What Objects To Focus On For School Astronomy? 377
IceDiver writes "I am a teacher in a small rural school. My Grade 9 students are doing a unit on astronomy this spring. I have access to a 4" telescope, and would like to give my students a chance to use it. We will probably only be able to attempt observations on a couple of nights because of weather and time restrictions. I am as new to telescope use as my students, so I have no idea what objects would look good through a 4" lens. What observations should I attempt to have my students make? In other words, how can I make best use of my limited equipment and time to give my students the best experience possible?"
The Sun (Score:5, Funny)
Advantages: Easy to find in the sky. Viewable during daytime hours.
Re:The Sun (Score:5, Informative)
The moon. You can actually look at it without going blind.
Re:The Sun (Score:4, Informative)
Jupiter and Saturn too. You can even see some of their moons.
Re:The Sun (Score:5, Informative)
With a 4"'er, you're not going to get any detail out of Jupiter or Saturn. No cloud bands on Jupiter -- just the moons as points of light. Saturn will look like this [msu.edu] or this [vox.com] if you're lucky.
But the moon looks great at any magnification.
Re:The Sun (Score:4, Interesting)
I used my binoculars to go spotting at Jupiter a while back after this image... ...totally blew me away.
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0907/lune-jupiter4_riou.jpg [nasa.gov]
Screw the sun and moon, The Blue Marble and dozens of infographics of the solar system with "you are here" labels.. that image - and subsequent direct viewing - instilled far more of a sense of being inside a solar system than any of those things.
That said - I'd go for the moon right afterward as well.. seeing the craters, especially on a waxing or warning moon, is great and can easily be done by kids.
The aforementioned image happens to have our moon -and- Jupiter + its 4 largest (well, most visible at the time) moons, which just makes it all the more awesome.
Re:The Sun (Score:3, Interesting)
I've definitely had great luck viewing Jupiter even from my suburban backyard and a cheap telescope. Moons and all..
Re:The Sun (Score:4, Informative)
Re:The Sun (Score:3, Informative)
I doubt that photo is unedited. It's probably a HDR reconstruction. Even mostly behind the clouds, the moon should be so bright as to be overexposed if the Galilean moons are also clear and visible in frame.
Re:The Sun (Score:2)
Re:The Sun (Score:5, Informative)
I used my binoculars to go spotting at Jupiter a while back after this image... Outstanding picture. ...a sense of being inside a solar system than any of those things.
About ten years ago, I had a 4" Newtonian telescope, and being a fairly constant reader of Sky & Telescope Magazine, I knew that the Moon was to occult Uranus at a specific date and time. So I pointed my telescope in the right direction and, sure enough, this perfect little green sphere rose from the mountains of the Moon, definitely one of those "wow!" moments.
At other times, I did also manage to "snag" a couple of the LINEAR comets.
So my best advice for the budding amateur astronomer is to buy Sky & Telescope Magazine or visit http://www.skyandtelescope.com/ [skyandtelescope.com] to get monthly tips of celestial event watching.
A friend of mine owns several more serious telescopes, in the 10" - 18" inch range, and what's kept him up at night during the past year is the challenge of "capturing" binary star systems, here's the drill:
1. Find your target binary in a star atlas. There's tons of them. Some of them are even triple or quadruple star systems.
2. Point the telescope in the general direction, find your bearings and lock on target. This might take a while.
3. Increase magnification by changing lenses, until the lesser magnitude companion star pops out. Mission accomplished.
4. Go for a more difficult (lesser magnitude) system next time around, thereby honing your skills.
Happy hunting!
The value of inference (was: Re:The Sun) (Score:4, Insightful)
I think just looking at the stars is not nearly as great as trying to find out how much you can infer from observations.
Astronomy is the probably the science which requires the highest level of skill in inferring information, or trying to get at information in a bit round-about way, as it's kind of difficult to actually modify the universe on a large scale just to test a theory. And in my experience, I'd say inference is a skill not nearly taught enough nowadays - astronomy could be the subject for it.
If you have access to them, the BBC showed a program series called rough science which had a couple of interesting little experiments you could do - like calculating the diameter of a crater on the moon - with the most trivial of things at your disposal, and also trying to come up with a useful margin of error for their own measurements.
In the same program, they then also had a different group trying to measure the diameter of another crater here on earth (which they took the team to), by making the triangulate a point on the other side of the crater (if no crater at hand, you could do a practice session, trying to find the distance from the current position to a landmark nearby -- without allowing the students to actually just walk/drive over and measure the distance, but to gain that information from their own vantage points. (again, also get them to come up with a margin of error).
In both cases, in the end compare the student-found results with actual data...
Re:The Sun (Score:3, Informative)
Fully agree: Jupiter, Saturn, the Moon.
Suggest starting with Jupiter, with focus on its moons and (if you are lucky with your choice of nights) changes in their positions relative to Jupiter. Tie this in with Galileo as the prototypical scientific mind questioning the authorities of his day. (Remember that Galileo came to recognize the Sun's central position in the Solar System after watching the dance of Jupiter's moons).
Also Saturn. With luck the rings will be evident.
Save the Moon for last. Nights that best for Jupiter and Saturn are going to be moon-less nights, but OTOH you can do more with the Moon with 10x binoculars than with a 4 inch telescope: you need the wider field of view to figure out what you are looking at.
You can probably find an amateur astronomer in your town who would be interested in helping with a project like this. In fact this kind of thing could easily become the focus for a series of star parties.
Re:The Sun (Score:4, Insightful)
Seeing Saturn as something other than a point of light is worth it. Really. Seeing the disk and rings transforms it from being a bright star that moves, into a place.
Re:The Sun (Score:3, Informative)
Nope, 4" is more than enough (Score:4, Informative)
I'd recommend Jupiter, Saturn, the Orion Nebula and the Pleiades. They're all super easy to locate once you know where to look (you can see them all with the naked eye...just not very well!). Also, definitely get a good look at the moon. It's more interesting when it's not full, since that gives you more relief. Unless you have a filter, with a 4" main lens, the moon is going to be pretty bright.
Re:The Sun (Score:5, Funny)
That's no moon.
Re:The Sun (Score:4, Funny)
Of course not. That's usually too low to see through the window.
> What Objects To Focus On For School Astronomy?
Here's a suggested lesson plan for questions the teacher could discuss.
1. Which seasons of the year provide the most productive viewing because there's no steam buildup in the bathroom windows?
