sausages Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I've been 'lurking' for a few weeks, reading loads of very interesting threads and picking up loads of tips, but it's about time I made my first post! I've very new to Astronomy - wanted a Telescope for a long time, but never had the right excuse...... until my 7 year old Daughter started showing an interest (following a school topic on the Solar System). After much research and concluding that a cheap telescope for my daughter would be a waste of time, I purchased one for both of us to use and went for a Skyliner 150P (it was a close call with the 200P, but my wife overruled, mumbling something about me not needing an extra 2 inches ).We've not had much opportunity to use it so far - the weather has been really poor, but have managed to get some great views of the Moon and Jupiter. Suffice to say, we are completly hooked and looking forward to some hopefully better weather soon. My copy of Turn Left arrived today, so I'll be able to spend some time learning about the Sky.I'm really interested in the idea of hooking up a webcam to attempt some basic planetary shots - fully appreciate the Skyliner is not suitable for Astrophotography, but I'm hoping my soon-to-be modded Xbox Live Vision Cam will give me some success - I will let you all know how I get on!Anyway, just wanted to say hello for the time being!Sausages Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeSkywatcher Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Hi Sausages. It sounds like you and your daughter are off to a really good start with a 150mm scope and a copy of TLAO. The weather for the last year has been terrible but i'm happy to hear that you have gotten some good views of the moon and Jupiter. Another member has recently hooked up an XBOX cam to a scope and had pretty good results of imaging planets.........Besat of luck with that and to both you and youd daughter. Any questions, please feel free to ask. On this site there is always a right answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charon Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Hi Sauages and welcome to the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Kick Drum Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Hi sausages, welcome to the lounge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro Imp Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Hi Sausages,Welcome to the forum.Cute use namer Hope you and yor daughter have fun with your new scope, TLAO you will find very handy to get you off to a good start.Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan46 Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 That's the first time I've ever heard an extra 2" not being necessary. welcome to the forum. A good scope I hope you both enjoy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etoille Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Welcome to the forum. The Turn Left At Orion book is a good starting point. You might also be find some of the following free astronomy software useful:Two popular planetarium programs are Stellarium and Skychart (formerly Cartes du Ciel I believe). To learn more about the moon you might try Virtual Moon Atlas . Finally, you might also find Celestia interesting.I have no connection with any of the above, but I have found all of them useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig20264 Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Hello and welcome to you both, Great name, Sausages Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tich Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Hi Sausages & welcome to SGL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul schofield Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Hi Sausages, welcome to the lounge, good luck with your stargazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd8137 Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 hello and welcome to you both, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsheffield Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Hi Sausages, Welcome to SGL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sausages Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 Hi All, thanks for making me feel so welcome - really appreciated!Quick update on the xbox live cam modification. Spent some time trying to work out how best to attach to my scope and decided to dismantle the thing. So following 20 minutes or so of tinkering (and stabbing my finger with a watchmaker's screwdriver ), I managed to get the thing dismantled. Interestingly, it looks like the lens attachment is a standard M12 0.5 thread, so it should attach to those Webcam Adapters. I've just ordered one - fingers crossed that I'm right.Once I've finished the mod (hopefully this weekend), I'll be happy to post some instructions / pics if anyone is interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryan Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Hello and welcome, I hope you and your daughter enjoy this amazing hobby together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catweazel Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Hi Sausages & welcome to SGL. Sounds like you're off to a good start with your scope, and having your daughter interested too will increase your enjoyment of stargazing. I also like your choice of username, my dog says sausages a lot...in fact, that's all he says! Best of luck!CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenmyers Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Hello and welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sausages Posted January 14, 2012 Author Share Posted January 14, 2012 I should probably post this into the imaging forum, but I mentioned I was attempting to convert an XBox Live Vision Cam for Astro use the other day so thought update here too.I've been able to successfully take the thing apart and attach a standard M12 0.5 Telescope Adaptor to the Cam. Reassembled, its all working - first real test tonight though, hopefully it will produce some reasonable results.Will let you know tomorrow whether it was worth the effort! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sausages Posted January 14, 2012 Author Share Posted January 14, 2012 It looks like this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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