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Jan Palmer

By Jan Palmer
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Jan Palmer

Jan Palmer

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I'm Jan Palmer (Janice) and I've been into astronomy since the 1960's. I'm from the UK and am now approaching the age of 60 and retirement. That means I'll have more time to spend stargazing. :icon_biggrin:

The Apollo space program triggered my interest in space and astronomy - as it did to many kids back then. I remember staying up with the rest of the family watching our black and white TV set as the 'Eagle' lander touched down on Mare Tranquillitatis.

As I grew up I built my 6 inch reflecting telescope, grinding the primary mirror using instructions in a library book that I borrowed . That was during the 1970's, but I was not that impressed with the instruments final performance. So I bought a 'reasonable' 3 inch refractor telescope on an equatorial mount. The instrument was okay, but it was a bit wobbly on its wooden tripod when the wind blew. Motor drives were rare back then, and very expensive.

Everyone with even the slightest interest in astronomy of my age watched the late Patrick Moore's monthly TV programme called 'The Sky at Night'. It's not the same without him and he is sadly missed. But we have to move on, and I'm after new equipment. That's why I've joined Stargazers Lounge - to find out what's best these days.

Everything has changed for the better. I see all kinds of advanced and quite affordable telescopes. But all the advancements have left me with a steep catch-up to do. I hope this website will help to inform me of many new things about today's equipment! :happy5:

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi Janice and welcome to the forum. There is certainly plenty of choice out there regarding telescopes these days and we have the chinese to thank for that in making scopes with large apertures at affordable prices. Don't hesitate to post a question or two over on the equipment sections for some assistance on what out there, they're very friendly over there and you will receive lots of help. To that end it might be useful to let them know some idea on budget and the targets that you generally prefer to observe (planets, moon or deep sky e.g galaxies etc). Everyone here is keen to help so never hesitate to ask any question as the need arises - the only daft question is the one you didn't ask! :wink2: 

Clear skies for now and hope you enjoy your stay here

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Sirius Starwatcher

Sirius Starwatcher

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Hi Jan and welcome to SGL You are right in saying equipment and kit has moved on over the years and there is so much choice but, one comforting thought is that all your old friends and targets are still where you last saw them so hopefully if your memory's good (if not go to) you should be able to find them all again. Best wishes and welcome back to a great hobby.

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swag72

swag72

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Hi Janice and welcome to SGL - This is a great place, full friendly and helpful folks, so if you have any questions then do shout. The forum itself is packed full of information, so you can probably find much that you wonder about has already been answered :)

Look forward to seeing you around :)

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glowjet

glowjet

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Hi Janice and welcome to SGL, the members will certainly be pleased to help spend your money when it comes to choice of scopes. With your past experience though, I am sure it will not be long before you have reached a decision as to which aspect of observational Astronomy you want to follow, be it Planets, Moon, deep space etc, with the purchase of an appropriate scope to suit, enjoy the forum :) 

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Jan Palmer

Jan Palmer

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What an IMPRESSIVE welcome! I can see that the SGL is a really good place at which to pick fellow astronomers brains! :icon_biggrin:

If only we had this Internet technology back in the late 1960's and during the 1970's when I was really into this subject. Today's youngsters finding forums like this one are dead lucky. They have all the EXPERTISE of members from which to acquire valuable knowledge about all aspects of amateur astronomy. That's priceless. You can't get that at University. I'm a jealous almost 60 year-old! Still ... it's never too late to learn new things.

I'm discovering some rather interesting details about the Sky-Watcher 200P Go-To Dobsonian. 

Question: Why am I referred to as a Vacuum on this site? I expect it has something to do with one's activity. Pete, with nearly 20,000 posts is referred to as Hyper Giant. I bet it's hard to get bigger than that without exploding and ending up as a pulsar!

What a powerful community.

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Linda

Linda

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Hello Jan, welcome to the lounge.

The thing that has changed since the 60s are the telescopes, not so much the sky itself. And of course we know much more about the universe.

Lucky you who has become a pensioner and can spend time on your hobby. 

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