I Really Enjoyed It,Have The Book Turn Left At Orion,And Until About 5 Years Ago When I Got My 1st Goto,Star Hopping Was All I Knew.And Still Do It,Have A Great Day And Clear Skies❤️🙏🏻🌏✨🔭

[@briancormier8189]

I been doing research for getting into star gazing and this was one of the most helpful with the best answers of a video I've come across. Thank you!!!

[@MrYogabala]

Great effort to entire team for this project.

[@TheCerealHobbyist]

Thank you so much for this! Sincerely, helping me so much in my new hobby!!

[@andreakennedy8084]

Brilliant beginners info. Thank you so much! 👍👍👍

[@warrenmcmurry8199]

Whew, hope the newcomers find your info, so accurate. I'm a casual observor now retired and still get excited with observations. Favored is detail on the bright planets. Mars now close, tho tuff Target starting to release it's hidden Detail! Your info is choice, more than well done, Clear Sky to All! Xt8, xt10 dobs, etx90, recent celestron 6 inch achro w/beefy mount. Planets, 8mm Clave, 7mm Pentax, 4.8mm Televue, Takahashi ortho 6mm, 5mm pinhole but planet killers. Steady Sky Please!!

[@r.mercado9737]

Outstanding presentation and commentary! Many thanks.

[@shimondzakovchich]

Informative video, please keep making sir.

[@charlesayache6801]

שלום לך!

[@bryanblanc2240]

Great information. Thank you for taking the time for us beginners Hopefully there will be no overcast tonight!

[@mikefisher5665]

Very good enjoyed it very much .Thank you for your time.

[@thomashaug9629]

Excellent presentation!

[@patt8724]

Well worth watching. Great advice.

[@RobertSmith-hb8ow]

Great video, I just purchased my 1st scope

[@4CardsMan]

Excellent presentation. I really liked the visual comparison of high versus low magnification. I learned the sky back in the 60's from the book What Star is That

[@prafullpandit531]

Simple, Elegant and top notch ! Great Video 👍

[@jodyk4949]

Thank you for a great presentation.

[@michaelbishop9127]

Thank you Sir. You have answered a lot of my questions. Thank you for taking the time show us so many things to help us. I have just bought my first telia.. Hope it want take long to get it. So many Beautiful things in space.

[@darrellheath9776]

Welcome to the Universe, Michael, I hope you have as much fun and as many great adventures as I've had!

[@grantheminger7479]

Super helpful, thanks so much!

[@SpaceFactsWax]

Thank you for uploading. I had the opportunity to see a rocket launch in 2018. Unbelievable experience. I posted a pretty fun video of the trip to my page.

[@cathrynm]

I had a cheap Sears telescope as a kid, and Saturn was interesting to find, though it wasn't easy with the cheap base.. Considering maybe getting something for the moon only, as I'm surrounded by a gagillion lightbulbs. I have line of site to San Francisco, other large buildings.

[@TheGzillaman]

Thank you bro' just got my Gskyer 70400 my first ever Lol. The video you did was great simple and to the point👍👽

[@danielforsyth1109]

Thank you for this video .it really answered alot of my questions.

[@toadamine]

Get the Stellarium app, problem solved... has all the stuff those books have in a highly intuitive and easy yo use form. it'll tell you where everything is with both Alt/Azimuth and equatorial grid lines to help find stuff... first time I used my new telescope I found all the visible planets, all the visible constellations, and a ton of messier and deep space objects. I dont even have a functional finder scope...

[@crysta6802]

I’m nothing but aw and wonder after this video

[@asgio27]

Stellar ! Thank you

[@mikeinsalaco]

Great video for first time users.

[@charlesayache6801]

Excellent in its clarity and this is the basic value here, is n't it?

[@rosemarykowalski4300]

Thank you for great video.I would like to know how to see the planets clearer especially Saturn's rings and Jupiter's moon.

[@knightclan4]

Excellent video Thanks

[@fredkaningok6460]

Thank you very much!

[@crusadr571]

Certainly helped me. Thank you...

[@vireshchauhan29]

Best Video with kot of knowledge..

[@homolgus1]

Super video I really did learn so much from it

[@lngillespie]

Excellent video, thank you!

[@sjgreene785]

Thank you!

[@wolflahti412]

Zoom eyepieces will almost always have a poorer-quality image and a smaller field of view for a given magnification.

[@darrellheath9776]

Wolf, I guess it's a matter of personal opinion. But if you are on a budget, and want a set of different eyepieces, a zoom eyepiece is a good way to go. I have one made by Celestron and I use it frequently with very little complaints

[@Astrofrank]

@@darrellheath9776 A problem with being on a budget is that the zoom eyepiece would be a budget one, too. A set of inexpensive, but decent Plössl eyepieces might not cost much more but will give you a better view. Of course the latter does not apply to the Baader Hyperion Zoom 8-24 mm or the TeleVue Nagler Zoom 3-6 mm, but their prices are far higher, ruling them out as "budget".

[@kamalchetry1972]

Nicely presented.

[@aliceichechi9679]

Very good video💯💙💫👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽

[@darrellheath9776]

Thank you, Alice, much appreciated. Clear skies!

[@crish.2819]

Thank you! Very good info.

[@ApurvJyotirmay]

Man, that was a great video!

[@kdmq]

The Sun is the most rewarding object to photograph imo. I use the selfie camera on my phone so I can look 180 degrees away from the Sun to prevent eye trauma.

