Ben Forrester Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Hi everyone,My name is Ben and i live in Stoke on Trent.I have always been fascinated with astronomy and have wished for many years to own a telescope, finally i now have one :-)This is my first telescope, the Skywatcher Explorer 130M F/900 (Motorised)Tonight was my first night using it and i managed to see some stars, it was mainly about getting a feel for the telescope itself, which for a beginner like me seems very user friendlyId love to hear any feedback about other members views on this telescope, hopefully i have picked a nice telescope for a new starterI have downloaded Stellarium to give me some guidance about where stars / planets are located, got the Philips Stargazing 2015 book tooTheres so much i want to see out there, but 1 step at a time and all that :-)ThanksBen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Spock Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Hi Ben, welcome to SGL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkJ44 Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Hi Ben and welcome toSGL from down underCheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laudropb Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Hello Ben and a warm welcome to the SGL . I am sure you will enjoy your new scope and many great nights lie ahead of you. A book that is always recommended to beginners is Turn Left at Orion. It will give you not only a good set of targets to search for, but also what you can expect to see when you find them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Presland Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Hi welcome to SGL from Pete in Bedfordshire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swag72 Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Hi Ben and welcome to SGL - Looks like you have got of to a flying start ....... well done Look forward to seeing you around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwilkey Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Hi Ben, a warm welcome from me too, a nice scope you have there, and very popular with members here. Clear skies and enjoy your new hobby! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sologuitarist61 Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Hello Ben and welcome to SGL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floater Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Welcome. Have fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveA Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Hi Ben...Welcome to the lounge.I think you are on the right track! Taking things one step at a time, learn your way around and you will get a lot more satisfaction than just trying to see everything in one go.Have fun..and of course.....clear skies!Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveA Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I meant to say...With an Equatorial mount it's worth investing some time and effort in learning how to polar align the mount. I don't think you have a polar scope in that mount so it makes things slightly tricky. Having said that there are techniques you can use to achieve this without a polar scope. It can be a bit time consuming and frustrating at first, but it's a technique worth learning, it will ultimately make your observing sessions much more fruitful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippie Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Welcome to SGL Ben . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtreemchaos Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 hi mate and welcome from south wales, nice scope you have got, you cannot go wrong with a skywatcher.all the best and i wish you clear skys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterCPC Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Hi Ben and welcome.Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vox45 Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Hello Ben and welcome to the forum Clear skies ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Lloyd Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Hi and welcome Ben. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glowjet Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Hi Ben and welcome to SGL, hope you derive a lot of pleasure from your new scope and the forum. Very wise to take things one step at a time, that way you will absorb more about your scope, its workings and the night sky in general. Supressing the initial thrill of wanting to try everything at once, requires a little patience, enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pondus Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Hello Ben and welcome from Norway .Rune Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michigander Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Welcome to SGL, Ben!Dana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Forrester Posted April 15, 2015 Author Share Posted April 15, 2015 Thanks everyone for such a warm welcome :-)I look forward to sharing my experience with you all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damnut Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Hi Ben,Welcome to SGL, thats a great scope to start off with. Use stellarium and the starguide to find easy objects at first. For some of the fainter objects you may only see a grey smudge!.. For what yu may expect check out these links, just plug your scope and eyepiece data in the right places ;--http://www.12dstring.me.uk/fov.htm (remember to switch to visual view)http://www.stargazing.net/naa/scopemath.htmMessier objects :- http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-messier-1to10.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesM Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Hi Ben and welcome to the forumClear skies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Forrester Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share Posted April 16, 2015 Hi Ben,Welcome to SGL, thats a great scope to start off with. Use stellarium and the starguide to find easy objects at first. For some of the fainter objects you may only see a grey smudge!.. For what yu may expect check out these links, just plug your scope and eyepiece data in the right places ;--http://www.12dstring.me.uk/fov.htm (remember to switch to visual view)http://www.stargazing.net/naa/scopemath.htmMessier objects :- http://www.seasky.org/astronomy/astronomy-messier-1to10.htmlHi Damian,Wow what a set of very useful tools :-)Many ThanksBen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damnut Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Hi Ben,HTH, plenty of excellent on line resources if you search, especially helpful if you are starting out and do not know what to expect to see at the eyepiece. .Drop me a pm if you need some info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizibilder Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Hello Ben and welcome to SGL!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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