2. Is there a significant difference in viewing quality between a screen and a quadruple set of panes in a slid-open window? Which is better for what kinds of body parts?
3. Do older women tend to have larger areolae than younger ones? If so, why do you think that is?
4. Is perky truly "better" than saggy, pendulous ones? What do you actually feel, since nobody is looking and social pressure is off?
5. Do they tend to be contracted or relaxed before the shower? After? After drying?
6. How much does your rhythmic viewing activity affect the stability of the image through: A. The shaking of your body? B. The shaking of the telescope itself through the floor?
Re:The Sun (Score:2, Interesting)
Moon first, it's amazing and easy to find. They'll get to see it in more vivid detail than possible in pictures.
Jupiter and Saturn are a different experience. They'll be dull and tiny compared to everything we've seen. The rings of Saturn will be visible as well as the 4 big moons of Jupiter. The big "ooh" factor here is that when you zoom in on those two particular "stars", there is a whole lot more to see.
I've heard people say good things about M42, in Orion, but I've never had much luck, too much light in my area.
Most star viewing is probably best done without a scope, maybe a green laser pointer.
Some equipment that might be helpful:
A filter for the moon, especially if it will be full. On a 4" scope, that's a lot of light to be focused on the eye. $12
I spent about $130 on a nice eyepiece with good eye relief (distance from your eye to the eyepiece). This made it much easier to share the scope with my kids. It also lets people with glasses view with glasses on. I only bought the really nice one at my highest resolution (so far).
Re:The Sun (Score:3, Funny)
Neighbours' bedroom windows. A much better view.
Re:The Sun (Score:2)
+1 Slashdot reader
Re:The Sun (Score:2)
Re:The Sun (Score:2)
You can't come even close to seeing the red spot with a 4" telescope. Lucky imaging on a good quality 6", maybe. Probably not.
Re:The Sun (Score:2)
Re:The Sun (Score:2)
Wait a minute. Why would you recommend against Jupiter and Saturn? Didn't Galileo start with less than a 4" scope? Look where that lead us! Sure, we're spoiled by the Hubble images we see all the time, but it's good to know where it all started.
Galileo did not discover the Great Red Spot. It was discovered much later by Robert Hooke, using a scope with an aperture of over 5". It took months of painstaking observations to spot and track.
Re:The Sun (Score:2, Insightful)
Two more bad jokes (YOUR FAULT!!!!) (Score:2)
How is the Starship Enetrprise like toilet paper? Both circle Uranus looking for Klingons
------
Bennet is doing his neighbor's wife when he thinks her husband is coming home. Startled, he jumps up and runs right into the wall, hardon first.
The woman exclaims "Bennet!"
He groans "Bent it? I think I broke it!"
Re:The Sun (Score:5, Funny)
The moon is more important too, being that it shines at night. The sun only shines during the day when it's light out anyway.
Re:The Sun and Stars (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:The Sun (Score:3, Informative)
No doubt, the Moon should be target number one. But not the full moon -- the full moon is fairly uninteresting and you see no detail.
The best times, IMO, are around first and third quarters, where the terminator shows off the actual surface shape. Even with a 4" scope you'll be able to get much more understanding and visual interest during these times from the Moon's surface.
I highly suggest taking the scope out prior to this unit to become familiar with the basics and this particular scope's quirks, if you are not already. Nothing is worse for group observational astronomy than waiting around for somebody else to screw with the scope.
Re:The Sun (Score:2)
Re:The Sun (Score:2)
What are you doing here on digg? Go back to slashdot!
Caution: (Score:5, Funny)
Do NOT look at Sun with remaining eye.
Re:Caution: (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Caution: (Score:2, Informative)
Err, you guys know they make solar filters for telescopes? I used to watch sunspots and solar eclipses all the time. My eye sight is still perfect (except for presbyopia now that I'm getting old - hard to focus on up close items).
Re:The Sun (Score:2)
Disadvantages: Can damage telescope. Might not be visible if cloudy. Not as neat as looking at planets or stars. Oh yeah, it also causes instant blindness.
Re:The Sun (Score:5, Informative)
Do NOT look directly at the sun through the telescope, of course. Instead, you use the telescope as a projector.
It takes a minute or two to aim: the trick is to use the shadow from the telescope to aim. When the shadow is smallest, you're pointing the right way.)
There are lots of web sites describing how to do it, such as this one. [astrosociety.org] (I've never used the extra collar like they describe, but it probably wouldn't hurt.)
It also has the advantage that it's something a small group of people can enjoy at once.
At night, if it's reasonably dark at all, I'd recommend the moon (always easy to see. Use a moon filter, which probably came with your telescope).
Also, you should be able to see the Orion Nebula as a wide fuzzy patch. I've seen the banding of Jupiter, as well as its moons, in my 3.5" telescope, though I wasn't able to find the Red Spot, and the rings of Saturn.
Definitely get a software star chart (there are free ones available online) and a red filter for your flashlight so you don't lose night vision. It makes a surprisingly large difference.
Re:The Sun (Score:2)
The night sky can be rather unforgiving and frustrating if you don't know what to look for.
Speaking of not being frustrated by the night sky, I can't recommend strongly enough this site [cleardarksky.com]. Know your viewing conditions in advance!
easy stuff (Score:4, Informative)
I'd suggest objects that are very easy to find, so the students don't spend the whole time searching for them.
Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus, M31 (Andromeda galaxy), Orion Nebula (M42) are a good start.
Re:easy stuff (Score:2)
Good points. I was remembering my time using my 10" telescope, years ago.
Re:easy stuff (Score:3, Informative)
M31: A faint, barely visible blur
With a dark sky, Andromeda is an easy naked-eye object, and I think it's pretty impressive just in my 50mm binos. It's anything but barely visible.
Without a dark sky, the whole exercise is pointless. Except for the moon, so I guess I'll have to agree that this is probably the best thing to look at.
Re:easy stuff (Score:5, Informative)
I totally disagree with this comment,
and +4 informative is way out of whack, even for the slashdot moderation. I live about 10 miles outside of Chicago, just north of the airport. The light pollution is awful. With an 80mm lens (just under 4 inches), I can easily make out the cloud bands of Jupiter, including the red spot. The moons of Jupiter are clearly visible, and are easily distinguishable from background stars (first and foremost, they don't twinkle). The rings of Saturn are clearly visible (even with small binoculars), and will look like a little UFO in the lens. Andromeda and the Pleides are visible to the naked eye as light smudges, but through a 4 inch lens are easily broken down into the major elements making up these DSO's. The whispy structure of the orion nebula is clearly discernible. Again, this is from extremely light polluted skies. In reasonably dark skies, a 4" scope is plenty for amateur observing.
