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Greetings!

ThatDave

By ThatDave
in Welcome

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ThatDave

ThatDave

Posted
Posted

Hello Everyone,

Just wanted to post a quick message to say hello and introduce myself. I'm Dave and I currently reside in Warrington where I work as a Software Developer.

I've been interested in astronomy since I was a young lad, and having borrowed a small Tasco refractor from a teacher at school I was bitten by the bug. A few years later my Dad bought his first scope (a 6" reflector I believe) and I was well and truly hooked! He, my younger brother and I spent a majority of nights out in the freezing cold looking at all sorts! Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and I even remember seeing the Andromeda galaxy for the first time! Amazing sight!

Years later, we used that same scope to project the total solar eclipse. It was great, we were in Newquay and the sky cleared up just long enough to see it all happen! My dad upgraded over the years, eventually getting some type of schmidt cassegrain (I think it was a 10"), but a few years later he sold it to upgrade again, but the money ended up going towards something else (Holiday I think lol)

I've recently decided it's time for getting back in to the hobby, and owning a half-decent SLR camera (Canon EOS 550D) I fancy a go at some deep sky photography. I've just purchased my own scope today (Skywatcher Explorer 8" motorized HEQ5) which should be turning up next week, and I simply cannot wait to get started!

I realise however, that this country seems to be blanketed in cloud the majority of the time. I further realise that the evenings are getting lighter now, and perhaps I should of decided to do this a few months back!

Anyway, that's me... So to reiterate... Hello! :)

Dave

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi Dave and welcome to the forum. Congratulations on ordering your new scope and mount - let's hope the weather plays ball for its arrival! Regarding imaging ambitions, I would strongly recommend getting hold of a copy of Steve Richards', "Making Every Photon Count" (FLO £19.95) which is a comprehensive guide of what kit you need and why you need it to take good consistent images. You can image solar system objects (planets and moon) with a simple webcam arrangement but imaging deep sky objects (DSO's) is a bit different and will require an accurate tracking mount (for longer exposure times) for you to be able to gather in enough faint data to construct the final image. The book will explain it all to you and though modestly priced will in fact save you money by ensuring that you don't buy the wrong kit - easily done!

Wishing you clear skies and hope you enjoy the forum.

James

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ThatDave

ThatDave

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Thank you both for the kind welcome!

Regarding imaging ambitions, I would strongly recommend getting hold of a copy of Steve Richards', "Making Every Photon Count" (FLO £19.95) which is a comprehensive guide of what kit you need and why you need it to take good consistent images.

Thanks for the advice James, I will certainly look at purchasing a copy of the book. By the looks of the reviews on the FLO website, it looks like it's a very handy guide. :)

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JamesF

JamesF

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Welcome to SGL

The nights are getting shorter in the northern hemisphere, but there's plenty to look at over the summer that isn't visible during the winter, so I'd not worry about it too much.

James

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