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Glad I found this place

BeerMe

By BeerMe
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BeerMe

BeerMe

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Had a quick look around and knew I had found the place that can help me get started with Astronomy.

I'm a 40 something male from Lanarkshire in Scotland and I've been interested in the planets and astronomy for maybe the past 10 years.  Up until now I've only ever kept my interest at watching documentaries as I thought telescopes were far too expensive, but I've realised that's not the case and I'm going to take the leap and buy one within a few weeks.  Probably something cheap (£70-90) to get me started.

Are there any public observatories?  Maybe if I could get the wife out to one and let her do some stargazing of her own, the budget might just increase a bit haha!

Looking forward to learning and sharing with you all :)

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ronin

ronin

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Click the banner at the top (FLO) and check out their beginner scopes, they have a simple 70mm refractor, something like £75 last I was aware.

Fairly straightforward and fully manual - you find and keep everything in view but it will show you a fair amount of objects.

Only hiccup may be Saturn when it appears, I would expect the scope to deliver 100x withing reason but Saturn needs a little more (I  think) and 120x would be better.

The Evostar 90 refractor would be an option but as you will guess more cost, about double. The 70mm may be better at the end of the day as it is smaller lighter and so more chance of getting used more. Just be aware of Saturn, it tends to be one of the "must see" object, and the Evo 90 with an 8mm eyepiece should do it.

Will warn you that a scope is the start, many of us find that the scope costs less then the collection of eyepieces we end up with to look through the scope. If you get a scope and continue then I suggest that 4 eyepieces will be the minimum. Lower power, medium power and 2 at the high power end.

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BeerMe

BeerMe

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Thanks for the welcomes everyone, much appreciated.

Hi 'BeerMe' and welcome to SGL.

Take a look at FLO, SGL sponsor. Just click on the banner at the top of the page and have a look at the 'Beginners Telescope Guide.
Something for every budget.

Clear skies.

Thanks for pointing that out, I tend to ignore adverts on websites but they look very competitive with their prices.  I'll definitely keep them in mind when the time comes!

Click the banner at the top (FLO) and check out their beginner scopes, they have a simple 70mm refractor, something like £75 last I was aware.

Fairly straightforward and fully manual - you find and keep everything in view but it will show you a fair amount of objects.

Only hiccup may be Saturn when it appears, I would expect the scope to deliver 100x withing reason but Saturn needs a little more (I  think) and 120x would be better.

The Evostar 90 refractor would be an option but as you will guess more cost, about double. The 70mm may be better at the end of the day as it is smaller lighter and so more chance of getting used more. Just be aware of Saturn, it tends to be one of the "must see" object, and the Evo 90 with an 8mm eyepiece should do it.

Will warn you that a scope is the start, many of us find that the scope costs less then the collection of eyepieces we end up with to look through the scope. If you get a scope and continue then I suggest that 4 eyepieces will be the minimum. Lower power, medium power and 2 at the high power end.

Thanks for the info also ronin.  I'm gonna have a good look around before I get my feet wet and I have a feeling it might take me longer than I thought before I know what I want to go for.

Hi and welcome to SGL - Glad that you found us 

Looks like this is close to you ..... May help you in a budgetary increase :D

Look forward to seeing you around :)

Thanks swag!!  Great find, my wife is from the area and she had no idea we had an observatory close by lol.  I also found the Astronomical Society of Glasgow and they have an observing evening coming up in a few weeks so it looks like I have plenty of opportunities to do some observing (and asking a ton of questions) before I invest money in to it.

Thanks for all your help everyone.

p.s  I've been using BeerMe as an online nom de plume for nigh on 15 years.  If the shoe fits, and all that....;)

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Physopto

Physopto

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Hi BeerMe,

There are lots of scopes at all sorts of prices. Just remember though. The best scope will always be the one you use, not the fact nay one that takes too long to put up o r stays in a cupboard.

Welcome to the mad house.

Derek

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geministar

geministar

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Hi - 

I started (not long ago) with a Meade Infinity 70 (70mm aperture, 700mm focal length) from Curry's.  It was easy to use, and got me fired up after seeing Venus, Jupiter, a nebula, and some clusters.  As a result I rapidly moved up to a Celestron Nexstar 127 MCT.  You soon get into the jargon!  As someone else pointed out, the 'scope is just the start.  Very soon you'll want more EPs to get your magnification or field of vision up.  Santa brought me a nice new eyepiece!

Enjoy!

Doug.

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BeerMe

BeerMe

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Thanks once again everyone for the welcomes :)

I've been having a good browse through everything and have learned a ton already, and thanks to you guys found some great local resources!  I'll be asking a ton of questions in the coming weeks and months being a complete newcomer to this technology, so please be gentle and bear with me ;)

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