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Hello from NY, US

jaccord

By jaccord
in Welcome

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jaccord

jaccord

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Posted

Hello.

I'm a casual astronomy nut, and have been for about 14 years. I had an interest long before I got my first scope 14 years ago, a Meade ETX 70. It was a great introduction to the hobby - portable, easy to use, and most importantly, it gave me my first views of the objects of my affection: the planets. I can still recall being stunned when I gazed upon Jupiter, and then Saturn. That thrill returns nearly every time I see them. I used that little guy back in 2003(?) for the Mars event, and recall seeing the polar ice cap with it. Ah, memories.

A few years later I bought myself a 10 inch Dobsonian, me being a purely visual hobbyist. While not readily portable, it was powerful enough to compensate for the poor lighting conditions in the NY metro area, though on one memorable trip down south I took it with me and was again stunned by the detail it revealed in some deep sky objects. I vividly recall some star clusters actually looking like I'd heard them described - as diamonds spread out on black velvet.

Fast forward a few years to now, and I've just purchased my first SCT, a Celestron 6 SE. It's of course not quite the visual equal to the Dob, but it's far easier to tote about, and the GoTo features are a very nice addition. Since the Dob days, I've also upgraded my viewing site, and now have a weekend place in the country about 120 miles from the city, so skies are much better. My only challenge now is to resist the urge to sink a concrete pier into the yard to use as a mount.

I've just spent my first weekend with the new scope, and have been Googling things furiously as I've gotten things going. This site keeps coming up in the search results with excellent advice and commentary, so joining was a no brainer.

Thanks for being such a knowledgeable and helpful community. Looking forward to contributing as well.

Clear skies,

Jaccord

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