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First WOW! moment!

cmaxx

By cmaxx
in Getting Started With Observing

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cmaxx

cmaxx

Posted
Posted

Ok so having only just got my first ever telescope a few weeks ago as a birthday present and being sat out in my back garden getting to grips with it and learning my way around the sky and general star gazing. I had a great view of the moon from my easterly facing patio and focussed in on it and had my first really exciting moment just by seeing the shadowing across the craters and other surface markings! Hopefully I'll have many more of these moments!

I know it's fairly basic stuff, but thought I'd share!

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Uplooker

Uplooker

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Well done and congratulations on your introduction to this great hobby - long may it continue. Don't say "it's fairly basic stuff". Some people primarily only look at the moon. Everyone starts somewhere. You may find that the moon holds your interest for ages and then you might start thinking about observing globs, doubles, galaxies, nebulae or everything!

Onwards and upwards.

Ian

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Charic

Charic

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cmaxx..........everything up there can be a Wow! moment. Even everytime you look at the same thing. I dont get bored with it. And it will take me Years to learn and Study the Moon. Ive only been here a while, and Ive see  3 Planets, and I'm working circumpolar, as thats whats over head for me, being this far North! 

You dont say what telescope you have. Click my name, and check out some really basic Gallery images of the Moon taken with a Mobile phone and a DSLR. Maybe you can get some images too?

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bogdog

bogdog

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congratz

there is tons of stuff to observe on the moon alone,as said above its not basic,but a good introduction for beginners...its easy to find!

and by observing it you get to see the way it drifts out of vision and how fast (unless you are motorised) it moves

helps you get to grips with orientation of what lever moves what and where,best of luck with it long may it hold your interest

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trynda1701

trynda1701

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Congrats on that first WOW moment!

I had a similar moment looking at the Moon last night, the first look with my new Heritage 130P. Yet I've had my Celestron C8 for 24 years. But the quickness of setting up the 130P is an advantage, and the little scope showed the Moon beautifully! The Moon can be endlessly fascinating, and as it can get in the way of all other observations, you might as well study it!

Remember, Sir Patrick Moore was primarily a Lunar observer! So you're in good company! (Just watch out for us mad ones here in the Lounge ;) )

Mark

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Stargazer33

Stargazer33

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Hi cmaxx and welcome to SGL!

The first of MANY wow moments I am sure. Basic is good; basic is easy; basic is fun! Sometimes we forget about basic and end up getting disillusioned that all the technology isn't working for us. There is nothing bad about basic! :grin:

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sheldondave

sheldondave

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Hi CMAXX,

I first said WOW when I looked at the Moon about 30 years ago, and I still say WOW today. There will be many more WOW moments to come if you carry on observing, like your first view of Saturn or Jupiter or your first Star cluster. Just enjoy yourself and have fun.

Dave.

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greglloyd

greglloyd

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I remember that WOW moment too. I was 14 years old and had just been given a simple refractor and  the moon is obviously the first target. In the weeks afterwards, I decided (without knowledge of the sky) to point the scope at a bright star I could see  high in the western sky (didn't really know it then, but do now!) - to my amazement.... another WOW moment. I saw what looked like a mini first quarter moon in the small 50mm refractor. It was of course, Venus.

A simple sky atlas later (just bought the cheapest as I was only a little lad) and I was looking up at Cassiopeia / Cygnus / Andromeda / Perseus. The Double Cluster was an easy find, but M31 Andromeda Galaxy took some time since I was young. After that, I tried for some galaxies in Ursa Major, but remember just not being able to find them.

A 6" dob came in the post, and suddenly objects like the Ring Nebula and M13 were within my reach. And so the story continued from there.

Now, 24 years later I know the sky like the back of my hand and the aperture has increased to 12" and I've seen many objects in great detail. And so it continues......

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just_ed

just_ed

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The moon  taken in on its whole may seem basic, but it's a place with a geography and place names for mare and craters, and soon you'll be studying where they are and their details. You don't necessarilly have to go on to the next best thing.

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christhebrit

christhebrit

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Hey dude, I remember that WoW moment, it was awsome. Hopefully you did better than me at my first attempt.

I did the usual thing where you unpack the telescope and mount for the first time, set it up and I didn't read the instructions.

I still haven't read them but I imagine they state to allign the red dot finder before using it :-|

The second WoW I got was when realising there's a Nebula in Orion.

After doing some reading it seems everyone else but me knew (I know there's a trend in not reading alot, but I'm getting better at it).

I hope you have much more fun and great discoveries of your own, but it does come at a cost.

Since I started I have a selection of EPs, filters, a case to keep them, a second telescope, another mount, etc.

All in all though this is a great hobby, I also used my phone to take my profile picture.

I'll start figuring out how to use my digi cam with it and software etc., I just need to keep my eye from the EP to allow a camera there :-)

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RC4U

RC4U

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my first daytime moon was a couple days ago...i thought awsome...looks so much different in daytime...and it was in west sky so didnt move so fast...i was at home doing tax entrys and took a break so carried out scope {evolution 8" just got} and used it manually ....cant wait for first nite veiws of moon with this replacment for the 130slt

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rolpol

rolpol

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I've got to admit my first breathless moment was splitting Albireo, I only have a small scope and had dampened my expectations during my research before purchasing. Then the second moment was clapping eyes, (well, eye,) on my first dso, the Great Gobular Cluster.

I think most of my amazement was aroused by the fact I actually found it!

But it's the Moon that I keep coming back to, simply because of the emotional response to exploring this vast, dead, ageless landscape. It can be tremendously moving when, in the lonely early hours, you find a new piece of dramatic detail you've never seen before. I am now a complete lunophile, although my wife prefers the '-tic' suffix....

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reddoss

reddoss

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My first Wow moment was seeing Saturn through a 15 inch Newtonian (aged 11) at the Bristol Astro Soc Observatory,

My second Wow moment was having to pay for my first lot of adulthood Astro gear  (a 10 inch SW Newtonian, a power tank, some EPs, a Canon DSLR and an EQ6) 7 years ago  :smiley:

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