The parent post is hardly informative.
just my .02,
jeff
Options. (Score:5, Insightful)
1. The moon.
2. How about the moon?
3. You might want to consider the moon.
4. Have you given any thought to the moon?
No special filters needed, and it's by *far* the most visually impressive with a small aperture. If you can get appropriate filters, the sun is another good option. Everything else.... you might see phases on some of the larger bodies. And you'll probably be able to see the Jovian moons as points of light. That's about it. Perhaps a faint blur for the Andromeda galaxy if you're in a good location.
But the moon looks awesome even through a small scope.
Re:Options. (Score:2)
Indeed. And by "appropriate filters" Rei means go to the local university and borrow an H-alpha etalon (interference filter). Not, "get some red glass from Edmund Scientific."
Re:Options. (Score:2)
Or a projector setup for the telescope. You project the image from the eyepiece on a small screen.
http://www.astrosociety.org/education/publications/tnl/05/stars2.html [astrosociety.org]
for more info http://solar-center.stanford.edu/observe/ [stanford.edu]
Actually Solar observing looks like a good class activity.
Re:Options. (Score:3, Insightful)
With a projector (or a proper shield blocking most of the input at the front), you'll be able to see sunspots. If you can get a local university to part with a fabry-perot etalon, you can see prominences.
Of course, you can probably get them to part with a grad student an a 12" refractor to go with it for the same price...
Re:Options. (Score:2)
I have to second the Moon. Deep space objects will tend to be fuzzy blobs at best. Jupiter, Mars, and maybe Saturn would come next.
Maybe the North Star or the Pleiades to show them just how many stars are really there. Of course do it yourself first so you don't disappoint.
Re:Options. (Score:2)
Ooh, forgot about the Pleiades. Sure, they're just points of light, but they're a bunch of clustered pretty blue points of light. :)
Re:Options. (Score:2)
s/aperture/focal length/g
Re:Options. (Score:2)
Re:Options. (Score:2)
I think you understate what you can see through a small telescope. 4" is still a great deal larger than any binoculars - but the Galilean satellites, the phases of Venus and the Andromeda Galaxy are quite clear in my old 10x50 set. A 4" telescope might well be able to distinguish the bright nucleus of Andromeda from the surrounding disc.
If a 4" telescope can't see the four great moons of Jupiter, something is seriously wrong. Even if you're in the middle of a great sodium-lit megalopolis, you should still be able to see them.
Re:Options. (Score:3, Interesting)
I've managed good photos using a point and shoot digicam with it's lens similar in size, using small cheap telescopes. You do need to have manual controls and manual focus on the camera, and have some idea how to use them. You also need to be willing to try different settings and ways of focusing.
Here's what I did years ago with a 3MP camera, and my first scope which is worse than what you described:
http://www.progsoc.uts.edu.au/~sammy/photography/Moon8567.jpg [uts.edu.au]
http://www.progsoc.uts.edu.au/~sammy/photography/MoonInDaylight.jpg [uts.edu.au]
Here's one of my latest images, through a 10" dobsonian telescope - animated gif comparing to Virtual Moon Atlas:
http://www.progsoc.uts.edu.au/~sammy/photography/IMG_1488_OverlayAnimationSmall.gif [uts.edu.au]
not the full moon (Score:5, Informative)
Many people think that the best time to look at the moon is when it is full. This is the worst time to use a telescope other than when it is cloudy. It is washed out and flat. Try with no more than 1/2 moon then you can see the rough surface due to the shadows. It is worth looking at when full but far better otherwise
The next most important thing is to practice where you will be setting up. You need to be familiar with the sky. Find the planets beforehand so you can point out the ones that are up and some of the major constellations. Remember planets move around a bit as well. If you are some where that is humid, it can be helpful to have a bright spotlight. You can point out locations in the sky. Show them where the Zodiac is (the constellations that the sun rises in and the planets move through). Jupiter and Saturn are also good. If clear and dark enough you can show them the milky way.
Lastly I would hope you have a plan of what to say. I talk about Galileo and the arguments that were being made about the sky before the telescope was pointed at the sky. The moon was thought to be basically featureless and round. Point out the moon and ask them to look at it for a minute. No one had seen a much better view than you are seeing now.
Someone (probably Galileo) first pointed a telescope at the moon and then saw this Prepare for a gasp when they look.
Everything went around the earth, then Jupiter, “see the little dots they move around” and you can see this from night to night in a pattern
One more thing. if your scope does not have a motor mount you will need to frequently move it to make up for the turning of the earth. Also people will bump it and the next person will see nothing but black. This is tricky as they will not tell you if they do not see anything.
Double cluster (Score:2)
Yeah, definitely have to at least try the double cluster. It's one of the easiest clusters to spot, and looks pretty cool just through binos.
Book to read (Score:5, Informative)
A great book for beginners is Turn Left at Orion, by Guy Consolmagno
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Turn-Left-Orion-Hundred-Telescope/dp/0521781906 [amazon.co.uk]
Re:Book to read (Score:3, Informative)
the star hustler -Jack Horkheimer
http://www.jackstargazer.com/
his shows highlight whatever celestial events or objects are upcoming
-I'm just sayin
Planets and Clusters (Score:3, Informative)
Clusters (globular, open, etc) may be a bit harder to find and harder to see, but some of them are impressive with even a 4" telescope. The Messier objects shouldn't be too hard to find with a star chart.
Re:Planets and Clusters (Score:2)
Clusters (globular, open, etc) may be a bit harder to find and harder to see, but some of them are impressive with even a 4" telescope. The Messier objects shouldn't be too hard to find with a star chart.
I have no experience with 4" telescopes (I have my own 50mm binoculars, and I mooch off my friends who have 8" scopes and one awesome 20"). I would think globular clusters are one of the most immediately impressive objects to look at, but some are brighter than others. I know in my binos most are just fuzzy blobs, but some you can actually kinda tell what you're looking at.
Do you know of any specific globs that look good in a 4"?
