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Right, So Here We Go..How I Got To Now


toilandtrouble123

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So, this has been the first time that I have logged onto this forum in about 2 years, and have found that the regulars on here have been as courteous, patient and helpful as they were two years ago (thanks guys!)

Christmas 2009, I received from my doting grandparents a celestron sky scout 90 refractor and the personal planetarium (not exactly the nexstar 127 slt I asked Santa for). Knowing how upset they would be if I told them that the retailer they had dealt with, had probably shoved onto them, a scope that the dealer simply couldn't shift out of their warehouse due to undesirability, I decided to keep my mouth shut and pretend to be over the moon.

As I got to know about my SkyScout scope, the more I decided that maybe I had been aiming a little high when I asked for the nexstar 127 - so much to get my head around! And slowly I realised, that shivering in the cold snow laden winter of 2009-2010, I was really quite pleased of how I managed to get a good look at Mars and Jupiter without hardly any knowledge of telescope observing at all.

However, the more confident I got with my ability of handling my scope, the more frustrated I got at the poor quality of the mount that the scope came with - for any movement alterations, I had to make about 1cm margin, because as soon as I let go of the pan handle, the mount would sag, and I would lose the view. This was easily solved, with sound advice from amazingly helpful people on this forum, and the nice guy from harrison telescopes, oh and £270 later, I became the proud owner of a SkyWatcher AZ4 stainless steel tripod.

With the sagging problem out of the way, I craved better detailing in my viewing of the planets, and so started compiling a wishlist of accessories to complement my set up.....after 2 different barlow lenses, a second hand filter set (from a very nice guy in Portugal, who contacted me over SGL),, and a few other bits and bobs, I had caught the bug!! I wanted to "pimp" my scope out as much as possible and get the most out of it that I could. However, due to various uprisings in my personal life, my beloved SkyScout Scope 90 has been in storage for a little over 2 1/2yrs.

Now that I'm in a more settled situation, I have unearthed my set up with the intention of re-learning the sky, and re-learning telescope observing, as well as dabbling in aurora photography (hopefully going on a couple of aurora hunting road trips as the sun reaches the peak of it's cycle) and night time scenery shots.

Over the last month, I have decided to try and get the boyfriend interested in astronomy, so I can have someone that I can share my interest with, however every time we have packed the car, the weather has decided to not play nice. I have recently bought a canon 350D dslr, on the logic that a few years ago, this model was deemed as a beginners camera, and so should be less technologically complicated than today's beginners model (cheaper too, don't want to fork out a hefty sum if I decide that it's not the thing for me). Alongside it, I have bought a hama star 63 tripod, cable shutter release (thinking that I could quite easily lose a wireless one in the dark) a t-ring and t-adaptor, so that I have the option of combining it with my scope, once I get to grips with each piece of equipment separately!

I have compiled a new wishlist for my camera/telescope set ups, for future purchases in the next few months:

-SkyWatcher EQ3-2 mount, or similar

-Dual motor drives for above mount

-A decent LPR filter

In the meantime, I shall concentrate on getting the best out of my dslr on the nights when we are unable to pack the car up and get out of town with the scope. So watch this space on my progress:- I shall upload all photos (good AND bad, well mostly bad, come to think of it) that I take, as testament to my struggle to understand how to get more involved in a hobby that has been close to my heart all my childhood.

Wishing everyone clear skies!!

Natalie

xxx

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