mariaone Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Hello everyone, as you may have guessed my name is Maria, i currently live and work in London as a bus driver, a town full of lots of Light pollution and light fingered ermm people, hence my two locations, my scope is currently set up at my understanding parents house in Norfolk and i will be trying to get up there as often as possible to get in some stargazing. oh and to see the parents of course.I was always more interested (i must admit) in space exploration and space travel and the science behind it rather than astronomy when i was younger so spent most of my youth satisfied with a small 1" refractor scope set up on my window sill which could show me the moon so i could spot the lunar landing sites.I drifted away for quite a while (about twenty years) before getting into quantum physics, that lead me onto astro physics and here i am now back into astronomy.After reading many reviews and poking around on here alot as a guest I recently took the plunge and bought a skywatcher skymax 127 (AZ) goto cassagrain, which i must say it still wont align properly but ill get there, along with some additional lenses and filters. I got my first views of jupiter and its moons two nights ago and it made me wonder how i managed with such small scope all those years ago and made the freezing cold feet worthwhile.I have over the course of this weekend been bribed by my folks into building an observatory to house the scope with room for further expansion as it has also re-kindled my 72 year old fathers love of the stars. he is partially sighted in one eye and completely blind in the other but can still see just enough to look through a scope and is loving every minute of it.As of this weekend i have gained an more of an appreciation for the nights sky, before it was just all equations and the maths of how everything works up there but after seeing Jupiter in all its wonder i forgot about the sciencey bit and its was good to just sit back, forget the formulas and marvel at the beauty of it all.This is the one thing i never realised about astronomy, I always thought it was done by lonely Scientists sitting on a hilltop somewhere in a large observatory and they didnt really get out much, but since i have gotten back into it i was amazed by how many people i know and have known for years who actually have scopes. even my father when i took the scope to set it up this weekend produced all his notes and drawings and astronomy books from over fifty years ago, this was all stuff i had never seen before and didn't even know he had.So thank you for letting me in on your little secret.I'm already planning my next scope and will try my hand at at some AP, and in the meantime i will be hopefully getting the observatory up and built.Oh and getting this one to align properly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael_E Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Hi MariaWelcome aboard. I too have just signed up today. You should see my welcome post also. Great to hear you have found your new hobby after all this time. And nice scope. You should get some great views of the planets and moon with that. Think you have also rekindled your Fathers interest so should be good fun together.Good luck with the observatory build. Should keep you a bit warmer. Have fun and clear skies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Spock Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Hi Maria, welcome to SGL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorningMajor Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Hi Maria and welcome aboard - ding ding! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nytecam Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Welcome Maria to SGL and London's light pollution...but we're not light fingered and would never take anyone for a ride ! Must be scary dark in Norfolk ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pig Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Hello & welcome Shaun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill57 Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 That is some introduction. Welcome to SGL.Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanjgreen Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Hi Maria, Welcome to the forum & good luck...Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesM Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Hi Marie and welcome to the forum. If you are wanting to build your own observatory, you might want to take a look at the Equipment Forum and in particular the "DIY Observatories" section for some great ideas and advice. Clear skies and enjoy the forumJames Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sologuitarist61 Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Hello Maria and welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Kick Drum Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Lovely intro.Welcome to the lounge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizibilder Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Hello Maria and welcome to SGL!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charon Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Hi from me too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight of Clear Skies Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Welcome to the forum. I'm also something of a 'commuting astronomer' - I live in Hertfordshire, but have access to some very good scopes in Cornwall. I've just ordered myself a Canon 1100D for constellation photography and general usage, and my next step is to look at the practicality of getting a small scope I can take in and out of my flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wookie1965 Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 A warm welcome to SGL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michigander Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Welcome to SGL, Maria!Dana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwilkey Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Hi Maria, loved your introduction, welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan g Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Hi Maria, good to have you on the forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Presland Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 hi welcome to SGL from Pete in Bedfordshire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nillchill Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Hello Maria and welcome to stargazers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronl Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Hi Maria welcome to the lounge,nice scope, let's hope for some more clear sky'sGood Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archaeology53 Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Hi, welcome to SGL.Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrodave Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 Hi Maria welcome to the lounge loved the intro good luck with setting up the obsy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesF Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 Welcome to SGLJames Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel lu Posted April 9, 2013 Share Posted April 9, 2013 That is really some introduction! Welcome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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