When are you doing the class? (Score:5, Informative)
Different things are visible at different times, although a four inch telescope is really only going to be able to see the the brightest objects. A little better than binoculars, but surprisingly little better after you account for the perception boost binoculars get by letting you use both eyes.
If you're talking about a nearby observation opportunity, then let me recommend Sky & Telescope - At a Glance [skyandtelescope.com] and Human Spaceflight Realtime Data [nasa.gov] as sources of interesting things to look for. You can also nearly always find a satellite or two around dusk, if you know where to look. Nasa has some pages about that as well.
Make sure you have some information to talk about about everything you plan to look at, since most of the class will be standing around the telescope rather than actually looking through it at any given time.
Location is important (Score:5, Informative)
The moon, Venus, and Mars are good places to start. NASA has a "Near-Earth Object" program (http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/) that may be of interest to you.
Also, while man-made objects aren't necessarily directly related to astronomy, the International Space Station is also quite visible with the naked eye; I'm sure a telescope would make the observation much better. Again, this depends on your location and when the ISS will be visible there.
Re:Location is important (Score:2)
Also, while man-made objects aren't necessarily directly related to astronomy, the International Space Station is also quite visible with the naked eye; I'm sure a telescope would make the observation much better.
I've never tried looking at the ISS with a telescope, but I've seen it going overhead and it usually seems to be going pretty fast. Seems like it'd be a huge pain to track!
The Moon. Jupiter. Saturn. Venus. (Score:3, Informative)
The Moon. Jupiter and its moons. Saturn. Venus. The Orion Nebula. The Andromeda Galaxy.
And get out there and look at the dramatic and easy stuff. Jupiter and its moons is really cool to watch. And you just can't go wrong with the moon. All of the things I listed above should be easy to find with a small telescope. Looking for much more is going to be frustrating and boring for a group of students. Looking at stars is going to be very boring (stars look like points of light, even with the best telescopes). Go grab a copy of http://www.stellarium.org/ to help you find things and you should be good to go.
Too Geek for the Local Astronomy Club (Score:4, Informative)
Jupiter and its moons are important because of Galileo, and Galileo used Jupiter and moons as an analogy for the Copernican helio-centric model. Venus can also serve that purpose if it is showing a crescent -- the phases of Venus were further support for Copernicus according to Galileao.
Next, point out objects such as the Big Dipper. It actually is a star cluster, only we are too close to it to notice. Work your way out to the Pleiades and the Bee Hive. You can point out that the Pleiades appear on the hood ornament of a popular Japanese car as "Subaru" is the name for the Pleiades in Japan.
Depending on season, try the Orion Nebula as an active formation region of a star cluster, some of the more distance "galactic" star clusters in the Milky Way. Revert to the naked eye and point out the Milky Way (if able depending on light pollution and weather) and the "dark rifts" in the Milky Way (those are not the absence of stars, rather they are the presence of dust -- the heavy elements out of which you and I are made out of and where are heavy elements came from).
Next, try for a globular cluster such as M-13. Tell the story of Harlow Shapley and the discovery that the center of the Milky Way is in Sagittarius instead of us being in the center.
Finally, wrap up with a view of M-31, and explain how Edwin Hubble discovered Cephiad variables in it and discovered it to be remote. Point out Polaris (the North Star) and explain that it is a Cephiad -- that it is a reasonably distant star, but we see it because of its high luminosity. Tell the story of Hubble's discovery of the "spirals" as being "island universes" like our Milky Way, red shift, and what I call the "Copernican Revolution of the 20th Century", where M-31 was the stepping stone to finding out how freakin' large the Universe is and how we are such a small speck in it.
Also, moderate expectations of what they are going to see. Explain that large telescopes taking long photographic or CCD time exposures can show much more dramatic views of the same objects, but they are looking at what they see in those famous pictures with their own eyeball, first hand, through your telescope. Also give them a primer on averted vision on how to see faint objects. Finally, explain that through the telescope what they are seeing of M-31 is mainly the central core, and that M-31 is a much vaster and fainter object that extends well beyond the telescope field.
Look, stars! Dozens of them! (Score:2)
That kind of depends on where you are. If you're viewing from way out on the edge of town with nothing but farmland in all directions then you'll be able to see some pretty impressive things like the rings of Saturn, Jupiter's moons, the canals on Mars, the mote in Murcheson's Eye, C-beams glittering in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate... That kind of thing.
On the other hand if you're in downtown LA you might want to show them some of the stars in the Big Dipper, or see how much of Orion's belt you can make out. After that it's time to head back into the classroom and have a nice long lesson about Light Pollution.
Re:Look, stars! Dozens of them! (Score:2)
It's sad how light polluted even farmland is these days. I live in eastern Iowa. I mean, you'd think, "Iowa! You must have great viewing conditions, right?"
Mediocre at best. [cleardarksky.com].
How much we've polluted our night skies is tragic. If you want a low Bortle limit in the US, you have to go to remote parts of the desert southwest or rockies. And I hate to think of it, but I doubt even that will be the case by the time our kids reach our age.
My recommendation (Score:2)
Messier Objects (Score:2)
There's a whole bunch of ways to approach it, but my favorite is to dig up the Messier objects - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_object [wikipedia.org] - visible in your sky and just run down what you have available. Tried and true, fairly well known, and they're tough enough you have to actually look for them, but mostly easily enough to find that the students can find success. Another bonus: There are fantastic images available online and you can dig up a pile of photos that will help them see what they're looking for. Side topics up for discussion could be photo manipulation, wavelengths of light, and why the photos don't look the same as we can see through a microscope. It's important in case you think you can put a camera at the end of a telescope and just snap off equivalent photos.
Personal recommendation: If you're just starting yourself take a look at the Astronomy Picture of the Day http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ [nasa.gov] to see what kinds of interesting objects are in the sky at that particular time of year. They give great talking points there targeted towards interested amateurs like me.
Beginner Astronomer Tips (Score:4, Informative)
Moon first, then planets, then DSOs (Score:2)
A four-inch scope (like the classic Edmund Astroscan that I started with) can show good examples of all the major object types in the night sky.
The moon looks great in any kind of telescope. Get a moon filter and expect to spend some time on it.
If the scope and eyepiece are decent, the rings of Saturn and the Galilean moons of Jupiter should be easy targets, and cloud bands on Jupiter just about visible, though you won't see much detail. Likewise Mars. . . Easy to see the planet, but no details. Phases of Venus should be easy. Mercury is dependent on good timing and can be hard to spot. Uranus is another tricky object to find in a scope, since it only looks like a faint star until you get the scope right on it.
