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Hello from Bedfordshire

Gibbo

By Gibbo
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Gibbo

Gibbo

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Hi all ;)

My name is Keith and I have only been a member for about a day so this is my first post. I have always had an interest in astronomy but never really pursued it to the point of actually buying a set of binoculars or a telescope. It has always seemed a bit daunting and techincal.

I am at a point in my life now where I have more spare time and disposable income to take that leap and start to invest both time and money into what I know will become a passion.

I was going to jump straight in and buy a telescope but after reading many threads from here and other sites I am now looking to purchase a set of 10x50 binoculars initiially and a good book. My aim is to try and learn how to navigate the sky and also how to use the binoculars properly (any advice greatly appreciated).

It is all still very daunting and reading some of the posts it can be very techincal ;) but I guess it gets easier the more you learn and practice.

There seem to be a lot of knowledgeable people here so apologies for my future posts and what will undoubtedly be silly questions.....lol

Thanks

Keith

p.s. I would also be interested in coming along to any gatherings in the Luton area if anyone is organising one in th near future.

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Gibbo

Gibbo

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Hi Damnut

Thanks for the advice. The Strathspeys were the exact ones I was looking at. Would you say the marine ones are worth the extra cash?

I will definately take a look at that book.

Thanks again

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi keith and welcome to the forum.

I would certainly recommend looking through kit first for example at a public outreach event, before buying anything. All the specifications and statistics won't mean a thing until you're able to establish your own bench mark of what they mean to you - so you've got something to hang new information from. Astronomy is not difficult in my view, its just that there is a lot of it.;) You might want to download software called 'Stellarium' (Google this word and it will take you straight there!) which is free and will help you identify what you are looking at through those binos.

Clear skies for now ;)

James

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Luke

Luke

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Hi Keith,

Welcome to SGL, I'm also from Beds.

I wish I'd started with a pair of binoculars and learnt the night sky a bit first!

If you get any replies to your posts that are too technical, please say, sometimes it's easy to forget you're using technical language.

If you have a computer, I'd also second Stellarium to help you find things.

Best of luck with finding the right binoculars!

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Rich MedRev

Rich MedRev

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Hello and welcome Keith,

you won't go wrong with a good pair of 10x50's, i would also endorse a copy of TLAO excellent book for Bins.

Phil Harrington's Touring the Universe through Binoculars is another favourite of mine.

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Gibbo

Gibbo

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Thank you all for your kind welcome messages and advice

I have installed a copy of Stellarium on my laptop today and got a copy of Left Turn at Orion on my iPad. I have also got a copy of Star Walk which is very similar to Stellarium.

Also ordered some 10x50 Strathspeys marine binoculars. Should be here Monday and I can't wait.

Rich MedRev - What is TLAO? I googled it but it doesn't give any results associated with Astronomy or binoculars

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