36 replies to this topic

[Christmas Tree]

Couldnt see anything covering this subject already and didnt want to spoil the Northern Lights thread.

I must confess that last weeks excitement of the Northern lights has got me all stirred up for Astronomy. Like most, I guess I take a passing interest in the heavens but only really show any excitement is when something like the Northern Lights or a meteor shower occurs.

I have always fancied having a Telescope yet for some strange reason I have arrived at 46 without ever getting one. I have no idea why?

Any way, following the excitement of last week I started following this fellow on twitter... @VirtualAstro he has 25,000 followers and his profile reads "Astronomy, Science, Nature and more, Creator of #Meteorwatch, writer for Universe Today and the BBC. Making Stargazing fun and accessible to all".

Last week he started re-tweeting the various pictures that people were taking of the Northern Lights. As the week went on he began to tweet pictures people and kids from all walks of life had taken from their gardens of Jupiter, Saturn etc etc. I was quite spellbound by the detail a lot of these people were managing to achieve. Some were using cameras, some cameras attached to Telescopes and others with a web cam attached.

I am by nature a very impulsive person and could feel my enthusiasm for Astronomy rising all week until I got up this morning and thought, bugger it, Im getting a telescope. At 10am I was spending £20 or £30 quid on ebay to give it a bash, however as the day has worn on I am now looking at scopes between £200 - £300. (These by the way are still classed as fairly low end beginners stuff, however the detail they can provide is fantastic.

Once set up you can even simply type in say.... Jupiter.....and the telescope will whizz into position all by itself!

Im thinking there is quite a bit of fun to be had even before I get to the stage where I might want to attach a camera and capture some of the universe myself.

I have been using the following forum for checking out model particulars and hopefully will get some advice picking the right scope.

http://stargazerslounge.com/

Any how, I thought id share in case there is anybody out there, interested in this field.

[Monkeys Fist]

CT clearly has a hot young neighbour just moved in over the road, and has started this thread as " cover" to explain the arrival of his pervoscope to Mrs. CT.



Blatant.



Btw, I'd recommend the Meade Electronic Video Eyepiece- stunning clarity, you can make out individual pubes.

Edited by Monkeys Fist, 28 January 2012 - 12:12 AM.

[Christmas Tree]

Monkeys Fist, on 28 January 2012 - 12:05 AM, said:

CT clearly has a hot young neighbour just moved in over the road, and has started this thread as " cover" to explain the arrival of his pervoscope to Mrs. CT.



Blatant.



Btw, I'd recommend the Meade Electronic Video Eyepiece- stunning clarity, you can make out individual pubes.

Looks a canny bit of kit

[The Fish]

Monkeys Fist, on 28 January 2012 - 12:05 AM, said:

CT clearly has a hot young neighbour just moved in over the road, and has started this thread as " cover" to explain the arrival of his pervoscope to Mrs. CT.



Blatant.



Btw, I'd recommend the Meade Electronic Video Eyepiece- stunning clarity, you can make out individual pubes.

What about the craters in Uranus?

[Ruler of Planet Houston]

is it not just as easy to type 'jupiter' in a google image search?

[The Fish]

That's like saying, don't bother going to the Gran Canyon, just look at a photo.

[Christmas Tree]

Aye, I think the buzz is looking up at a starry night and then being able to know where things are, find them yourself and observe them first hand.

Like all hobbies I appreciate it's not everyones bag.

[Toonpack]

The Star Walk app for the iphern/ipad is excellent.

The night sky, if you are out in the sticks with no ambient light, is astounding.

[toonotl]

I, like you CT, have wanted a telescope for awhile and never got around to getting one. You've inspired me to think about getting one and not going through with it again. Thank you.

[Christmas Tree]

toonotl, on 28 January 2012 - 11:36 AM, said:

I, like you CT, have wanted a telescope for awhile and never got around to getting one. You've inspired me to think about getting one and not going through with it again. Thank you.