When you get into "deep sky objects" like galaxies, nebulas, and star clusters. . . All these can be seen in a 4-inch scope, but you'll have to pick the biggest and brightest examples of them. You'll also have to explain that they're going to see a faint fuzzy splotch when they peer through the lens, not fireworks or something out of Hubble.
Some Suggestions... (Score:4, Informative)
Here are some things you can look at! (Score:5, Informative)
Right now I would recommend showing off:
The Pleiades (M45) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleiades_(star_cluster) [wikipedia.org]
The Great Orion Nebula (M42) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_Nebula [wikipedia.org]
The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andromeda_galaxy [wikipedia.org]
You can also check out the planets - right now Mars is pretty close and bright, but it isn't much to look at through a 4" telescope. You can show off Saturn, but it doesn't rise until kind of late. You should be able to see the rings, but right now they are edge-on.
Depending on where you are located, you may also be able to check out some smaller galaxies and nebula. Also, depending on where you are located, get in contact with an astronomy group and see if you can visit a local amateur observatory. We have a site about an hour from down town San Diego where we have a 22" telescope available for public viewing once a month and we also have public events held almost weekly where we bring telescopes generally around 10" in size (I bring my 16" on clear nights).
Others have joked about using your telescope to point at the Sun - obviously don't do it. Even pointing the scope at the Sun will permanently destroy eyepieces and coatings on optics - and if you happen to look through it, say good bye to your vision. Permanently. However, if you can get yourself a solar filter to put over the telescope, you can safely observe the Sun - which is pretty interesting. You should be able to see sun spots and perhaps prominences with the right kind of filter.
Good luck, and clear skies!
Spring visibilty is good. (Score:3, Informative)
Your geographical location doesn't matter too much in spring, as you'll get plenty of viewing along the ecliptic.
I think the linked site is for northern hemisphere. Hope your kids understand ecliptic before you're done.
More links like it? google terms: planets visibility 2010
something else to check out. (Score:2, Informative)
Re:something else to check out. (Score:2)
NASA Image of the Day Gallery [nasa.gov] has some fantastic photos of stars, nebulas, planets (including the Earth), moons, galaxies, spacecraft, the ISS, the Hubble (and things it has photographed) etc. They're available in very high resolution and some are breathtaking.
No Photoshop needed for that one.
Choose familiar stars. (Score:2)
some observations (Score:2)
Venus (Score:5, Informative)
Venus will become an evening star in the next few months. If your observations are over a few weeks, it would be an excellent evening target as it will go through its phases, much like our own moon does. If the observations are around twilight, you can even have them attempt to see Venus while the sun is still up by looking in the same part of the sky when the sun is up. It gets harder with age(sigh) but I remember easily being able to do it when I was around the age of grade 9.
The Moon focus on the shadow line, or a time when its around 1 week bfore a full moon, as the terminator(shadow) will show excellent surface relief of features.
Jupiter will be probably be only an early morning target during that time, so thats probably out.
Saturn isnt going to be a very good target, other than to show it as a planet, because it is in the part of its orbit where the rings are tilted almost edge on to earth.
Globular Clusters M13 in Hercules would be an excellent target.
Planetary Nebula The 'ring nebula' in the constellation Lyra will be a excellent target for evening viewing, if its late enough, as from most locations in the US it appears almost at the zenith
Double Stars Even through a 4" scope you can see some amazing color contrasts. Albireo in the constellation Cygnus is one of the best, with one red, one blue star. Also, you can go in to some detail about the different types of telescopes, and their functions.
But most importantly, focus on the history of Astronomy itself. There is a rich history over thousands of years of astronomers that have taken us all the way to where we are now, and we wouldnt be here without those giants of the past; Gallileo Gallelie, Nikolas Copernicus, Tycho Brahe, Charles Messier(hes the 'M' in all those objects...M13, M31, etc), Edwin Hubble, Edmund Halley.
I envy you. Have Fun!
I did this in Grade 10 during the day (Score:3, Informative)
In grade 10 the most impressive viewing I had was a daytime viewing of Jupiter. We looked at multiple planets during the day, it was very cool. It was an elective astronomy class though, so everyone there was very interested.
The moon is good, but planets, depending on what is in the sky, would also be very cool. You can really see that Mars is red.
Show them whatever inner planets are visible this time of year and they'll probably never forget it. Venus, Mars and Jupiter are awesome... and show them how you found them in the sky.
Saturn (Score:2)
As other posters have mentioned, the moon is definitely something you should go for - it's big, bright, easy to find and quite impressive through a small telescope. Plus it's got historical significance for the role it played in Galileo's observations. Jupiter is another obvious target (also with historical significance). If you have enough time between your observing opportunities you can get the kids to draw the positions of the Galilean moons at the first session and then see that they've moved at the second. Venus and Mars are also good. You should be able to make out the phase of Venus (if it's not full or new) and might be able to see some detail on Mars (if you hurry), depending on the seeing. Some bright galaxies (Andromeda) can be interesting. The great nebula in Orion is also good because, under dark skies, you can just make it out with the naked eye but a telescope can reveal some detail. The Pleiades and other clusters are also good. You could also try splitting some binaries, such as Alcor and Mizar in the Big Dipper.
This page gives some suggestions: http://irwincur.tripod.com/ten_best_obj_-_small_telescope.htm [tripod.com]
Whatever you do, if it's visible, don't miss Saturn. Even in the smallest telescopes Saturn is visible as something that is clearly not the round star that it looks like to the naked eye. It's the first sky object I remember seeing through a telescope or binoculars and being able to see that there is structure in something that appears to the naked eye as a featureless point made an impact.
4" is a small telescope - stick to bright objects (Score:4, Interesting)
Some suggestions:
- Start with the planets, and bright messier objects (brighter than magnitude 4 to start with). Don't waste too much time on fainter deep sky objects - you need a larger scope (bigger aperture) and/or low light pollution.
- Take a look at the zodical constellations and plan ahead to look at what's visible at the time of year your course is on.
- Get a planisphere, and a book or two.
- Take a look at the free astronomy software out there - especially Cartes Du Ceil/Skycharts, Celestia, Stellarium. There's excellent paid stuff too but start with what's free.
- Get in touch with your local astronomy club and talk to them - some of them will have been in it for decades and will intimately know what's viewable from your location for a given time of year. You might even be able to get one to come out for an observing night.
