New learner from Spring 2014

[elrico]

I have found that now I have retired the only anxiety I get is CLOUD !!!

What has helped is when I can get out on a reasonable clear night, I set up and for at least 40 minutes I use the time to naked eye the circumpolar constellations and get to grips with distance between them by just looking and roughly working out how to jump from one to the other, I haven't quite mastered it as yet though but I will hopefully before too long, ŵhich in turn I have been informed will be very beneficial when I eventually get more involved with things like RA & DEC and 'Star Hopping'. I have been lucky with four of the planets so far , Saturn in particular was fantastic seeing the rings quite clearly for the first time.

I have also been blown away by the number of stars there are in just a small area of the Milky Way, I haven't a clue at this stage where the heck I was looking but it was awe inspiring to say the least.

I have: DOB 8" with right angle corrective 9x50 viewfinder, Skywatcher 25x70 bino and Zenith 10x50 bino, Astro Moon filter, Super 25 mm wide angle long eye relief, super 10mm,Plossl 6.3 mm, Barlow 2x

The 25mm wide angle is used most frequently, but so far I am happy with them all to be honest, I found the Red Dot finder very difficult to set up and use to be honest, also the supplied 9x50 straight viewfinder caused me to nearly dislocate my neck after a short while lol

[m37]

Good stuff, hope it continues to amaze!

Turn left at Orion might be worth a look?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Turn-Left-Orion-Hundreds-Telescope/dp/0521153972/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

[MG1962]

I would say you are ticking all the right boxes. From my days as a Dob owner I can feel your pain over straight through finderscopes

[Qualia]

Lovely post and thank you for sharing your insights and experiences, Elrico. I don't really have much I can offer but as MG1962 says, it looks as if everything is going just as it should be. The night sky is an overwhelming place but each time you are able to get out, you're building on your wealth enormously. As the nights become darker and colder, the treasures you will be able to acquire with your 8" will not even fit in the Bank of England  .