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PeteQ

By PeteQ
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PeteQ

PeteQ

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Firstly, congratulations on having such a well run site with such keen and knowledgeable members.

I've been interested in astronomy since I watched the Apollo moon landings as a kid. But life, work and family have a habit of taking over and so I've never given myself the opportunity to learn more or even spend idle time observing the sky.

Well, my kids are now grown up and have left home, so a few weeks ago I thought I would finally make some time to start to pursue this long standing interest. I found that, as I Googled the subject, I invariably ended up following links to SGL and the information I found here was always helpful.

As a result, here I am, armed with a 4" refractor (NexStar 102 SLT - yes I know I could have got more inches per £ without the computer control but I'm a gadget man), a copy of "Turn Left at Orion", a variable polarizing moon filter and an adapter to connect my aged Fuji FinePix S9600 digital camera.

I'd like my next purchase to be a Barlow and the GSO 1.25" 2x (and 1.5x) seems to be a popular choice but is currently unavailable at any of the sites I've visited. I'd appreciate any thoughts on alternatives.

Anyway, thanks for all the advice I've received so far and the advice I've yet to receive. Hopefully at some stage I'll be able to acquire enough knowledge to impart some advice of my own.

Best wishes

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi Pete and welcome to the forum. Well clearly you have been reading this forum as the Nexstar is a good performing scope and very popular here. The decision of how you negotiate GOTO versus aperture, is always a personal decision which hopefully represents an informed decision based on realistic expectations. The book you have got (TLAO) is also a favourite here and although not the cheapest book out there, does represent good value for money given the huge amount of information it contains and will get you up and running in no time. Regarding an alternative Barlow lens, have you considered one made by the russian company TAL which you can see here although it is only offered as x2 and x3 only.

Look forward to catching up with you on the forum,

James

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Marki

Marki

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Hi and welcome to the Lounge :D Nice scope!

The first things I bought after my scope were a barlow and Turn left at Orion. As James said, the Tal x2 barlow is pretty good (I bought that and the x3 version - only really use the x2 though).

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PeteC

PeteC

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Hi Pete

Welcome to SGL from another old newbie who watched the Apollo landings! Astronomy in the north west eh? One of these nights we might even get clear skies to make use of all our lovely equipment.

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PeteQ

PeteQ

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Hi and welcome to the Lounge :D Nice scope!

The first things I bought after my scope were a barlow and Turn left at Orion. As James said, the Tal x2 barlow is pretty good (I bought that and the x3 version - only really use the x2 though).

Thanks Mark. I had looked at the Tal 2x Barlow but from the picture it didn't look like it was threaded to take a filter. Am I wrong?

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PeteQ

PeteQ

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Hi Pete

Welcome to SGL from another old newbie who watched the Apollo landings! Astronomy in the north west eh? One of these nights we might even get clear skies to make use of all our lovely equipment.

You're dead right Pete. There's been only one decent night since I bought my scope.

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