- Look up the brightest stars in wikipedia
- Find a local professional astronomer and ask if they know of any school programs your school can get involved in. There may be a chance to get the kids to do some real science
- Get a hold of a cheap pair of 7x50 binoculars. Binoculars are easier to use than a telescope, can be mounted to a camera tripod if you wish, and easier to learn to use before stepping up to a scope.
- Create some basic analogue setting circles for your telescope and learn to align it so you can be sure you know what you're looking at
- Make sure your kids know what they're looking at. Kids are use to big visuals and if they don't understand what they're seeing even the most impressive sites like Saturn's rings will be a let down
The web is your friend. Lots out there. Not all related to observing. Google beginner astronomy.
Simple list - easiest to more difficult (Score:3, Interesting)
1) The moon - easiest to find, everyone enjoys seeing it up close for the 1st time. Focus on Tycho crater and terminator.
2) Saturn and Jupiter - next in line of ease. details apparent in even the smallest of scopes. You might get lucky and see Saturns rings at a large angle, or a transit of one of Jupiter's moons.
3) Venus and mars - Though not that difficult to find, the detail, other than venus's phases can be a little disappointing.
4) Some of the easier Messier objects -
- Globular clusters - once you practice, they are easy to find in binoculars. Will be very surprising to students who are unfamiliar with Globular Clusters.
- Open clusters - Pleiades for example
- Galaxies - Andromeda would be the easiest, next in line is probably M81, M83
Once you get down to #4, you really need to practice finding them before attempting it for the 1st time in front of the students.
Learner-centered astronomy (Score:2, Informative)
Why not let your students choose some/all of the targets, subject to final vetting (or pre-screening) by you? In this way they gain a feeling of ownership over the process and generally become more invested in the subject matter. You could even point them to Stellarium [stellarium.org] for free home planetarium software to plan their observations.
Whatever you decide to observe, your students will get more out of it if they are actively involved -- i.e., no passive observing. If you have several nights, you could look at Jupiter each night and have them sketch the arrangement of the moons (c.f. Galilei 1610). If you have a solar filter, you could do the same thing with sunspots (if any are visible). Venus, Mars, or Saturn's rings may be attractive targets, depending on what you want to do with the observations.
Finally, there are additional astronomy education resources at the Astronomy Education Review [aip.org], a free online journal.
Start with the Moon (Score:2)
I teach astronomy courses to university students. The best object by far to look at is the Moon, as others have said.
I've written a number of outdoor lab exercises for introductory astro students which would be perfectly appropriate for your students. You can read one on the Moon, in particular. [rit.edu] Or you can look at the lists of exercises in this class [rit.edu] or this other class [rit.edu] for more ideas.
I'd recommend the "Limiting Magnitude" exercise as one which you can do when the Moon isn't up. It will help if you have several pairs of binoculars in addition to the telescope.
Good luck!
Focus on the sky (Score:3, Informative)
Invite students to bring binoculars. Find and identify all the constellations you can. They're not just for astrology, they're a great way to orient yourself to the sky.
Plus they're interesting and historical and you can see them with the naked eye. If you have 2 nights, find a planet on the first night and note it's position. On your next night out you can note how it "wandered". "Planet" being greek for "wanderer". Be sure to check out the Big Dipper. One it's stars [wikipedia.org] is an optical binary as well as a telescopic binary. There's a nice little story to be told about ancient people using it to test eyesight. It's a great thing to look at with the naked eye, binoculars, and then the telescope, showing how each tool works relative to the other. Since most of the kids won't have telescopes at home, these are great lessons in how neat astronomy is with just your eyes and/or binoculars. They don't need a telescope to be interested.
If you or somebody in your class has an iphone there are great astronomy apps [blogspot.com]. StarMap and Distant Suns are both very good and offer free versions that work great in the field.
Also, blankets and tarps are a good thing to bring along. Looking at the sky with the naked eye or binoculars is much more enjoyable lying on one's back. Craning necks is a good way to lose interest fast.
Have Fun!!
If you're near Atlanta (Score:2)
I wasn't to impressed with the kids program since you can basically get the same show on PBS, however the "Live Tour of Tonights Sky" is impressive.
Georgia Tech does a lot of stuff with them and there are some nice exhibits. If you haven't been I'd recommend it.
"Turn Left at Orion" (Score:2)
As someone previously mentioned,
"Turn Left at Orion" would be a good resource, because everything in TLaO is viewable through a 4" telescope. Further, there are pencil drawings of what one should see through the scope, which is a much more accurate depiction than what a person sees in magazines such as "Sky and Telescope" and "Astronomy".
I would certainly plan ahead. There are really four categories of targets easily accesible with a 4" scope: (a) moon, (b) planets (really, just Saturn and Jupiter) (c) *some* deep sky objects and (d) the sun. Looking for binary stars, comets, variable stars, and such is just not going to be very fruitful, except in the very best of conditions with a very good instrument. Using general resources on the Web or the Sky and Telescope web site specifically (or the magazine for that matter) can tell you what is even available for your planned evenings and times. It's been awhile since I looked at TLaO, but I think it's broken down by late evening viewing for each season. In other words, what the Eastern sky looks like at 11:00p in winter is very different from what it looks like in summer.
Weather can be your best friend or worst enemy, for obvious reasons. But picking a night of full moon to look at deep sky objects is equally bad. This is why planning ahead of time is so important. You can also set expectations ahead of time of what will be observable, and what it might look like through the lens. Again, the beautiful pictures from Hubble are a far cry from what someone sees in a telescope. So, it can be very easy for a new observer to feel let down if their expectations aren't addressed early.
If you go for some deep sky objects (See the Messier Catalog), make sure you spend a night before hand figuring out how to find these objects on your own and what they look like. You don't want to be fumbling at the telescope trying to the find Orion Nebula while everyone just stares at you, and then not know if you have even found what you're looking for. Same could be true of Saturn and Jupiter, but it's much easier to tell if you've found the right target. The moons of Jupiter, albeit tiny points of light, are always interesting, especially if you observe on consecutive nights. The moon goes without saying. Moon observation is a hobby unto itself.
