Expert: Ed - 8/25/2005

Question
Hello,
I just got a telescope and have never used one.  I've been searching online for astronomy sites and haven't found many good ones.  I was wondering if there's a site out there that can tell me when I can view certain planets, constellations, black holes, etc.  Also, do you have any tips or advice for someone like me?  Thank you for your time.

Adam

Answer
Adam,
Well, there are a lot of resources out there.  Astronomers are a pretty friendly bunch of people, on the whole, so you shouldn't have too much trouble getting help as you get started.

You mentioned being able to see black holes in your question.  Remember, black holes can't be seen.  That's why they're called "black."  But if you want to just know where some of them are, some of the following websites should be able to help you out.

First of all, with regard to your actual telescope, I have to say in all honesty that there are people on AllExperts who are MUCH more experieinced than I am.  I live right in the middle of a large city, so I hardly ever get to see the stars clearly.  Pretty pathetic, I know...  Anyway, you should direct any questions having to do with telescopes to Paul Wagner, or Tom Whiting.  Here are their AllExpert Profile webpages:
http://www.allexperts.com/displayExpert.asp?Expert=4834
http://www.allexperts.com/displayExpert.asp?Expert=18522

They are both highly experienced with lots of various types of telescopes.  They will be happy to assist you in those matters.

As for what time you can view particular interesting things in the sky, there are many websites that you can look at.  One of my favorites is the Sky Report, on the website for the Harvard-Smithsonain Center for Astrophysics, in Cambridge, MA.
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/ep/starreport.html

I don't know how old you are, but you may want to check out NASA's webpage for postsecondary school students.  The webmasters there try to assemble lots of interesting stuff together.  You can spend hours playing with the links on this page.
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/postsecondary/features/index.html

You might also want to check the weather page of your local newspaper.  It depends upon which particular newspaper it is, but sometimes they will have a little section which will describe any unusual or interesting things going on in the sky.

Another terrific resource is a TV show called "Star Gazer."  This show is on weekly, and it talks about whatever particular things will be visible in the sky during the upcoming week.  The gentleman who presents this show is named Jack Horkheimer, and he really loves astronomy.  People give him a hard time sometimes because his voice sounds sort of nerdy, but I hope you give him a chance.  His enthusiasm for astronomy is infectious, and he really wants to help people understand.
http://www.jackstargazer.com/

This is another nice website.  It's called "Your Sky."  You can enter a local city, or your local latitude and longitude, and it will give you a map of your sky.  It gets a little crowded with extra graphics, but I think it's worth spending time looking at it.
http://www.fourmilab.ch/yoursky/

I hope this is a good start.  There's lots of other great resources out there, but I don't want to swamp you with too much stuff.  Feel free to get back to me for more ideas.

Keep Looking Up!  (I stole that line from Jack Horkheimer),
--Ed