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just saying hello


Alan Davis

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I am fairly new to astronomy. I started getting interested because of a chap a few doors down from me who is always out in his front 
garden with his telescope. He let me have a look through it and I was gobsmacked by what I saw.

I am currently using a small telescope he dont use anymore. Its ok but i would like to get something better. I would like to start 
taking pictures but he said that is a dark art that will absorbe all my money and effort I can give it and still want more. He 
might be more convincing if he was not taking pictures most nights I see him out. :laugh:

He said I should have a look at this site to find out all about it and possibly join. So here I am. I wont be able to give much 
back to the forum for the advice I get but I can at least say hello.

"Hello"

Alan

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Hi Alan

Welcome to SGL. The answer to your question about imaging is passion. If you really can't stop yourself then nothing we say will stop you from getting the gear. If you just want to dabble. Why not pop around your neighbors house and see what he does and then you will know if it's for you. 

The most basic setup from a cheap point of view would be dslr and maybe a star adventurer tracker with a dslr and lens. 

Its not a dark art but lots to learn for sure and expensive. 

At any rate choose something that you will enjoy. 

Gerry

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Hi Alan, welcome to the wonderful world of SGL :icon_biggrin:

The chap down the road speaks the truth, it really can become expensive and there are plenty on here who will quite happily confirm this, 
it can however still be done on a limited budget, you just need to spend your money wisely, 

have a look through some of the threads on here this should give you some idea on costs, if it's what you really want to do, i would say go for it and have fun,

look forward to seeing your first image,

 

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As an imager I can verify the replies above, just don't spend any money until you get some good advice on the right thing to buy.  It's a rewarding hobby when everything goes right but there will be many nights of frustration as well. 

Carole 

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1 hour ago, Ben the Ignorant said:

Hi, Alan. Your neighbor is right about the cost of imaging in money and energy, better start visual only. But if you shop with strategy, the visual optics and mount can become an astrophoto rig; lots of imagers here will guide you. What kind of sky and scope do you have?

Hi, Ben. Thank you for your advice. My scope is a 80cm meade computerised scope, so just a cheapy. It gives some nice views, but 
they are not like the pictures my neighbour takes. He says that the mount is the mportant thing and i supose that will be good for 
visual as well.

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Thank you Gerry, JemC and Carole. It is good to see that you all seem to be singing from the same songsheet as each other and my 
neighbour. I was really impressed when he showed me a picture of a nebula that looks liek a squid. But he said I would be unlikely 
tos ee it with the streetlights around. But it seems strange that things like this are still being discovered by amateurs when 
there are such a lot of big telescopes aroudn.

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"Hello" to you, Alan, and welcome.

To take pictures of the night sky is a noble aim and when you start buying, I would agree that a good mount is all-important. But it is possible to take widefield shots with just your camera and a normal tripod. Go somewhere away from the streetlights, keep your exposures down to 15-20 seconds with a fairly short lens and you will get some lovely shots showing much more than you can see with the naked-eye. Have a look at this thread.

Don't be misled into how much you can see, though. I don't think anyone has ever actually "seen" the squid nebula. It is incredibly faint and requires very long exposures with specialized filters to capture it at all. But enjoy what you can see.

I suspect you meant to say that you have an 80 mm scope, not 80 cm? :icon_biggrin:

Thanks.

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On 18/11/2017 at 11:09, Demonperformer said:

"Hello" to you, Alan, and welcome.

To take pictures of the night sky is a noble aim and when you start buying, I would agree that a good mount is all-important. But it is possible to take widefield shots with just your camera and a normal tripod. Go somewhere away from the streetlights, keep your exposures down to 15-20 seconds with a fairly short lens and you will get some lovely shots showing much more than you can see with the naked-eye. Have a look at this thread.

Don't be misled into how much you can see, though. I don't think anyone has ever actually "seen" the squid nebula. It is incredibly faint and requires very long exposures with specialized filters to capture it at all. But enjoy what you can see.

I suspect you meant to say that you have an 80 mm scope, not 80 cm? :icon_biggrin:

Thanks.

Thank you for the link. Yes it is 80mm not 80cm.

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Hello and welcome SGL.... Yes astrophotography can be rewarding but it's true that it can send you bankrupt, and it's never good enough, you'll always want to get better and better of the same objects....

Your neighbor might be out taking pictures all the time since exposure time is very demanding and my imaging to success rate is about 30%... but its those night where you get that image or that view that stay with you, not the frustration of the failures.

 

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