Hello, got the night sky bug

[ishimaru]

Hi, my name's Richard, was just browsing around for info about astronomy in the UK - found this forum.

I am resurrecting an interest in stargazing from my childhood. Unfortunately my finances don't allow the purchase of a 'scope yet, but I'm working on that. It's great to use some software and start recognising stars, galaxies, and so forth. I am using Cartes Du Ciel, a free software. Stellarium looked great, but doesn't work.

As for my location, I'm near to some fields for deep sky looking, relatively clear of streelights, and the back of my flat is okay, but there is a streetlight round the corner which irritates.

I hope to get some info regarding scope choice, considering my limited budget.

[Chubster]

Hi Richard

Welcome to SGL....

[Jamie]

Hi Richard and welcome to Stargazers...

[daz]

Welcome along Richard

In what way does Stellarium not work?

Money to spend, eh? We're good at doing that :D

[ishimaru]

Stellarium seems to use OpenGL to render night skies. However my PC with it's meaty graphics card manages 0.5-2 frames per second. I've tried playing around with it to no avail.

Reading the equipment lists I can see you guys are very good at helping people spend money

[tenbyfifty]

I am using Cartes Du Ciel, a free software. Stellarium looked great, but doesn't work.

starry night is an excellent progression from Cartes Du Ciel - get the earlier version - 5 i think -

which is much cheaper now than it used to be.

scope wise my advice is to come home from the pub completely p***** and order a decent sized scope

on the net. get a 6" dobsonian at least - life is short and UK nights are chilly - you can always sell it on when you have a good look around and sobered up. Astronomy is a visual experience so why do it by halves?

small scopes suck except for moon watching (which is not to be sneezed at btw) .

u can always try buying 2nd hand ofcourse.

[lunator]

Hi Richard

Welcome to SGL

I use Cartes Du Ceil and have added the downloads so it has accurate info.

Cheers

Ian

[GazOC]

Hi Richard,

Welcome to SGL, we're very good at spending other peoples money on astro gear......

My 2 cents would be a 8" Dob for £200...

[Cloudgazer]

Welcome to SGL Richard..

How much are you thinking of spending on a scope?

Scott

[geppetto]

Hi Richard, welcome aboard

If your realy stuck for cash at the moment, use a pair of binoculars

if you have some or nip down to a Lidl store and grab a pair for £9.99

(very good value they are to) 8)

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

Welcome to SGL Richard. We'll spend your money for you, don't worry.

Captain Chaos

[Whippy]

Welcome to SGL .

[dazza1639]

Welcome to SGL Richard

Darren

[ElijahB]

Hi Richard, welcome to the Lounge. Re-mortgaging might free up enough cash to buy most of the equipment you'll want (but not necessarily need) :shock:

Seriously though, these guys give some great advise.

[Vega]

Hi Richard, welcome aboard. Excellent scope buying advice is at your disposal in these parts. I'll second the idea of popping to your local lidl's for those bresser binoculars... great quality for the price.

Cheers

Matt

[FLO]

Welcome aboard Richard

[SteelRat]

SGL welcome from me too Richard Heheheh, nice avatar 8)

[Black Shuck]

Stellarium looked great, but doesn't work.

Welcome Richard - good to see you here. You can be assured of plenty of good advice on this forum. Unfortunately it does involve spending lots of money

Interesting comment about Stellarium. I recently downloaded Stellarium, Cartes du Ceil and Virtual Moon Atlas. Since then my PC has occasionally rebooted itself - quoting a driver error. (did copy the error transcript but can't find it at the mo). I have noticed one or two glitches with Stellarium itself, so it's getting the blame at the moment. At the moment all I can think of is to try to uninstall and wait and see. :?

Anybody got any advice??

Cheers

Bill£

[barkis]

A very warm welcome to you Richard. This is the best Astronomy forum you can find anywhere. We all hope you enjoy yourself here.

Ron.