Free deep-sky observing guides for scopes

Hi all,

Well known US amateur astronomer Alvin Huey has created a series of deep-sky observing guides for medium-sized or larger telescopes at www.faintfuzzies.com/DownloadableObservingGuides.htm

Enjoy!

Looks interesting

thanks John,

Michael.

Cool!

I have one of Alvin's printed guides (Arp Peculiars) which I use extensively. Sadly the downloadable ones seem to leave out my favorite two features (Alvin's sketches and notes, which give me an idea of what I might be able to see), but hey, they're free.

-- Jeff.

These are brilliant John. Thanks for the link.

I'd gotten bitten with the apeture bug and the hardware obsession almost from my the beginning of my entry into the hobby just over a year ago. Luckily for me I am led to understand that late '07, '08 & early '09 has nearly been the worst 14 month period of observing conditions in Ireland ever. Things can only get better. ie. if there was ever a period where spending the time to find ones goldilocks zone apeture/size/weight/cost wise (16" Lightbridge for me) and to be obsessing about the hardware and spending more time researching, planning and modding it to the detriment of observing, well this was the period to be doing that in.

All that is nearly out of my system now and I will soon have completed my dream scope. Now I want to get serious about actually observing. No more of this random, unordered observing I have done up to now. I want to start planning sessions and start taking observing notes etc.

These observing guides will really help me with that.