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Am i too old to start?


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Just starting at 52 - wish I'd done something serious about it at your age - I had a camera with a long lens and teleconverter, but I only once took a shot of the night sky (Cassieopia, and it worked too, but I never followed it up!)

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Like others I was honestly expecting you to say you are 70-80 years old, even then it's never too late. I'm in my mid twenties and I had my first telescope less than a year ago, it truly is a very rewarding hobby. Good luck to you and clear skies!

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If im not mistaken coastliner, that's lulubelle on your profile picture! Floyd fan at all?

Aldebaran - 'fraid so, since the very early days. Always been fascinated by space, infinity.  In 1971 mate in 6th form played me "Relics", first listen of "Interstellar Overdrive" and I was hooked. (Yes, you younger ones, we had figured out how to record sound that far back!). Then "Astronomie Dominie" came along: "Jupiter and Saturn, Oberon, Miranda and Titania. Neptune, Titan, stars can frighten ...." etc. and Floyd have never let go.

Sorry for the off-topic all, but it doesn't look as though we are going to get a response from the OP!

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It's great to see such an active forum, certainly didn't expect that. I went through each and every post and it made me realized how distorted my belief was. And im honestly sorry if i offended anyone. Thank you so much for all the advice.

I think im going to start by learning star mapping with naked eye. A couple of months later i will buy a beginners telescope. If there's a better way to start, please let me know. Thanks.

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Well, SilentLee is certainly living up to his (?) name.

Three pages of replies and he (?) still has only 1 post.

I smell a Troll.

Hi Dave,

I'm not a troll. I'm sorry i made you feel that way.

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It's great to see such an active forum, certainly didn't expect that. I went through each and every post and it made me realized how distorted my belief was. And im honestly sorry if i offended anyone. Thank you so much for all the advice.

I think im going to start by learning star mapping with naked eye. A couple of months later i will buy a beginners telescope. If there's a better way to start, please let me know. Thanks.

That sounds like a very sensible way to start. You might want to think about a pair of low power binoculars to help you start to see a little more than is possible with the naked eye. The Orion Nebula and Pleiades are great targets to start with binoculars, as s the Moon.

Good luck :wink:

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There is a lot to be said about starting out with a pair of bins and maybe a planisphere or even a copy of Turn Left At Orion. It will give you a very good grounding in the skill of being able to find your way around the night sky even just with the naked eye. Its my personal belief that everybody who is into astronomy should be able and comfortable to look up at the night sky on any clear night and be able to spot 2-3 of the constellations in the sky at any time of the year. If you can spot a few other markers such as clusters,asterisms, thats even better.

However a person chooses to do astronomy is great. Its about enjoyment. 

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Hi Dave,

I'm not a troll. I'm sorry i made you feel that way.

In that case I am sure we would all love to hear your thoughts about all this great comment and advice...

What are you thinking you might do now?

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Hi Dave,

I'm not a troll. I'm sorry i made you feel that way.

OK, sorry I doubted you.

Welcome to the forum and a life-long hobby that only gets better.

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I've always been fascinated by the night sky. Eversince i can remeber, i used to go out in the night and just gaze deep into the infinite universe.

As a huge night owl myself, i find extreme happiness just by being out in the night, sometimes it's just a walk in the street, staring at faintly lit skyscrapers, but nothing makes me happier than the night sky.

I was involved in a couple of astronomy clubs as a kid but they weren't very active. I still remember this one observing camp i attended during school but i would give anything to go back, the ambiance that i experienced, nothing can come close.

I'm 25 now and i want to start again, not just stare into the deep sky, do it with a knowledge that i can pass on to someone else someday. But sometimes i feel too anxious because i feel like i'm too old to start, and that i wont have enough time.

You think you're too old at 25?  You life's kust beginning!

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Hi Lee,

If you can get Collins Nature Guides Night Sky by Storm Dunlop, it has monthly star charts, moon maps and lists of things to see aimed at someone using only naked eye and binoculars, including planet finding charts.

One of the suppliers at right on here should help you track it down.

The photos aren't up to much, but the charts helped me find my way around for a year until I got a scope.

Neil

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I started in February at the youngish age of 59 after years of looking at the night sky and wondering, now I have taken that first step into the world of astronomy and if you do have any questions there are plenty of knowledgeable people on this site to help you along the way. welcome to SGL

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at least, at 25 you have plenty of years to earn the money this hobby seems to need, new scope, 2nd mount, more eye pieces, and then wait till the astro photography bug bites, yes definitely never too old, go for it and enjoy this incredible hobby,  

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Jump in with both feet. I picked it up aged 40. There's something for everyone in astronomy: cosmology theory, taking photos through a telescope, binocular observing, star lore, space exploration technology, arguing on this forum(!) - all sorts. Just check out the various treads on this forum.

Get a copy of Astronomy Now from your local newsagents and get stuck in!

Go on, you know you want to....

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Most of us here are so old that the Hubble Space Telescope can still see us being born in a distant part of the universe.

At 25 you are but a glint in the eye of a planetary nebula - welcome to SGL and the wonderful world of astronomy :wink:

My mom's uhh, favorite joke, is when I ask her, "So exactly how loud was the Big Bang?". I usually ask around her birthdays. 

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Aldebaran - 'fraid so, since the very early days. Always been fascinated by space, infinity.  In 1971 mate in 6th form played me "Relics", first listen of "Interstellar Overdrive" and I was hooked. (Yes, you younger ones, we had figured out how to record sound that far back!). Then "Astronomie Dominie" came along: "Jupiter and Saturn, Oberon, Miranda and Titania. Neptune, Titan, stars can frighten ...." etc. and Floyd have never let go.

Sorry for the off-topic all, but it doesn't look as though we are going to get a response from the OP!

Piper is still perhaps one of my favorite albums with Dark Side absolutely being my favorite album. I mean I've listened to Pink Floyd to death but I'll still play those 2 on a fairly consistent basis. Needless to say I definitely recognized that cow. Nowadays I don't listen to much Floyd but they were my favorite for many years, and I especially like when people know the early stuff (besides just knowing the dreaded 'Wall', don't get me started). 

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