Good man! Lifes too short and all that.

For anyone interested in this it seems that it's very common for beginners to buy kit and then a few months later decide to upgrade. This means the second hand Market is very good whether you are looking on EBay, Gumtree or the like. I just missed out on a very nice scope for £20!

Unfortunately I am that fool who has all the gear but no idea, hence why I am about to set off to the shops

[Christmas Tree]

Easy come, easy go

Just arrived back from Newcastle with this little beauty.



The only downside now is the need to avoid alcohol at the pub while watching the match so that I can have a play when I get in.

Fingers crossed for clear skies.

[JawD]

I like doing some Astrophotography but with just my camera, its more a foreground interest with the sky a background addition no more than a collection of stars. I would like to attach the camera to a 'scope and also one of them table rotating things that allow long exposure to a fixed point and turn the same time as the Earth. £££ kinda stopping me head down that road.

[Christmas Tree]

JawD, on 28 January 2012 - 02:30 PM, said:

I like doing some Astrophotography but with just my camera, its more a foreground interest with the sky a background addition no more than a collection of stars. I would like to attach the camera to a 'scope and also one of them table rotating things that allow long exposure to a fixed point and turn the same time as the Earth. £££ kinda stopping me head down that road.

You should have a browse on that forum I listed earlier. Theres quite a few of them doing that sort of stuff, some paying the bucks and others doing it on the cheap. Quite a few images around as well. All of that has me lost, but if I stick with this, then I can definitely see me wanting to hook up a camera, laptop etc.

[noaliasmike]

Would love to own one and have toyed with the idea a few times. I always seem to hit the same brick wall when it comes to deciding which one to buy though. Reflector, refractor, lens size, mirror size, etc. Fucking hell, so much choice.

Reflector seems to be the telescope of choice for deep sky objects, like galaxies and nebulae, and refractor seems to be more suited to objects like planets. I can't even bring myself to make a decision on what I'd prefer to see.

Perhaps this thread is the inspiration I need to just make a deicsion and go and get one.

[Gemmill]

I bet you're a fucking nightmare for getting carried away with things and wasting money in them, CT.

Have fun with it though, there's worse hobbies.

[Christmas Tree]

Gemmill, on 28 January 2012 - 05:32 PM, said:

I bet you're a fucking nightmare for getting carried away with things and wasting money in them, CT.

Have fun with it though, there's worse hobbies.

You dont know the half of it mate. Luckily the wife has become accustomed to it.

However have just got in from the depressing match, straight into the garden to listen to the middle and youngest daughter excitedly looking at Jupiter, its bands and the four moons. Priceless tbf.

[Park Life]

Christmas Tree, on 28 January 2012 - 07:56 PM, said:

Gemmill, on 28 January 2012 - 05:32 PM, said:

I bet you're a fucking nightmare for getting carried away with things and wasting money in them, CT.

Have fun with it though, there's worse hobbies.

You dont know the half of it mate. Luckily the wife has become accustomed to it.

However have just got in from the depressing match, straight into the garden to listen to the middle and youngest daughter excitedly looking at Jupiter, its bands and the four moons. Priceless tbf.

Sounds like good stuff.

Have a good look at the moon and tell me it isn't artificial.

[Happy Face]

You can take it camping with you I guess.

How many times you used the new tent exactly?

[Christmas Tree]

Happy Face, on 29 January 2012 - 09:18 AM, said:

You can take it camping with you I guess.

How many times you used the new tent exactly?

1 trip to North Yorkshire and 1 trip to the Lakes so far. Already trying to get a few trips in before June, weather staying reasonable. Part of the reason I went for the smaller scope was ease or portability on camping trips. There will be no better time to use it than in the sheer darkness of the countryside.

Still buzzing this morning about Jupiter

[Toonraider]

I'm really into Astronomy. Get yourself a Planisphere to start with.

http://www.amazon.co...27831641&sr=8-3