Hi from Padiham

[John2503]

Hi all, the wife and I are total novices at star gazing

In our late 30,s have always had a bit of an interest in the subject.

I just bought my wife a celestron nexstar slt130 for Christmas with 9mm and 25mm eyepiece

Aware we might have to add and upgrade these at some point

I hope the kit is a good starting point

Keen to get out and view the night sky

Any advice and tips are very welcome

As at the moment we seem to be just muddling along

Living in Lancashire Im hoping there are some good spots to set up

Many thanks for reading and happy new year everyone

[mister_wavey]

Clear skies to you both!

[Pondus]

Heya John. Happy new year and a warm welcome from cloudy Norway .

Rune

[Uplooker]

Hi John & wife,

Welcome to SGL, I am sure you will both have a ball with that new scope.

Clear skies,

Ian

[jason.p]

Welcome John, and congrats on new scope. Don't hesitate to ask anything, there's always someone only too willing to help. I would thoroughly recommend you download "Stellarium". It's free, and an invaluable aid to finding your way around the night sky.

Good luck and clear skies

Jason

[Mr Spock]

Hi John, welcome to SGL

[HIP3802]

Hi John, and a warm welcome to SGL to both you and your wife! I'm just up the road from you - east of Nelson. That's a nice starter scope you have there, and a great Christmas present!  Although it is a fully automated scope you might want also to download a free planetarium software "Stellarium". This will also give you a realistic view of what you can expect to see through your eyepiece (Downloadable here: http://stellarium.org/en_GB). In Padiham you are also lucky in that you are never far from the countryside and some darker skies - especially around Pendle (try the car park at Barley for starters).  I'm sure you are going to have fun with your scope.

Martin

[TheNewEvax]

John,

     You should be well on your way with that scope.  I have the Celestron 130eq which is essentially the same scope minus the goto mount and was able to find good views of Orion's Nebula from the light-tainted suburbs near Washington, DC.  Happy hunting and hope you find some clear skies.

-TheNewEvax

Maryland, USA

[Pete Presland]

Hi welcome to SGL from Pete in Bedfordshire

[swag72]

Hi and welcome to SGL - Glad that you found us and hope that you enjoy your time here.

Look forward to seeing you around

[PeterCPC]

Hi and welcome.

Peter

[daiwelly]

Hi and welcome to SGL stellarium is a good download well worth having also I would recommend "Turn left at Orion" and I would recommend reading this its a extremely good read

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/196278-what-can-i-expect-to-see/

[Peter Drew]

Hello John. Come along and visit us sometime, I'm sure we can be of help to progress your astronomical interest.

[hippie]

Welcome to SGL John  .

[mariosi]

Hello and welcome John from Nicosia.

Clear Skies

Marios

[mikeyrea]

Hi John & welcome

This is a great starting point indeed

Hope you get some clear sky

[michigander]

Welcome to SGL, John!

Dana

[GaryCH]

Hi John and Wife, welcome to SGL:)

[Vox45]

Hello John & wife ! Welcome to the forum

Clear skies

[glowjet]

Hi John and welcome to SGL to both you and your wife. Get used to your scope first, before considering such as a Barlow, better quality eye pieces would be a better move, and advice on this placed in the Beginner equipment help and advise section, should bring forth some helpful advice from similar scope owners. Both of you enjoy your journey into the world of Astronomy 

[JamesM]

Hi John and welcome to the forum.

Clear skies

[John2503]

Many thanks everybody for such a warm welcome

The weather has been a bit grim recently so not had much chance to get out

Have taken some advice to lern the sky at night first and learn to navigate with binoculars. Will be trying this at weekend fingers crossed

And then hopefully on with getting some amazing views

Thanks all again for a warm welcome

[Bizibilder]

Hello John and welcome to SGL!!

[Charon]

Welcome aboard.

[JC748S]

Hi John and welcome to both. Enjoy the skies.