new to astronomy

[LukeSkywatcher]

Hi Ash. I've read this thread with great interest as i am also in a wheelchair. I cant help but think that one of the small tabletop Dobs available would suit your needs. I think the Heritage 130P would be too much for you to handle(??), so i was then thinking of something like this:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-heritage-76-mini-dobsonian.html

Its weight is only 1.5Kg which i am thinking would be good for you. It takes very little operating and from what i have read gives pleasing views of the moon and other objects.

Hope this helps.

Paul

p.s.~~you wont even have to go outside. You could use this on a table inside pointed out a window.

[umadog]

A lot of the night sky network people are in the US, so keep that in mind in terms of when log in to watch. I've used that site with success a few times.

I think Slooh is another of those live sites, but I'm not exactly sure. I seem to remember that you enter the object you want to image into a queue and wait for your turn. I tried it a while ago but found that the scopes were always down. I didn't persist much, though, and it's probably better now. Nonetheless, I think other sites, such as http://www.lightbuckets.com, provide you with more control over the telescope.

[ALecras234]

does anyone know how i get announcements by text message that someone is broadcasting on nightskies network?

[garethmob]

i dont think its possiable for the text messages, i go on there frequently, but as some one mentioned above most of the members on there are in the US and australia ( my fav guy to watch is ken in snake valley! as his images are really good and comentry is fantastic)

the best is to keep percerveaing with it as you will get somthing. i would probaly advise to find what times auzzyland and the us is in regards to us and try pick one around midnight for them might be better

[umadog]

I don't believe they have such an alert system. You could e-mail and ask them if they'd set one up. Perhaps SMS would be hard if there aren't free ways of sending the message, but e-mail alerts would be easy. Programming it yourself is probably more hassle than it's worth.