Observing the sun is really dependent on sun spot activity. If there are sunspots to observe, that's at least something to see. Otherwise, through a plain 4" scope, the sun isn't particularly interesting aside from a bright orb that looks like a balloon (look up Coronado telescopes if you really want to see how amazing the sun can look through a telescope. The pictures you see is what it looks like at the lens).
good luck. hth,
jeff
Recommended Text (Score:2)
"Turn Left at Orion" by Guy Consolmagno. Great book oriented toward small telescopes in the 60mm-100mm range.
The moon is of course a great target -- crescent is best. Jupiter is terrific, and even if your scope is a mess the Galilean moons are certainly easy to see and of historical importance. I've been able to count bands pretty easily with my 90mm refractor, but I've modded it to improve contrast. Cheap Chinese refractors often have exposed screws and shiny forward surfaces that can be fixed with Sharpie. Saturn is great, depending on how the rings are oriented. Mars is kind of ho-hum with 100mm. I'd assign Venus through binoculars if its position permits. You can at least make out its phases.
If light pollution is bad, then you aren't going to have much luck with nebulae, but binary stars are great, as are clusters and asterisms. The Pleiades (M45) are a must of course, and they're also a good naked eye object. Lots of education to be got out of those. They're about the nearest interesting thing there is to look at, and you can tie it in with anthropology if you want because they're a naked eye object.
Brocchi's Cluster is one of my favorites, and not so well known. Quite pretty, looks a bit like a coathanger. The Beehive (M44) is also nice.
Gemini offers the open cluster M35, which is OK, but one of the interesting things is to look at Castor and Pollux through a small telescope. There's a really nice color contrast that is not visible to the naked eye.
Speaking of color contrast, Albireo (at the head of the Cygnus swan) is one of the nicest small scope targets there are -- an absolutely gorgeous double star with a nice red/blue color difference. It's absolutely perfect for a scope in the 100mm range; it doesn't really get any better in a big light bucket.
Nu Draconis is another double star that's always visble in the Northern Hemisphere. I once split Nu Draconis with a pair of 10x50 binoculars hand held, if you call lying on the hood of a car with the eye cups balance on my eyebrows "hand held". It's not easy with binoculars, but a cinch to split with even a 60mm refractor.
And don't neglect binoculars! Most families have a pair somewhere, and you can do some great things with them. They're just about the best thing for Andromeda (M31) which is huge -- 4 degrees across. It's hard to take it all in with a larger telescope, although your 100mm with the longest FL, widest apparent field eyepiece you have will give nice views too.
Remember, even a really cheap pair of binoculars is way better than anything Galileo ever had! The main problem is that most pairs have too much magnification for hand holding; 7x is best if you don't have some kind of support. Perhaps you could make a few copy scopes and pass them around for assignments.
One thing you can do is mount a pair of 10x binoculars in a box with a mirror so you can look down at a comfortable 45 degrees. A first surface mirror is ideal (available through surplus stores) but even a glass fronted mirror is an improvement over trying to handhold a pair of binocs with too much magnification. You can use this kind of setup with "Turn Left" or with the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Constellations of the Northern Skies". This is a terrific pocket reference for use with binoculars, as it facilitates star hopping and identifies the most interesting objects in each constellation that can be seen with naked eye or small telescopes.
It's not that easy (Score:2)
4" lens is pretty much meaningless as far as getting help. Is this an APO refractor? Newtonian? What kind of mount and is it motorized (I wouldn't want an adult to see through very high magnification on a non-motorized mount let alone a kid) ? These variables really change what I would try to view.
There are tons of sites/programs that will map out a viewing session for you for a given location and date. And as mentioned the Moon is usually worth watching in any situation.
Past that, you need to practice finding things in a scope. It's not as easy as many think. The moon most people can get, but beyond that it gets tricky and a lot of would be backyard astonomers give up. Even a planet you can see with your eye can be frustrating to find in a scope. The one piece of equipment most people with telescopes need, but don't have, is a zero reflex finder like a telrad. This will make finding things with your scope *much* easier. Those little spotting scopes that comes with most telescopes are worthless for most backyard uses unless you have a lot of practice using them. A telrad lets you point your scope with both eyes open with good precision. There's even charts for finding things specifically with a telrad..
It's not overly daunting. But you have to take this seriously to give the kids a good show. If you're willing to put in 10 hours of so of work, you can show them some cool things. It's won't be the best time of the year to view Orion (one of the cooler things to look at and easier things to find). But there will be things out there worth seeing.
Variables? (Score:3, Informative)
I know its not a one night job, but maybe some visual observations of variables for extra credit thru the entire year?
Yeah it is a bit late to start now:
You'll be spending alot of time at the AAVSO website, may as well start here:
http://www.aavso.org/publications/manual/ [aavso.org]
Basically, you learn two skills, star hopping from beta cep to tau cep, and then you compare the brightness of tau cep with its neighbors which have fixed, known magnitudes to estimate tau cep magnitude today.
http://www.aavso.org/images/starhopping.gif [aavso.org]
It has the virtue of being free, if nothing else.
The Moon, then Jupiter (Score:3, Informative)
I had looked at the moon forever with the naked eye, and a few times through a couple of lenses, including a backyard telescope. Then, because there was going to be an occultation, I had a chance to look at Jupiter through a pair of binocs. I was blown away that something that close had that much structure -- you could see just scads of moons!
To instil a sense of Science, give the kids tools that they can use well beyond your classes. To this day, when I see Orion in the night sky, he seems like an old friend. When I see Mars waxing and waning, it helps me keep track of time through its two year cycle. Have them look at impressive things, but make sure you give them the tools to find the same objects with their naked eyes. Unless these kids become astronomers, they'll spend at most a few hours behind glass, but will have the rest of their lives to look up at the night sky with their eyes.
One of the coolest things I've learned as a closet amateur astronomer is that the dark side of the moon is illuminated by backwash from the earth, or earthshine. OK, that makes sense if you think about it. But this fact was known almost 100 years ago, and we have a nearly complete record of the brightness of the dark side of the moon since then. That record is important because earthshine is directly related to the amount of terrestrial cloud cover, and that is related to climate. I wish I had known that as a kid, because I'd often wondered why you could see the dark side of the moon better (brighter) on some nights than on others.
With low expectations set, Start with Galileo (Score:2)
First, The universe is, on a large scale uniform. That basically means the sky will look the same in any telescope: Black with white dots. That in itself in an important fact worth seeing, but quite boring.
Second, The images on Google Sky and other all star surveys have spoiled us, and we all expect spectacular full color images. What you actually see will never meet this. Expect some disappointment.
