I've done it the wrong way roundn

[sophiecentaur]

I decided to get a telescope, at long last. It's an 8" Dobsonian and was a real snip on eBay. (I have read the "Buying your first telescope" advice and have wantonly failed to follow it. Tut tut.
I have been using binoculars for decades and I have kept an eye on the visible Planets and other 'easy' events but I got this big telescope so that I can see other interesting stuff. We have recently moved to the country and the background light is very good for astronomy.
So my question is what astronomy software (os x) is worth having and what book(s) would you guys recommend? The Dob is totally manual so I get no GoTo help.
I will need a star atlas etc.. I think it is probably going to be good for my soul to start with something basic to avoid me getting too lazy about learning what I need about the nuts and bolts of astronomy procedures.
I have taken a year's sub to Theskyatnight mag, as a start.
Cheers in anticipation.

 

[glappkaeft]

Stellarium is available on OSX and is a very good. Many people recommend the book "Turn Left At Orion" for beginners.

 

[sophiecentaur]

Stellarium is available on OSX and is a very good. Many people recommend the book "Turn Left At Orion" for beginners.

Thanks for the reply. I am having a problem with Stellarium. It is from an 'unknown' developer and my OS X won't allow me to 'allow' it in my preferences. Nothing is simple in this life!

 

[sophiecentaur]

OS 10.11.4 does have a few funnies and this may be one of them. A shame.

 

[glappkaeft]

Stellarium like a lot of open source software has not been registered with Apple and if you want to run it you need to exempt it ( https://support.apple.com/kb/PH18657?locale=en_US ). While I use Windows at home I run across this all the time at work where we run mostly Macs.

 

[sophiecentaur]

Thanks. Brilliant!