[@MrEye4get]

I recently purchased a Celestron 130EQ telescope. I read the manuals and researched the night sky in my area. I learned to navigate the night sky using a very good phone app. I set up the telescope properly and took my first look at the moon. Wow, it is clear and interesting to see. Next I find Mars and align the telescope on this glowing red spot in the sky. Once I focus the eyepiece, all i see is a bright dot in the sky. No details and hardly any color. Disappointing considering I see good photos of the plants taken using my telescope online. Seems a waste of good money to buy a telescope that I can only really use to view the moon.

[@vega5744]

You will need a barlow lens. Maybe a 3x, last October was the best time for mars. You will have a better view this summer with jupiter and saturn.

[@darrellheath9776]

Mars is now currently out of range for just about any backyard telescope (unless we are talking about one with an objective of a meter or more). Mars only gets close enough for us to see details every two years. And, due to certain peculiarities with its orbit, not every close encounter is good for observing. On top of that, an unsteady atmosphere can make seeing details difficult. It takes patience and constant attention at the eyepiece, hoping for that magic moment, before you might get a chance to see anything. As the late Sir Patrick Moore once noted, Mars is easy to see but very difficult to observe. But don't throw in the towel, you've got Jupiter and Saturn entering the evening sky later this summer. On top of that, there are going to be a number of bright deep sky objects that are within easy reach of your telescope: globular clusters, open star clusters, nebulae, and even few galaxies. Hang in there!

[@FoolHardyQueso]

This really helped, thx

[@romeoramos6650]

I'm very new to telescope, what is the best way to track a single star, that only shows by itself alone in the sky.

[@freddyfrankymicky8159]

Great info 💯

[@_bee_1088]

Help! I have 8" 1200mm dobsonian, and when looking at mars trough 20mm 70degree eyepiece, all i see is small orange dot, but author of this video talks about icecaps and clouds. My question is what equipment do i need to have a good view of planets and what to use to have the better chance to see nebulas

[@gwilbur1]

you might want to consider correcting the spelling of length...on several slides.

[@MrJoecantu1134]

Great video

[@tinksc]

Awesome it work thank you love it 😍

[@sidharthsingh7346]

Thanks a lot! With your presentation, I can able to watch the N I G H T S K Y clearly!!!

[@tuanvuquoc2194]

Hi, thanks for very nice presentation. I have one skywatcher 150p, could you please tell me which eyepiece will be best suit for watching planets?

[@anastasijasun2489]

Thank u!

[@tanmaymahant6932]

I have manual telescope .....I can't find Orion nebula ...plz help

[@Hexxoran]

is the Levenhuk Skyline BASE 60T Telescope a good starting telescope

[@emanueladavis1885]

Read the instructions, I wish as it is in Chinese. I was lucky to have put it together with out instruction. Will try it out for the first time since I bought it months ago and got put off by Chinese Instructions and just put the bag in a corner somewhere. I would like to know about filters, Barlow x 5 etc, sun filters and moon filters etc.

[@giannaconover756]

I've used Celestron's Barlow lens along with the 25mm eyepiece and can see Saturn and Jupiter with them

[@Astrofrank]

There are websites for amateur astronomers, read the most often read threads for beginners and then ask your own questions.

[@captainmoretokin2172]

that would be nice to have one. but im poor so all i got is a old pair of binoculars. i aint never seen one at a yard sale. so i guess i gotta go . by

[@Brave_Aviator]

At least my cousin is a phd in astrophysics!!! I have him!

[@britlaredo821]

Is a 6 inch dobsonian still good enough to see the Orion nebula I want to see more than just the planets I would like to also see nebulas but my family could only afford the 6

[@Basil891]

Yes it is, even a small refractor can see a few deep sky objects.

[@Astrofrank]

Orion nebula can be seen in even smaller instruments, but don't expect it to look like the images.

[@tajhealthnature8570]

Wow very interesting. 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀📡📡📡📡📡📡

[@rich-ard-style6996]

I couldn't see A THING with the telescope I got for Christmas. Very frustrating.I hoot a Kids Telescope. No fun. Cheap and not working for me, I want just look through and see what I want to see, the night sky.

[@LearnToStargaze]

My channel, LearnToStargaze addresses this issue. It is a very common problem.

[@shodawadekar]

A dependable reference

[@GD1_3]

I just purchased my first telescope its a Cassini 640mm x 102mm Telescope with 1.3MP Eyepiece Camera. Anyone have any thoughts or experience with this particular one

[@Astrofrank]

As I doubt that it has a parabolic mirror, my suggestion would be to use it with eyepieces of rather long focal length for wide field observation. Large open star clusters and diffuse emission nebulae are good objects.

[@poppyd9758]

I have a Meade 60 telescope and I have no problem focusing on the moon and my granddaughters love looking at the moon. My problem is I’ve gotten (Jupiter?) (Mars?)lined up and focused in my viewer with my 26mm lens. When I insert my Barlow I cannot get it focused. My scope is at the same ambient temperature. Am I using the wrong lens with the Barlow?

[@Astrofrank]

If your focuser does not extend enough, use an extension tube. If the image is just bad, use a better Barlow lens or eyepieces with shorter focal length. A 12.5 mm Plössl gives roughly the same magnification as the 26 mm eyepiece with a 2x Barlow, but will have a similar focuser position as the 26 mm alone - and it will not compromise the image quality by itself.

[@kadithya8043]

Do A Star grazing vlog

[@Randallwojak]

Can you suggest me a good telescope in price about $150

[@Randallwojak]

I have Amazon..but do the low cost works?

[@rustusandroid]

What is this "library" you speak of...