Matt1962 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 My father was a keen amateur astronomer - keen also to pass on his interest to my ten year-old self. I remember it well: standing around in feezing cold dark while Dad fiddled for ages with tubes and legs and knobs and eyepieces with the result that his scope ended up pointing almost - but not quite - directly at a supposedly interesting celestial object. A bit more fiddling, and then I got to squint down the eyepiece to see the object - which invariably turned out to be small, feint and not at all as impressive and exciting as I thought space stuff ought to be. For some reason, I never quite caught my dad's enthusiasm.Fast forward thirty-plus years, and I'm looking for ways to feed my own ten-year-old's voracious appetite for all things scientific. She's got star charts and astronomy posters on her wall, junior astronomy books on her shelf and stands out in the garden lining up Google sky map on my phone with the things she can she in the sky. So, obviously, the time was right for a telescope. Recalling my own early disappointments, the answer seemed easy - Goto tracking to cut out the endless fiddling and loads of aperture to bring feint objects to life. Being a typical bigger-is-better kind of bloke, I almost pushed the button on a new 8" or 10" computerised scope. Fortunately, common sense intruded just long enough for me to do some research before I separated myself irrevocably from the best part of a zillion quid. And now, with help from the dozens of folk here with the experience and sense to offer decent advice to people like me, I find myself the possessor of a little Sky Watcher Heritage 130p, a couple of decent eyepieces to make up for the sub-par ones in the box, and an Orion webcam imager. And the best thing is that this package is simpler, easier to use and more fun than I could possibly have imagined (even if it does lack the raw, macho phallic splendour of a big dobsonian). I should have done this years ago. Unlike me at her age, my daughter is transfixed with wonder and pleasure, and quickly learning to navigate herself around the surprisingly impressive range of objects concealed to the naked eye by the orange glow of south west London's polluted skies. And we await each new clear night with impatience whilst poring over a star chart and Philips planisphere to plan our viewing.So really, this is just a long-winded way of saying hi and thanks to everybody here who has posted excellent, patient, knowledgable advice which brings the hobby to life and makes it so much easier for newcomers like me to make the right choices. Regards.Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesM Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hi Matt and welcome to the forum. Your reminiscences of participating in your father's astronomical endeavours brought back vivid memories of my own tortuous childhood. Unlike you, I did not experience the wonders of the universe but instead, the terrestrial wonders of sea angling trips which involved endless standing around on beaches till 4:00 in the morning, being buffeted numb by ridiculous freezing wind with just a cup of luke warm Bovril to act as my only distraction - oh happy days!I think I am going to replace the phrase 'aperture fever' (the never ending need for a bigger scope) with a version of your description, 'Macho Phallicus Splenderitus' - more impressive whilst actually sounding more serious! - thanks for that and I am a sufferer! Glad you could join us and I reckon your young assistant is going to keep you on your astro toes for quite some time, therefore we had better make sure your knowledge base is kept up to date. Wishing you both clear skiesJames:icon_salut: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinker1947 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Welcome to the SGL, Forums Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zul Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hello and Welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marki Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hi and welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glowjet Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hi Matt and welcome to SGL John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telesto Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hi Matt welcome to sgl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToxoLight Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hi Matt and welcome to the lounge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celtic Deacon Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Welcome Matt, your daughter's thirst for knowledge is wonderful and will inspire you also. I have the same feeling with my 6 year old grandson who lives in Vancouver and insists on taking me to the planetarium whenever I visit. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizibilder Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hello Matt and welcome to SGL!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catweazel Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Welcome to the forum Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cjg Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hi Matt,The Heritage 130P was my first scope and my 12 year old used it to find and view Saturn with the help of my iPad last year - it's a great scope and hope you both have many clear nights with it. It's small enough to take on holiday with you, so when you get a chance to escape the lights of London, you'll really enjoy seeing the DSO's from a dark sky.Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Kick Drum Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hi Matt and welcome to the lounge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOBBY Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hi Matt... & welcome to the forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duns Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hi and welcome to SGL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saturn4me Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hi Matt and welcome to SGL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveA Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Hi Matt,A warm welcome to SGL...There's such a fantastic choice of equipment these days at what are quite affordable prices (some not so affordable!)..Along with the vast variety of resources to help people learn and appreciate the night sky...there's never been a better time to get into astronomy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlas Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Welcome aboard, and welcome to the most addictive passion in the world. (twitch) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Strings Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Hi and welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd8137 Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 welcome to the forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillc Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Hello Matt and a warm welcome to SGL.phillc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charon Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Welcome to the forum Matt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Spock Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Hi Matt, welcome to SGL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingergeek Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Hi there and welcome to SGL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsheffield Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Hi Matt, Welcome to SGL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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