TheSkySearchers-Welcome!

THE TSS MONTHLY CHALLENGE.

The TSS monthly challenge consists of two parts, one for the Northern Hemisphere and one for the Southern Hemisphere.

Each month we will ask for target suggestions from the membership for each hemisphere, all suggestions will be entered into a draw and the winning target announced at the beginning of each new month.

The idea behind the monthly challenge is to get folks out under the stars and observing a common target and then coming back and sharing our experiences here.
Whether you have just got your first scope or have years of experience we invite you all to join in and have a bit of fun with this. Post an observing report on the target or try your hand at photographing the target, even a sketch or whatever else you may have!
The beginners can participate and gain valuable tips and feedback from those with a more experienced eye and use the reports, images or sketches as reference points.
Try adding the target to your observing list and join in the fun!

So keeping in mind that we are dealing with a broad section of members with a large variety of scopes, from those just starting out to the old rodeo hands, we ask that targets not exceed 9th magnitude. This way the new folks have a good shot at the target as well and everyone can participate.

We hope you enjoy the monthly challenges and remember there are no prizes, have fun and enjoy your time under the stars doing what you love.

Hi folks and I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Given the way this year has transpired, I am sure you share my hopes that the coming year will bring some return to normalcy across the world in the coming months. With the sense of change and renewal that a new year traditionally brings to us, you will notice that the old TSS Monthly Challenge has a new direction. Having been asked to take over the helm for this monthly event, I brought with me some changes that I feel will make the challenge more fun and hopefully increase interest in pursuing what it has to offer.

The general idea is the same, however, we have made this a DSO only challenge. While the 9th magnitude limit of the old scenario was good when only dealing with a single object from each of the celestial hemispheres, I wanted to be able to challenge folks of varying experience and aperture levels. To that end I will bring you a minimum (and typically) three objects per hemisphere. That way we can share in the beauty and glory of the brighter DSOs, but also challenge ourselves to pursue some more challenging objects in order to test our skills. The goals are still the same - get out under the sky and pursue the listed objects, no matter your method. Whether it be purely visual, or visual for the purpose of sketching or if you are a devoted imaging astronomer, the goals remain the same.

My first edition is now available for your perusal at the below link post. Good luck to you and please report back in the Submissions sub-forum the results of your attempts. Each of us are very interested in how others are doing and through sharing our efforts, we can all learn. So Happy New Year and Good Luck!

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