Noob is an under statement

[johngccfc]

A registration question on a forum asked "name the fourth planet from the sun' and it took a few stabs ...

Anyway, I'm here.

A few nights ago I looked through a 50x (or 60x) spotter scope and saw the moon. I decided that I need to be able to see more than that so have spent a couple of days swatting and reading about different type of telescopes etc.

And ultimately found my way here.

So 'Hi' all.

[Rockrae78]

Hi, and 'Welcome'!

I'm sure you'll find lots of expertise to help you on your way!

Unfortunately, it won't be from me.... When I got my first scope, I couldn't even take the cap of the eyepiece!

Clear skies...

[estwing]

welcome along....

[DirkSteele]

Welcome to the SGL.

A question is only easy if you know the answer. I am sure after a few months as a member of this forum and will take something far more tricky to trip you up.

Clear skies,

[ronl]

Hi and welcome to the lounge,

and welcome to this great hobby,

making your mind up as to which

scope you get is the first hurdle.

Good Luck and Clear Sky's

[Pete Presland]

Hi welcome to SGL from Pete in Bedfordshire

[jason.p]

Welcome John. Everyone on here has had to start somewhere so don't be worried about asking questions. Don't rush into buying your first scope. Try and decide where your main interests lie and ask for advice.

(by the way, what is the fourth planet from the sun )

Good luck

Jason

[paul schofield]

Hi John and welcome along. When I started out, I got almost as much fun using the forum as I did looking at the night sky, weather permitting. This is a great place for any advice you will need along the way.

[Ant]

Welcome to SGL.

There are some scopes that are better suited to lunar, and they can be fairly inexpensive.

But as has been said, have a think about budget and the whole range of astronomy objects that you would like to see and post up the specifics - we can try and narrow down the options for you.

Cheers

Ant

[Wolfgangwand]

Hi & Welcome from me too.

[fondofchips]

Hi & welcome to SGL.

[Mattscar]

Your search lead you to the right place. I did the same thing and havn't regretted it.

Welcome and Clear Skies.

Matt

[Charon]

Welcome aboard.

[Avocette]

Hi John - welcome to the SGL - the moon's pretty cool if you can see is at the moment!

[JamesF]

Welcome to SGL

James

[wookie1965]

A warm welcome to SGL

[glowjet]

Hi John and welcome to SGL

[Luke]

Welcome to SGL! My first proper look at craters on the moon got me hooked.

[HIP3802]

Hi, John, and welcome to SGL! if you haven't done already, I can recommend downloading the free planetarium 'Stellarium' (available here: http://stellarium.org/) which is customisable to your location, and will show you not only what is in the sky but will help you locate it.

Martin

[Schorhr]

Hello John, welcome to the forum!

I second Martin's suggestion, Stellarium is a great program and great for sunny days or cloudy nights :-)

There are all kind of nice starter telescopes from 20gbp to 130gbp, that will show a lot of details on the moon but also deepsky objects and planets.

Have fun with your new hobby and always remember:

Don't buy a random telescope from ebay or such before checking here first ;-)

Ciao!

[aanickmac]

Hello and welcome. This is the place for advice and I'm sure you'll get lots of it. Plenty of great people to assist in all you need.

[x6gas]

Welcome to SGL!

[avtaram]

Hi and welcome to sgl.

There are some very knowledgeable people on this site, Im not one of them I hasten to add.

[completenovice]

Hi, like you I'm a complete noob with all this but I got my first 'scope and armed with GoogleSky and the book 'Turn Left at Orion' I'm slowly going from 'What's that???' to 'Ohhhh, that's Vega - Sweeeeet!'

There is a fairly steep learning curve but it's fun and interesting and even in light polluted areas there's lots to see.

Ask lots of questions - between all the experts on here, you'll have your answer.

[MorningMajor]

Hi and welcome from me too!