Karen Bexley

3 minutes ago, rwilkey said:

Hi Karen, no, there is no facility to do that, but we will be happy to hear about your experiences whenever.  You might want to use the Beginners section such as 'Getting Started With Observing' or 'Getting Started With Imaging' etc which will cater for your needs.

Thanks Robin.  That sounds like a good idea.

Thanks Carole.

Thank you Ron.

Do I need to create a page of my own somewhere here whilst discussing my developing Astronomy experience, so as to keep the Welcome section clear?

I've just found my Planisphere - yay! 😌

Actually, I've found a Philip's 10 inch disc and a Philip's 5 inch disc, plus a Philip's Star Finder book.  They were all in a packet lurking at the back of one of my cupboards.

Originally published as Stars at a Glance in 1918, it was completely revised in 1959 and 1970.   It was Retitled Star Finder in 1991 (just before I was born 🤫) but I suppose it is still a relevant reference book.

Thanks again Neil for that info.

7 minutes ago, JamesF said:

Does the camera have manual controls (probably exposure time and ISO setting are the most important for this), or is it all automatic?

James

The camera does have manual controls James, but to be perfectly honest I do most of my photography in Auto mode, which suits the needs for my general photography.

I am guessing that what you are going to say next is that I need to use manual settings to get the best results 😊  I haven't really delved into the full settings of the camera, as most of the time the extensive menus available confuse me a little (a lot actually) 🙂  I think I'm going to have to spend a bit of time (and experimentation) on trying to get to grips with the manual aspects of my camera.  At least I've got the time now.

2 minutes ago, rwilkey said:

Hi Karen, a warm welcome from me too, enjoy the journey.  Clear skies!

Thank you Robin.

13 minutes ago, DaveL59 said:

Hi Karen

yes getting pics of the moon can be an effort given its like trying to get a pic of a lightbulb in pitch dark and yet be able to see the makers markings on the glass. You'll need to try and set the camera to manual mode and give lower exposure times a shot and see if that improves what you capture. If you have a tripod then once you have a setting that works, try capturing some video which you can then run through stacking software (deep sky stacker, Stakkert etc) which will pull the frames and overlay them to extract more surface detail. Something I've been meaning to try but yet to get around to. Otherwise a ND filter may help a bit.

There is an imaging section here and in the non-astro lounge a photography section, you're welcome to contribute your non-astro pics there too  

Welcome aboard and have fun, frustration will be part of the game in finding things, figuring out the equipment, getting a pic and so forth but I think starting as you are is sensible. Wait till you're sure the bug has bitten and what it is you enjoy looking at the most, whether imaging is what you want to be doing etc before jumping into the pocket-emptying void of chasing aperture/eyepieces etc that seems to go hand-in-hand with buying astro gear  

The help and advice I've had here so far has been amazing -  information overload that needs to be processed a bit at a time to make sense of it all 🤯  

5 minutes ago, Wyvernp said:

Morning and welcome. Lots of very knowledgeable people here. 

Thank you.

15 minutes ago, Dave Lloyd said:

Hi Karen, welcome. 

Thank you Dave.

13 minutes ago, carastro said:

I see you have a planetarium, I learnt a lot from mine when I first started, especially how the night sky varies throughout the seasons and how everything moves across the sky, so if you can find yours it will be very useful.

Carole 

I call my house the 'Bermuda Triangle' as I can never find things that I think I've put in a safe place.  I did have fun with it and found it to be very useful when I was first given it, so I'm keen to find it again.

4 minutes ago, carastro said:

I try to avoid it as much as possible, but it does have some uses.  You won't get anything like that on here, and if any-one did get out of line we have Moderators to kick them back into line.

Carole 

Thank you Carole.  I'm okay exchanging flirtatious comments when it's intended in a nice friendly way, but it's when it gets taken to the extreme and becomes obscene that I draw the line.

It's good to know the the Forum is well moderated to prevent unwanted and inappropriate comments.  We're all here to have fun and learn about a hobby we love in an environment where we can feel safe in.

Thank you Peter and Ray.  I am finding this to be a very pleasant experience with some very nice and helpful people.

10 hours ago, Nyctimene said:

Welcome, Karen, to this friendly forum.

Have a look here :

 

Stephan

Thank you Stephan, that is a really useful link.

I have subscribed to the Newsletter 😃

7 hours ago, Neil H said:

Hi Karen once your bitten by the bug there is no cure , The doctor right a telescope will be the only thing that will help ,but when your ready this is a hobby of a life time so there is no rush 

Thanks Neil.  I think starting small appears to be the way to go, in terms of using the equipment I already own and trying to identify the objects closest in the sky.  I'm not expecting to view deep space objects (just yet anyway) but I suppose that is a possibility in the future 😀 

7 hours ago, JamesF said:

For identifying the constellations and brighter stars you may find Stellarium helpful assuming you have some sort of device that it will run on.  It can show you what the night sky should look like from your location.  Or there's a fairly low-tech aid called a planisphere, which shows the orientation of the constellations using a couple of rotating discs.

James

Thanks James.  I do actually have a planisphere, but finding where I put it is another matter 🤔  I must get searching.

I would also like to take some decent photos of the Moon.  I can see quite a lot of detail when viewing through my bins, but when I've tried to photograph it I just seem to get an overexposed white mass, with some features but not brilliant.  Is there a section on this Forum you can point me to where photographing the Moon has been discussed to get some better ideas?

My camera is pretty decent - Panasonic Lumix FZ1000.  I can get fantastic photos of landscapes and wildlife, but pointing it towards the skies has not been very successful for me 😳  I suppose the phrase 'must try harder' comes to mind 🤭

Thank you all for the welcome messages. 

That is a very detailed post Dr Strange and plenty to mull over.  I think at this early stage though for me, I don't want to jump in and spend a lot of money on equipment until I decide on a particular area I wish to concentrate on.  I do have good quality binoculars and field scope, and I believe someone has already mentioned that you can get some good sightings of the general sky with that type of equipment (I've just looked back through these posts and it was Ben who mentioned that - thank you Ben).  Probably identifying all the constellations would be a good starting point for me and see where I go from there.

Thank you Gordon.

On 19/04/2020 at 21:45, Dr Strange said:

This will help you determine what your light pollution is. Just zoom in on Lincolnshire.

 

https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=4&lat=5759860&lon=1619364&layers=B0FFFFFTFFFFFFFF

That's a brilliant link.  I've just checked my location and I'm a Class 4.

Just need to dust off my binoculars and field scope and have a look about now .

Thank you all for your lovely welcome 😚 (definitely only virtual kisses at the moment 😉 )

I will most certainly take your advice Carole and ask for help when I eventually get around to going for a telescope.  That terminology you used there is a little confusing, so I will need a lot of help I think.

The skies are indeed awesome here Carole, and I feel very lucky to be living here.

Everyone seems very friendly on this Forum, which is a great bonus for someone starting out on a new hobby.

I have had a bad experience using Social Media, getting some very unwelcome comments when I had a Facebook account (since deleted), so I'm always a little wary joining new Forums.

Thank you Peter.

That is an impressive set of equipment you have there.  At the moment, I have a pair of binoculars and a field scope I bought for bird watching 🤭

Maybe one day I will venture out and obtain a celestial telescope 🙂

I've had an interest in astronomy for a few years, but I've never seemed to have the time to really get into it.

The current lockdown has created a new perspective on that, which is something that can be done from home.

The skies where I live in the New Forest  provide excellent viewing possibilities, particularly due to the lack of street lighting that would otherwise be an interference.

I'm by no means an expert on the night skies but hope to widen my knowledge through our enforced lockdown period.