Popped into a pawn shop and popped out with this monster telescope. I'm pretty excited as it seems the Meade was well cared for and comes with a lot of accessories. It'll take some time just to understand what I'm sitting on and how to actually view the heavenly bodies.
As a kid, maybe 12 years old I was really into astronomy along with a buddy of mine. At one point we had 3 telescopes and would spend late hours with our gear and of course 'Sky and Telescope" magazines, mapping out the stars. I got pretty proficient knowing what was where and through those few years of astronomy, life left that passion but the pilot light was still lit...
A few years back I bought a Sky Watcher 200LP. Fine for the moon and planets but I didn't have the patience for locating the really spectacular stuff from a 'manual tracking reflector'.
So fast forward to the present, I'm now the owner of a 10" LX200, 1996 vintage. And, at 66 YO I have a boy, 12 years old, smart as can be, also excited about this purchase. He's a bit of a computer geek (what kid isn't) but he's really good and I think he'll gather immense knowledge from this hobby.
Looking for guidance as, well, there are so many accessories, I barely know where to start!
I guess, point it at a star...
Living at 6200ft and outside of a small city with no streetlights but nighttime temps into the teens, that's a challenge