With expectations set, I would focus on what is not uniform: First tie it all in with Google earth, and history from a geocentric to a heliocentric view. Look at what Galileo looked at from our moon to the Jovian moons, and how this changed mankind.
Look at some galaxies, and find one that looks like ours. Again combine with Google Sky.
Also use the telescope to look at our star, the sun: Aim the telescope at the sun, and project the image onto the wall. DO NOT LOOK INTO THE TELESCOPE. You should have a 2 meter diameter projection of our sun on the wall. Features like sunspots should be clear and sharp.
Depending on time and class:
1. Use the 'scope and a green laser to measure distance to moon.
2. Measure redshift of nearby galaxies see http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Physics/8-02Electricity-and-MagnetismSpring2002/VideoAndCaptions/detail/embed35.htmconvertingredshiftintoradialvelocity [mit.edu]
3. Use as an accurate sextant, measure size of earth
4. Track IIS and satellites
5. Do a parallax calculation using some nearby stars. Picking good candidates are part of the exercise.
typo in link (Score:2)
typo in link
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Physics/8-02Electricity-and-MagnetismSpring2002/VideoAndCaptions/detail/embed35.htm [mit.edu] @ 8 min 40 seconds
Calculate the orbital periods of Jupiter's moons (Score:2)
It takes several nights (and several hours per night) of viewing, but the most dramatic "wow, there's really stuff happening up there!" class project I've seen is calculating the orbital periods of Jupiter's moons. With just a 'scope, if you look at Jupiter, and then use a stopwatch to find the times for each of the moons going out of frame, and then have your kids plot those points out on graph paper. Do this at hour intervals for 3 nights running, you can then fit sine curves to the points and see what the orbital period of the moons is.
You can also do this with a digital camera with a decent sized lens (most of the SLRs with the 1.6 or so multiplier and a 300mm lens will work well), just counting pixels of separation.
The "wow, that's not just static" realization can be profound.
I haven't built a web page yet for this experiment, but I do have a spreadsheet to do the graphing automatically, drop me an email if you'd like further class materials and maybe that'll get me to build the page for this.
Ask NASA: (Score:3, Informative)
NASA has a website for educators:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html [nasa.gov]
Most missions have a public outreach person who will send materials to teachers for use in their classroom.
And for those joking about looking at the sun, see :
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/classroom/for_students.html [nasa.gov]
http://stereo.gsfc.nasa.gov/classroom/classroom.shtml [nasa.gov]
Satellites (Score:2)
Only problem I foresee is that with a 4" telescope, unless there's some kind of tracking mechanism, regardless of what you're looking at, cycling through a bunch of kids will be difficult as the object/detail in question will have moved and the telescope will need to be constantly re-pointed. THAT will be the toughest part in my opinion. You can reduce the problem by paying close attention to the pivoting mechanisms on the telescope (possibly with some dry runs without the kids) so that the one axis points to celestial north and the other along the celestial plane. If you're tracking the moon or Jupiter, then a turn of only one of the knobs (this thing does have a tracking mechanism, right?) will keep it in the scope.
Cue the piling on as I'm sure my description is un-artful and /. is an unforgiving crowd.
Whats objects to focus on...? (Score:2)
Start with software (Score:2)
Start with some of the Free software - stellarium and such. That way you can work in the classroom, in the day time, and since it is Free they can take it home as well.
As for what to view at night, well, the sky is hte limit. Use the software to help ID what you are seeing, use the software to find things that would be cool to see (Orions Nebula, Mars, Jupiter, etc.)
Outer planets (Score:2)
If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, there's an app called 'Planets' which is free and makes it very easy to locate the planets:
http://www.apptism.com/apps/planets [apptism.com]
The app gives you the azimuth and elevation of the various planets. Venus and Mercury are tough because they are pretty much always in the general direction of the sun due to the geography of the whole situation. The sun being so bright, it's hard to see them.
Mars and Jupiter are pretty good bets I think.
Not sure how powerful a 4" telescope is, but this list may be useful:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brightest_stars [wikipedia.org]
Also, I'm particularly fascinated with Eta Carinae.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eta_carinae [wikipedia.org]
Re:Space Station (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Space Station (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Stellarium (Score:2)
Contact your local astronomy groups, if you are in a semi-rural area look to the nearest large cities.
As an amateur astronomer I love doing outreach events where I not only get to enjoy a darker sky than I normally see from my suburban home, but I also get to share the wonder of the universe with people. It also generally means you will have one or more scopes of varying size with someone to operate it there as well.
Stellarium can be an excellent tool to figure out what you may or may not be able to see from your area. Its free, runs on a variety of hardware and operating systems and has a fairly robust object set.
More information about the scope would also be useful as not all telescopes are created equal. A 4" reflector, is most likely nowhere near as good of a scope as a 4 in refractor would be simply because of the mechanics involved. I am going to assume that its probably one of the very common 4" newtonians that are out there like a meade DS1114 or one of the smaller Celestrons.
Assuming a 4" reflector, with a few exceptions I would avoid deepspace objects (nebulae, galaxies, and clusters) as they are generally difficult to locate and may be difficult to view with a 4" scope. Your mileage may vary due to local conditions/light pollution. There are a few exceptions.
For the Northern Hemisphere right now, you have a couple very nice objects to look at.
Andromeda (M31) is directly overhead at dusk for much of northamerica this time of year, Just south of Andromeda, the Pleiades can be found (Also called the seven sisters, M45, or Subaru in case you ever wondered why the car has stars on its logo). East of the Pleiades you can find Orion the hunter and the great nebula (M42). These three objects are visible to the naked eye even from my yard which lies under the flightpath for the major airport in my area (seattle), although I will admit that andromeda is a challenge. Just to the east of Orion lies Castor and Pollux in Gemini which I believe is about where Mars is right now.
You can also check out the moon, and there may be some double stars worth looking at as well. Its a little late for Alberio which is a really nice Blue/gold doublestar in Cygnus, but you may still be able to get Gamma Andromedae.
As far as links go, I would recommend observing.skyhound.com. He has some Excellent resources for stargazing and tends to have a wide variety of objects on deck each season for all skill levels. I especially like his comet hunting pages, although I have not had much personal success finding them.
I don't know the details of your situation, but you could also ask parents to participate in observing events and ask them to bring binoculars. You would be surprised at what you can see with a pair of mid-range binoculars.