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rubecula

By rubecula
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rubecula

rubecula

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Hi,  I live in the UK on the Hampshire / Surrey border.  Having reached my 4 score years and ten, I've taken up astronomy.  For that big birthday my wife encouraged me to do something about my interest in astronomy so I bought a Celestron AVX 8" EdgeHD last October. 

Having got it home I realised that it was too heavy and time consuming to have to completely assemble it every time I wanted to use it, so with the help of a local fabrication shop I made a trolley to move it about.  It now lives in the garage at the front of the house and has to be wheeled into the back garden to observe away from the streel lights.

Even this is not ideal.  I've been a long time amateur photographer and so naturally I want to continue this into the world of astronomy.  Even with the trolley it still takes me ages to get the scope out, levelled and polar aligned so I've recently ordered an observatory.  Hopefully I'll now be able to make the most of the glimpses of clear sky that we get here in the UK.

At this point I'm clambering up a very steep learning curve but as my knowledge goes up my bank balance goes down :smiley:

Best wishes,

Robin

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi Robin and welcome to the forum. Not only are climbing a steep learning curve but an expensive one as well - but if you are getting some fun out of it then keep it going!

Clear skies and hope you enjoy the forum.

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glowjet

glowjet

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Hi Robin and welcome to SGL, may I be very forward and question your 4 score years and ten, I shall shortly be into my Eighties and I am finding observing a lot more difficult than I used too. Its now more often with bins than the scope, for ease of use, I find the cold a bit more biting now, than a few years back. If you are into your Nineties, then you have my admiration, well done. Enjoy your AP and scope :) 

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fondofchips

fondofchips

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Hi,  I live in the UK on the Hampshire / Surrey border.  Having reached my 4 score years and ten, I've taken up astronomy.  For that big birthday my wife encouraged me to do something about my interest in astronomy so I bought a Celestron AVX 8" EdgeHD last October. 

Having got it home I realised that it was too heavy and time consuming to have to completely assemble it every time I wanted to use it, so with the help of a local fabrication shop I made a trolley to move it about.  It now lives in the garage at the front of the house and has to be wheeled into the back garden to observe away from the streel lights.

Even this is not ideal.  I've been a long time amateur photographer and so naturally I want to continue this into the world of astronomy.  Even with the trolley it still takes me ages to get the scope out, levelled and polar aligned so I've recently ordered an observatory.  Hopefully I'll now be able to make the most of the glimpses of clear sky that we get here in the UK.

At this point I'm clambering up a very steep learning curve but as my knowledge goes up my bank balance goes down :smiley:

Best wishes,

Robin

First of all welcome to SGL Robin, the home of friendly & helpful Astronomers.

I too have been interested in photography, it helps with sorting out stargazing problems, low light & long distances making it a challenge is just one of them.

An observatory is the best possible accessory, which one have you gone for?   Plenty of information in the 'DIY Observatories' forum here.

A solid pier is also worth it's weight in gold.  Much better than a tripod will ever be.

Most of all enjoy!

I had to laugh at the "knowledge goes up my bank balance goes down" it strikes a chord with me as I'm still in the same boat after 2 years stargazing.

Coming up to 3 score years, so I've some catching up to do.

Clear skies,

Fondofchips.

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carastro

carastro

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4 score years and 10 = 90.

Provided you haven't made an error here, then you are a pretty amazing 90 year old, and good luck to you.  Not much point in having money and not enjoying it, and it's never to late to start doing something you enjoy.  

At this point I'm clambering up a very steep learning curve but as my knowledge goes up my bank balance goes down  :smiley:

It certainly is a very steep and expensive learning curve which you will find frustrating at times but also give you a lot of pleasure.

Welcome to Astronomy and imaging.

Carole 

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rwilkey

rwilkey

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Hi Robin,

And a warm welcome from me, a relative youngster compared to you.  As others have said, it's not too late to start, but mobility is a problem for me and so I choose my equipment accordingly, and at the moment have a great refractor that I can easily put up and take down, astronomy needs to be enjoyable, not a chore.  Anyway, good luck with your observatory.

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rubecula

rubecula

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Oh the embarassment :embarassed::embarassed::embarassed:

THREE score years and 10, not four.  Well three score years and eleven actually.  It's a while since I looked at this thread and was shocked when I saw what I had written. 

Well done to those of you who were not convinced.

But thanks all for the warm welcome.  It's proving to be a challenging, yet stimulating hobby and having such a friendly and helpful resource as this forum is making it all the more enjoyable.

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