Sonnyburton

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to reply to some seriously informative support. I was a bit shocked at the size of the Skyliner 150p Dobsonian telescope. I didn't read the specs' before I purchased it as I was certain you guys knew your stuff. Anyway, it turns out to be perfect for our needs. This being England the rain has been pretty incessant for the past month and I only managed to get the finder scope set up properly this afternoon. I live in a dip in a valley and had to drive the scope a mile or so to a nearby hill. We managed to get a good look at the newish moon this evening. Wows all round. I need to read up on the instructions more to better understand how to get the best out of the scope and it's lenses. I'm in the process of downloading the Virtual Moon Atlas as I type. I have been using Stellarium for about six months now and better understand it's features and potential every time I get spare 15 minutes to consult it. I'm pretty sure I can get a good view of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars over the next few weeks. I don't know who is more excited, me or the kids. To top it all off the headline news this evening is that Einstein's 100 year old prediction of gravitational waves and the warping of space-time have been confirmed by the LIGO project. I'm a novice astronomer and barely get the gist of the science, but I know it's a really big deal. Putaendo Patrick, Dave from Vermont, aeajr, Hayzi111, Beerme, Mak The Night and BeanerSA. Thanks. You got us off to a brilliant start.

Hope I'm typing in the right box. Thanks for all your guidance. It's going to take me a while to process all the information people have posted for me. I've bought the 'Skywatcher Skyliner 150P Dobsonian' that I hope I am typing in the right box. Thanks for all your advice. My name is Colin and I'm 60 years old. My kids are 8 & 9. We live with my wife in rural Dorset on the south coast of England. Perfect for stargazing. I work as a handyman in our village. My kids both want to be scientists and we spend quite a bit of our spare time reading, studying science, history and maths (they love it), watching documentaries and doing loads of different sports. It's a relaxed and happy house. My kids were given a 3 month old rescue puppy today. I am pretty new to astronomy and internet forums. It's going to take me a while to process all the information various people have posted. I have bought the Skywatcher Skyliner 150P Dobsonian that Putaendo Patrick recommended. I'm hoping it will arrive tomorrow in the post. . I've managed to spend the occasional 10/15 minutes over the years reading a few articles and identifying the 'stand out' features like Orion, The Plough, The pole star, Venus etc. Also I have a computer application that has helped me find and identify lots of stars and planets. I've never looked through a telescope. Tonight my son and I were looking at Pleiades with binoculars. We also got quite excited to see the Orion Nebular only to realize later we were looking at Alnilam. Can't wait for the telescope to arrive. My daughter asked for (and got) a microscope for her 8th birthday. My boy has asked for the telescope. They share most things and will, I hope, learn to set up and use the scope on their own. We will watch the video's you posted over the next few days and I'll let you know how we get on with the new telescope. Thanks for your kind support. My children are called Sonny and Ella. I will get them to read this thread.

Hi, thanks for posting the link for the Weymouth Astronomy website. It's full of excellent information and we are hoping to attend a 'beginners night'. I'll let you know how we get on.

Hi. I've always loved astronomy, but never had the time to properly study and practice it. I now have two kids, 8 and 9 years old, who are both keen on science. I need some advice on buying a first telescope for around £200. I would like to take my kids to some amateur stargazing nights where we could get some support/advice and link them up to a local club. We live between Bridport and Dorchester. Thanks.