PaulCH Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 well i dont really like the term "newbie" but a newby i am!Seems to me one can get lost for hours on this site - beats working anyhow!everything i have read is interesting and knowledgable and i am trying to soak it all up!I live in Orpington, South East London, I dont have a good garden for viewing - tall trees right along the back - but I do have some common ground to the side, there are a number of street lights and of course the cars, and all of this has put me off in the past. But this year, thanks to stargazing live, i thought it is now or never! A few visits to several of the local specialist stores gave me hope that it was possible and so I have taken the plunge.I have started off with a good pair of 10 x 50 binos, but that rather frustrated me, maybe it is just that i am getting old, but i couldnt control the wobble! I bought an attachment for my camera tripod, but find myself kneeling underneath it looking straight up, any suggestion welcome.Me being me I wanted to get going and after great help and advice from the guys at the Widescreen Centre, I am now the proud owner of a Celestron 127 SLT, of course, it would be nice if it stopped raining.......Not sure what i am going to be interested in, I can see the moon, jupiter, venus and most of the constellations with the naked eye, I know i want to do some solar work, but need to build my filter first. I can get to some fairly dark sky sites within 15 minutes but am slightly worried about going somewhere on my own, not that I am afraid of the dark! I intend to join the local society and hopefull get some idea of some sites from them.Whilst I am looking forward to the sites, I know that I will want to know a bit of the science behind it. To this end I have signed myself up to do the GCSE in Astronomy.Finally, I thought that the thread posted on the forum about not having high expectations of being able to see "Hubble" type images and to take things slowly is very good advice, even though I feel like a kid in a sweet shop at the moment!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippie Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hi Welcome to SGL Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swag72 Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hi and welcome to SGL - Glad that you found us and also that you are enjoying your new hobby so much Look forward to seeing you around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wookie1965 Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 A warm welcome to SGL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeWilky Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hi and welcome to SGL Sadly light polution is a pain but its the clouds that are killing us at the moment!Luckily you have chosen a very capable scope that is also easily portable to dark skies and if they are only 15 mins way then even better!If you can find and join a local Astronomy club then you could probably find a viewing partner so you dont have to worry about being out alone with a few hundred pounds worth of equipment.Jupiter is nice to look at with the naked eye but once you see it through your scope it will change your life!As for the Solar work please be very careful in considering your filters and head on over to the solar viewing and imaging section of this site for help and advice on that matter.Also you should download the free software Stellarium from here as its fantastic for helping you learn the night sky http://www.stellarium.org/en_GB/If you have a smart phone or tablet there are many very nice astronomy apps available that will also help you Welcome again and hope you get sorted!Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petergc Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 hello and welcome. Enjoy your stay hope to see you asking lots of questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuben Elgenubi Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hi Paul, welcome to SGL and to astronomy Enjoy doing your GCSE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michigander Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Welcome to SGL, Paul!Dana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawksmoor Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hi Paul and welcome to SGL from East Anglia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avtaram Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hello Paul, welcome to SGL.Avtar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charon Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Welcome aboard Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valvenus Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hi paul welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesM Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hi Paul and welcome to the forumClear skiesJames Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.h.f.wilkinson Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Welcome to SGL, Paul! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sologuitarist61 Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hello Paul, welcome to the forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pig Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hello & welcome Shaun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizibilder Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hello Paul and welcome to SGL!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesF Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Eeee, I remember the days when Orpington was in Kent, not part of London Welcome to SGL.James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight of Clear Skies Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Welcome to the forum. I've never been able to get on with binoculars either, your scope will be a big step up - hope you enjoy it. Getting involved with a local society is definitely a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Green Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hi welcome to the SGL Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
todd8137 Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hi and welcome to Sgl from me enjoy Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronl Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hi and welcome to the loungeEnjoy!Good Luck and Clear Sky's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingergeek Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hi there and welcome to SGL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfgangwand Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hi & Welcome from me too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Spock Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hi Paul, welcome to SGL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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