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Another Newbie

MikeMc

By MikeMc
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MikeMc

MikeMc

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Hi all,

I have been hanging around reading the forums for a while now and the amount of information and advice is amazing.

I have always loved the night sky and recently wanted to get a little more interested so I found an old Refractor (Tasco, Galaxsee) that was bought for my son about 5 years ago at the back of our garage and dug it out.

After fixing the mount and finding the lenses I took it out for a spin and was instantly reminded of just how much I love to observe the night sky and have decided to get a little more serious and look to buy a new scope and perhaps try some photography (all things in good time).

After taking a look at the Moon, Jupiter and a couple of attempts to see the Orion nebula I have now also butchered an old Web Cam and film canister (little black 25mm type) and had a go at taking movies of both the Moon and Jupiter (I might try and post my 1st attempts in the Bad Jupiter threads :-))

So just saying Hi and warning you all of the inevitable 'help buying a new scope' questions to come but thanks to all the stuff I have read hear at least I have a head start.

Mike

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi Mike and welcome to the forum. If imaging is going to be your point of focus in astronomy, you might want to consider getting hold of Steve Richards' "Making Every Photon Count"(FLO £19.95) which will advise you on what kit to get and why you need it to take good consistent images. I would strongly recommend it as essential reading before buying any new kit and if you want to know more about the book then look here. Solar system objects (moon and planets) can be imaged using a simple webcam, making a composite final image out of the best exposures. Deep sky objects (DSO's) such as galaxies and nebulae being much fainter require the services of an accurate mount to track the objects for a sufficient time to collect enough 'data' to construct the final image. The book will go into a lot more detail which will also provide you with the necessary overview that will help you decide on how far you want to go with it.

Clear skies for now and hope you enjoy the forum.

James

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MikeMc

MikeMc

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Wow, what a warm welcome, many thanks to you all.

JamesM - thanks for the book advice with "Making every photon count" - it gets alot of mentions all over SGL and so will order myself a copy (although it may be a little too advanced for me at the moment).

At first buying a telescope and getting into this hobby can seem a daunting task what with so many new terms and concepts. This site has already helped me understand so much, avoid rushing in and given me a good start, along with an entirely new set of new questions :-)

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jason.p

jason.p

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Welcome Mike. I've not been here long myself but have learnt quite a bit in a relatively short time. There's such a weath of experience and expertise here, just ask, however daft the question may seem. Everyone's had to start somewhere, and it's a steep learning curve.

Best of luck, and clear skies :smiley:

Jason

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MikeMc

MikeMc

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Hi all and thanks once again for a warm welcome!

As I mentioned I have been trying to use my lads 1st Telescope (an old Tasco Galaxsee - 60/700mm so I figure that's an f/11.6 - see I'm already learning!).

I have tried checking out various things but given Jupiter is so clear at the moment I couldn't resist and had a go with an old modified Web Cam so I'm off to explore the forums esp. the 'Embarrassing Jupiter' one to post my very first, stacked images - they are not very good but I feel I am going to enjoy the learning curve!

See you all around!

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