crosscountry
2009-Jan-07, 11:55 AM
Right in time too. I bought some for my Antarctica trip but only used them a couple of times. Now that I'm back in New Zealand I was looking forward to clear skies. Well, it took a few days, but finally they arrived.
I've never seen the southern sky at night and was really hoping to see the Magellanic clouds. Unfortunately Christchurch is pretty well lit, and with the naked eye I saw nothing except the Southern Cross. That was a good feeling! Also, seeing Orion upside down and Sirius directly overhead was a neat sight. The moon was just left (not right like up north) of the Pleiades. On my own I found NCG3532 and the Eta Carina Nebula. They were near to Theta Carina which I found first. From there I was lost and had to pull out the computer with Starry Night. That helped me find the LMC, NCG 3114, and the names to the others. The SMC is too dim, and maybe clouds were filtering my view.
Anyway it was quite productive, and now I have the great memory of looking at the southern sky. I hope to get a few more viewings in while on my motorcycle trip around the southern island.
P.S., I've had a telescope for years. I love it, but it's not great for travel.
I've never seen the southern sky at night and was really hoping to see the Magellanic clouds. Unfortunately Christchurch is pretty well lit, and with the naked eye I saw nothing except the Southern Cross. That was a good feeling! Also, seeing Orion upside down and Sirius directly overhead was a neat sight. The moon was just left (not right like up north) of the Pleiades. On my own I found NCG3532 and the Eta Carina Nebula. They were near to Theta Carina which I found first. From there I was lost and had to pull out the computer with Starry Night. That helped me find the LMC, NCG 3114, and the names to the others. The SMC is too dim, and maybe clouds were filtering my view.
Anyway it was quite productive, and now I have the great memory of looking at the southern sky. I hope to get a few more viewings in while on my motorcycle trip around the southern island.
P.S., I've had a telescope for years. I love it, but it's not great for travel.