Yeah, the Orion Nebula is definitely a classic -- one of the first things I enjoyed looking at when I got a small refractor telescope in high school. Makes me think about getting a good modern telescope...
Hi Mark BC I just brought a 6" Sky Watcher Newtonian reflector and so far the Moon is keeping me enthralled. Jupiter is disappointing through it though even with a 6mm eyepiece. I guess it is true about aperture, you can never have enough.
Cheers,
Kevin.
The terminus on the moon (the area bewteen light and dark, or sunlight and shadow) is a wonderful place to aim a telescope. Be carefull looking at a full moon. You may step back from the eyepiece partially blinded!
6 inches should be more than enough aperature to view Jupiter. I pulled my 8" Celestron out tonight (mostly because of this thread) and the seeing was horrible, so maybe your disappointment isn't because of lack of apperature.
The Pleadies (sp?) a.k.a. The Seven Sisters, is another fun target. It is an open cluster in the constellation Taurus and looks like a tiny dipper (as compared to the the big dipper and little dipper). It's a little after 7:00 pm and I can see it rising in the east from my back yard tonight.
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It's redundant to say that celestial objects rise in the East.
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