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DC_MPA

By DC_MPA
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DC_MPA

DC_MPA

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Greetings everyone! I am a new member checking in who wants to first say thank you, for providing a site that allows me to grow and develop my lifelong appreciation and interests in our evening sky. Since finishing college and graduate school *rolls dice - come on job, show me the way! ;) * I devoted that I would give myself the gift of finally diving into stargazing and astronomy since my last hobby that lasted 6 years consisted of a Finance textbook and statistical analysis software. I have went on and off for 7 years of buying a high end telescope that I would cherish for years and years. Since finally diving in I have been grateful to learn from many astronomers that the first step in backyard astronomy is a great book and a fabulous set of binoculars. So I have spent days and (literally) 20+ hours of reading, researching, and reviewing equipment. I'm one that will gladly spend what is necessary as long as I see the reason to invest in the quality, efficiency, and effective usefulness of equipment. I value "what is the best bang for the buck" but I also have a great appreciation for "I want to purchase ______, what should I invest in" rather than the "I only want to spend X, what should I buy" inquiries. I like doing that with any purchase. I would rather invest in something that provides the peace of mind in its use than a night of frustration that will turn me away from what I have dreamt of doing for many years. Make sense?

Here is what I have invested in so far that is in transit to arrive next week:

Nikon 12x50 binoculars (something to hold)

Pentax 20x60 binoculars (something to mount)

Vanguard Alta Pro 263 tripod with ball head (rated to 15.5 lbs)

Discovering the Stars book (recommended by my friends at badgerandblade.com)

I know I will ultimately want to get 25x100 binoculars (or should I say "dual 4 inch telescopes" - haha) or if I am satisfied with my above setup, I might just dive right into the telescope investment.

Anyways, I wanted to introduce myself (hopefully this is the right place) and thank everyone for the upcoming support, assistance, and kindness in my longtime dreamt about hobby of sky exploration.

Please let me know if you like/dislike my setup I've purchased. Luckily all was purchased via amazon.com so anything is returnable :)

- DC

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Atlas

Atlas

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Guess we missed ya. Welcome aboard. The threads scroll pretty quick in this section.

Sounds like some quality gear, but we would never tell you we dislike your gear...the folks here would just offer you some options.

Again, Welcome to SGL...lots of nice people here.

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Mr Q

Mr Q

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Hello DC and welcome to the SGL. For some reason, most astronomy forum sites world wide have been very slow (inactive) the last couple of months. This one is the most active and I'm surprised that a whole day went by without a reply to your post. Because of the slow activity, I too have only checked this site once a day now instead of several times in the past so don't get discouraged.

What you got so far is nice. The 12x50s may be a bit of a "steady image" problem for hand holding (10x50s are usually the highest power for hand holding) but with the tripod, they still should be fine for observing.

Since you have the binocular equipment covered, and your skies are not too light polluted, the next step would be a nice scope with a 8 or 10" objective (mirror) in a "Dobsonian" design for the most "bang for the buck". But decide if you are going to do any astro photos and if so,a motorized mount scope of the same size for tracking objects while doing long exposures will be needed.

And by the way, you are wanted! This is a very friendly forum site so sometimes replies may be slow so don't get discouraged. Activity will soon pick up with the warmer weather around the corner.

Wishing you success in your astronomy endeavors and lots of clear, dark skies.

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi and welcome to the forum. It would appear then that the original message was posted in a different part of the forum - which I'm glad is now solved, as I always reply to every new member and couldn't work out how I could have missed your original post. Now I like the sound of the larger binos and agree with Mr Q regarding the option of having some 10x50's. Regarding the mount/head can I suggest you take a look at this site as it contains so helpful information in that direction. You might also like to take a look at this one as well which includes some useful guidance regarding observing with binos. Hope that helps.

Clear skies for now and look forward to further questions over on the beginner help and advice section.

James

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