New guy in NYC

[Bizibilder]

Hello Gary and welcome to SGL!!

[ToxoLight]

Hi Gary and welcome to the lounge.

[Jessun]

Welcome to the forum!

I heard what might be an urban legend, but apparently NYC had a big power cut some years ago and a lot of New Yorkers saw stars for the first time in their lives. Is that a myth or could it be true?

[SteveA]

Hi,

A warm welcome to SGL..

[JamesM]

Hi Gary and welcome to the forum. Just to pick up john's (Glowjet) point regarding solar filters. There are two sorts out there that are fine, namely the large glass like filters that attach to the entrance to the scope and which are pretty expensive and there is the specialised solar film made by Baader etc which you can use to make your own filter. There are other 'filters' that are typically attached down at the eyepiece end that are certainly VERY dangerous and to be avoided at all costs. I'd would rather you look me in the eye and call me patronizing or bossy at this moment rather than have no eyes at all, so apologies if I appear overbearing here - I just want you to enjoy astronomy to the max!

On a more positive note and to further expand your knowledge, can I recommend a free bit of planetarium software called Stellarium, you can take a look here. It will certainly help you identify objects and to find out whether the other stuff is and is fun and easy to use. You can calibrate it to your viewing location and has a neat date/time advance feature to help you plan your viewing sessions.

Keep going with your natural enthusiasm Gary, it will certainly carry you through the cloudy times and the occasional frustration when attempting to find some of the objects up there. Please keep asking questions as there is no such thing as a daft question - I should know, I have asked most of them!

Clear skies

James

[uyotg]

Welcome to the forum!

I heard what might be an urban legend, but apparently NYC had a big power cut some years ago and a lot of New Yorkers saw stars for the first time in their lives. Is that a myth or could it be true?

That's probably just to poke fun at NYCers or the city itself of course there's a lot of light pollution here, but you can still see stars at night, even in the middle of Manhattan. You don't see any planetary bodies, and I am still in awe that something like Saturn is supposed to be visible with the naked eye. The problem here is actually more with tall, obstructive buildings rather than light pollution, but in all honesty I don't have the benefit of experience with a totally dark observation area to compare that too.

Hi Gary and welcome to the forum. Just to pick up john's (Glowjet) point regarding solar filters. There are two sorts out there that are fine, namely the large glass like filters that attach to the entrance to the scope and which are pretty expensive and there is the specialised solar film made by Baader etc which you can use to make your own filter. There are other 'filters' that are typically attached down at the eyepiece end that are certainly VERY dangerous and to be avoided at all costs. I'd would rather you look me in the eye and call me patronizing or bossy at this moment rather than have no eyes at all, so apologies if I appear overbearing here - I just want you to enjoy astronomy to the max!

On a more positive note and to further expand your knowledge, can I recommend a free bit of planetarium software called Stellarium, you can take a look here. It will certainly help you identify objects and to find out whether the other stuff is and is fun and easy to use. You can calibrate it to your viewing location and has a neat date/time advance feature to help you plan your viewing sessions.

Keep going with your natural enthusiasm Gary, it will certainly carry you through the cloudy times and the occasional frustration when attempting to find some of the objects up there. Please keep asking questions as there is no such thing as a daft question - I should know, I have asked most of them!

Clear skies

James

Thanks! I don't mind dropping a bit of cash for a good solar filter, but for some reason I'm under the impression only higher-end telescopes can handle them. I'll have to do more research. I'll be posting in the Beginners Help and Advice forum shortly and thanks for the tip with the software. I've definitely been looking for something to plan my views with.

[peteruss]

Welcome to sgl