Navigating the skies.

Seeing as I'm new to astronomy I figure I would talk a little bit about how I have been finding my way around the skies so other people who are just getting started might get an idea of how other people with little knowledge are doing it.

At first I had NO idea what I was doing. Finding the moon is simple enough and Jupiter is bright enough to spot with the naked eye... I was aware of the odd constellation such as Orion and the Southern Cross but that was about it.

How was I meant to find interesting object to look at with my new telescope?
Well, I started off by googling star charts.

Stardome has a monthly update with interesting things to see and even has the star charts to go along with it, but I took one look at the charts and had no idea what I was seeing. It was a bit overwhelming.

My next stop was the Apple App Store where I went looking for an augmented reality app (one that lets me use my phones camera and overlays the planets onto the display).
I found one called "Planet Finder". I have't really had much use for this but I do pull it out every so often to find the moon during the day time or when its a crescent and not so easy to spot.

I have found that after using the app for a while I don't need it as much as I have learnt the path the Moon and Jupiter take from my back yard and can now find them with ease. I suspect I will be pulling it out again when I'm viewing from a different location or looking for another planet such as Saturn.

I also got an app called "Star Map". This is my bread and butter app. I was a little reserved at paying $20 for the 'pro' version but I eventually bit the bullet and spent the money. And boy was it worth it.
I use this app EVERY time I'm out. Its excellent.

It lets me enter the specs of my telescope and will simulate the view I should be seeing and will even draw a line from a bight star to what ever you are looking for to help with star hopping. This is VERY useful as the Celestron Firstscope inverts the image and all your movements are backwards which can be pretty confusing.

I may do I full in-depth review a bit later when I'm full educated with the app but for now I can't recommend it enough.

One last piece of software I use a lot as well is called "Stellarium".
Its free planetarium software. I would recommend giving it a download and checking it out.
I have spent hours using it to decide what I should be looking for and what time of the night I should be out.


I hope these recommendations help you to find your way around the night sky.