First Light on my beginner scope - Orion Spaceprobe 3

My beginner scope is an Orion Spaceprobe 3 Altazimuth Scope. After agonizing over which beginner scope to get (ranging from the mini-Dobsonian scopes to the130mm Newtonians), I went with this both from a price standpoint and having a tripod mount ( I have no convenient tables/surfaces to set a mini-Dob on).

I received the scope last week but did not really get clear skies until today. Lesson learned on the hardships of winter stargazing near the Great Lakes. Even then, the skies did not clear up until 10PM today and it was below freezing with the windchill.

Realistically, especially during winter, 95% of its use will be in the backyard. I have to contend with neighbors' garage security lights, headlights from the occasional car passing by, even my own bedroom light that I forgot to turn off before I went out.

Obviously, with houses and garages and trees all around me, I really only have access to a small portion of the sky, mostly on the east-west direction. I am glad I did not go with an equatorial mount (I was tempted to) because it would be hit-or-miss trying to find Polaris with all the obstruction.

December 18, 2011
First Light
Clear sky and cold winter weather.

Charts/Reference:
Nightwatch Chart 16 for Orion, sky and telescope sky chart

Jupiter
Jupiter and 3 moons visible using the 25mm eyepiece. Banding on Jupiter was visible. Switching to the 10mm eyepiece made the banding more distinct.

Orion Constellation
Distinguished 3 of the quadruple stars in Alnilam (with 10mm eyepiece), just below Orion's belt. A meteor went through field of view.
Orion Nebula (M42) - my first nebula. breath-taking. Even with urban lights. 10mm eyepiece resolves the quadruple star in the middle of the nebula.
Failed to resolve the double star Rigel.
Failed to find M78, between Betelguese and Alnitak.
Resolved the double star Mintaka.

After a last look at Jupiter, around midnight, I called it an evening (my feet were getting really cold and ice was forming on the driveway).

No clear skies forecasted in the next five days.