12 I ENGLISH
YOUR FIRST NIGHT OUT
WHAT TO EXPECT
You can observe literally thousands of objects with the
larger aperture of the SSE Dobs:
The Moon
Observing the lunar surface is a great place to start. You’ll
easily see craters, maria, lacus, valleys, mountains, and
other features. The Moon is so bright that you might want
to consider using an optional Moon filter. It threads onto
bottom of the eyepiece to dim the view. We also recommend
a higher-power eyepiece to help you explore the Moon
up-close.
Planets
The best planets to view are Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and
Venus. A higher-power eyepiece will help bring out the
fine details. You’ll be able to see the rings of Saturn,
surface detail on Jupiter along with its moons, the phases
of Venus, and perhaps some surface detail on Mars if it is
near opposition (i.e. when it is closest to the Earth).
Stars and Double Stars
Stars will appear like points of light regardless of the
magnification used. However, a telescope can reveal a
star’s color and also “split” double stars using higher
magnifications. For variable stars, see if you can detect
a star’s change in brightness over a period of days or
weeks.
Open Star Clusters
These are star groups that formed together within our
Milky Way galaxy. They can appear spectacular in the
telescope eyepiece, even from somewhat light-polluted
skies. Astronomers often describe star clusters as
resembling “crushed diamonds on black velvet” in the
telescope’s eyepiece. Clusters are generally best viewed
with low-power eyepieces, as they usually require a wide
field of view to see the entire cluster.
Globular Star Clusters
These are tight clusters of hundreds of thousands of
stars that coalesced early in our galaxy’s formation. These
clusters appear like globes of light. The brighter ones can
be resolved into individual stars in good conditions. Most
globular clusters are best viewed with a medium-power
eyepiece, as they are not nearly as wide as open clusters,
yet not bright enough for high power either.
Nebulae
You’ll generally need to be under dark skies to see
gaseous nebulae, which appear as a faint glow around
stars. Don’t expect to see any nebulosity from urban skies
except for perhaps the brightest ones, like the Orion
Nebula and Lagoon Nebula.
Galaxies
Perhaps the most fascinating of all objects to view,
galaxies are like “island universes” unto themselves.
While you can detect the brightest galaxies, like the
Andromeda Galaxy, from somewhat light-polluted skies,
they are best observed from dark skies. Literally hundreds
of galaxies are well within the observing reach of the SSE
Dobs. The best ones display fine details like faint spiral
arms and dust lanes. Many, however, will just appear as
non-stellar “streaks” or “blobs.” Even so, just being able
to detect the light from another galaxy outside our own is
rewarding in itself.
One thing to keep in mind is that the SSE Dobs are not
motorized. This means that they will not automatically track
celestial objects as the Earth rotates. As a result, you will
notice that objects drift a bit as you observe them and will
exit the eyepiece’s field of view within a minute or two,
depending on the magnification you are using. Objects will
drift out of the field of higher-power eyepieces faster, since
their field of view is narrower. You will need to manually push
the Dob along to keep objects centered over time. This is
easy to do. Grab hold of the telescope’s panning knob and
move it slightly up-and-down and left-to-right as needed.