Jump to content

Back into observing, new to this forum.

spartinix

By spartinix
in Welcome

Recommended Posts

spartinix

spartinix

Posted
Posted

Hi all,

I've spent a big part of my childhood under the skies. It began with finding a pair of 20x50 binoculars from my dad, at the age of 10. When I pointed them up at that group of stars I had noticed now and then, I knew right away this was only the beginning of some big adventure. Not long after, the group of stars got a name.. I learned they were called the Pleiades, and they belonged to the constellation named Taurus the Bull.. my sign.

After having used a 2.4" refractor for a while I bought an 8" Meade MTS SN8 f4 Schmidt-Newton. That was a real game changer. I enjoyed sweeping the Milky Way and looking at galaxy clusters. Later however, life caught up on me. Work, relationships, children, and living in a bright-lights city didn't help. I got real fascinated by the MER Mars mission and I began processing Nasa/JPL imagery of Mars and for a few years, I did nothing in my free time but tweaking and mosaicing pictures of Mars taken by the Spirit and Opportunity rovers. I used to have all that on a website called awalkonmars.com until family life demanded more time. In 2010 my wife died of cancer and for a few years I tried to find the way back to feeling happy. Our daughters were coping better than expected. I started a new relationship and we now have two more wonderful kids; a boy and a girl. Happy as we were as a big warm family, I needed one more thing.. skies. Not just to observe, but to wake up and see the sky, the sunrise, the horizon.

So, with the support of the family, I decided it was time to make a dream come true; to move to the south of Europe, more particularly Crete, where the skies are still pure, and pitch black.

Now I live here for half a year. The biggest part of the family is coming over next year. I brought a 14" sct over here, and put it on a wooden fork mount I made. Next week comes the motor drive; a dobdriver II. Next summer I'll have a german equatorial mount that I can optimize over the coming years. But now... It's coming back. I never truly realised the 'hole' in my soul for all these years. Not being able to observe...

In my first months here I gazed at Messier's in the Saggitarius & Scorpius Milky Way with my 20x80 binoculars... woaw.

In these last weeks I visited a few 'old friends' with the 14 incher.. The Orion Nebula, the Flame Nebula, M13, M104, .. and the Moon! Woaw. The amount of detail vs my old 8" telescope. It's overwhelming..

As a photographer, I look forward to getting into some more serious astrophotography as well.

So I came here.. I spent a lot of time lately re-educating myself on a number of things,  from astrophysical things to optics and accessories and observing, and a lot of google searches led me to this forum. I've enjoyed reading a lot of your experiences here, and learning from discussions on materials used, and I'm sure that I'm in 'one' of the right places :)

post-48534-0-97071600-1450767986.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites
spartinix

spartinix

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks baggywrinkle ! Yes.. I come from Belgium so I know..  coming here was the first time for me to look at some jewels in the Archer and the Scorpion.

Regarding the 'scope. Yes, I'm still getting used to the size really. I'm thinking about a permanent shed. I planned on keeping it in the house but from the balcony I cannot see the whole sky either so..

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JamesM

JamesM

Posted
Posted

Hi and welcome to the forum. Nice bit of kit that you have there and I am sure it's got plenty more to show you for sure and look forward to reading your observation reports as they come in.

Clear skies and hope you enjoy your stay here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
spartinix

spartinix

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hi Spartinix and welcome to SGL, love the mount for your 14", I`ll bet your skies are a wonder, something we can only dream about here, as the rain batters on the windows :mad:  enjoy the forum :)

Thanks. I really wanted a massive fork mount. Next week I will be working on it again, to add motors and close up some parts. The skies here are indeed amazing. Yet, there are so many clear nights here I had forgotten how many nights are lit up by the Moon... however I'm rediscovering the Moon too so I'm not really complaining.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.