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Introduction From the East Riding

solwisesteve

By solwisesteve
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solwisesteve

solwisesteve

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Hello and an intro :-)

Right... so trying to get back into astronomy after a 40 year hiatus!

I was quite into this hobby in my mid teens but various house moves and uni. tended to put a stop to it and my 4.5" Newtonian purchased with my hard earned summer job money went into the loft. Anyway I saw an advert for a Celestron GoTo scope back in Jan and decided I'd like to dip my feet in again and give it a whirl. I missed the aforementioned scope for sale but my interest was piqued so in Feb this year I purchased a new 6SE plus some accessories from FLO; I reckoned this would do as a starter scope and, if my enthusiasm grew, then see about something better next year. Anyway that was 2 months ago and in all that time I've had a total of three hours (one night) viewing.... every single night has been cloudy, in fact more than once I've considered giving it up as a bad job :-( But in some ways that single viewing session was a big learner and has caused me to reassess my equipment and planning e.g. a GPS module was purchased after lots of struggling trying to get the time exactly right. It's also caused me to change other factors like cabling of the setup, mains supplies, lighting, etc.... Over that one 3 hour session I didn't actually get much 'through-the-scope' action but I've learnt a lot so my next foray should be a lot more productive (Clear Outside is saying next Tuesday and Wednesday nights are clear!).

Anyway just thought I do a quick intro.

tbh I did sign up to one of the larger 'other' forums but the very high proportion of US members and posts made me feel a little isolated - a good bunch of members but very US-centric.

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Ande

Ande

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From one newbie to another - Hi Steve

Like you, my purchase timing hasn’t been great.  We seem to have gone through the longest period of poor viewing weather.  I have managed a few short sessions, but I’ve just ditched the whole watching the weather forecast thing in favour of actually sticking my head outside every half hour or so.  I’ve been putting my scope outside every evening that has at least looked like it might stay dry, to cool down. This way I’ve managed to grab a few unforecasted breaks in the clouds. Far from ideal, but beggars and all that......  I hope you get some decent viewing soon ?

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solwisesteve

solwisesteve

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Just now, Ande said:

From one newbie to another - Hi Steve

Like you, my purchase timing hasn’t been great.  We seem to have gone through the longest period of poor viewing weather.  I have managed a few short sessions, but I’ve just ditched the whole watching the weather forecast thing in favour of actually sticking my head outside every half hour or so.  I’ve been putting my scope outside every evening that has at least looked like it might stay dry, to cool down. This way I’ve managed to grab a few unforecasted breaks in the clouds. Far from ideal, but beggars and all that......  I hope you get some decent viewing soon ?

Not sure if this is a good or bad thing but I'm tending to find the weeks of zero viewing have had an impact on my wallet! Each time I look at the weather I feel compelled to go on line and purchase some other accessory ;-)

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Demonperformer

Demonperformer

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Hi, Steve, and welcome to SGL.

The 6SE is a great beginner's scope - I had one for several years before upsizing to its big brother. It does have its limitations, but one of the things you quickly learn is that there is no 'perfect for everything' model - if there were, we'd all be using it! When you do get some clear skies, you will have some great evenings entertainment in store.

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solwisesteve

solwisesteve

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1 minute ago, Peco4321 said:

Hi and welcome, again from another East Ridian!!  I'm in Beverley and the weather had been lousy for what seems like all 2018 so far. 

Lets be optimistic for some dlear East Yorkshire skies. 

I've been avidly watching 'Clear Outside' for the last few days; checking every hour! It's now saying Monday okay for a couple hours, Tuesday clear ALL NIGHT!, and a couple of hours Wednesday night. Just got a Telrad finder from FLO which I'll fit when I get home getting ready for next week (couldn't really get on with the basic Celestron red dot thing) :-)

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Peco4321

Peco4321

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30 minutes ago, solwisesteve said:

I've been avidly watching 'Clear Outside' for the last few days; checking every hour! It's now saying Monday okay for a couple hours, Tuesday clear ALL NIGHT!, and a couple of hours Wednesday night. Just got a Telrad finder from FLO which I'll fit when I get home getting ready for next week (couldn't really get on with the basic Celestron red dot thing) :-)

Need some clear spells soon as I'm back at the kids school next opportunity to show them the moon. Hopefully w/c16th for the better phase.  

I noticed you're from Beverley, we share the exact same clouds.  

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Dazzyt66

Dazzyt66

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Hi Steve, from not-so-sunny Donny.

Some have already mentioned some good tips such as:

Dont rely on a forecast, be prepared! Lol

If you think it’s gonna be ok, get your stuff setup in advance if possible (you can cover it in case of rain)

Be realistic of what you might see. Planets are a bit low at the moment but a view can still be had, DSOs take a bit of getting used to as lots are just ‘faint fuzzies’! 

You will love it! The moon did it for me to get me hooked initially but those first views of Jupiter and Saturn will actually make you gasp and laugh (really!!). I’ve only been out once this year so far but saw Uranus for the first time so that made it totally worthwhile as my stuff literally iced over!

Welcome aboard!

 

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solwisesteve

solwisesteve

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Again thanks for all the welcomes. :-)

Hopefully this is a hobby that will grow for me. :-)

Fitted the Telrad yesterday evening and reset the red-dot and telrad to a tree a couple of miles away - it will need further tweaking when I get outside but I reckon that's a good starting point.

ClearOutside is still saying there's a good chance of a clear sky next week so, at the weekend, I'll get the scope out (I mean in the living room) and run through the alignment processes and also the various software platforms. I think a written 'plan-of-action' would be a good thing as well. I have a number of objectives... all training exercises really e.g. try out the neximage on Jupiter and see if I can get some data recorded so I can then, later on, go through the various software image processes.

I'm not sure I'm brave enough to leave the scope setup in the field; I use the field behind the house to view from - this is also the planned location for the obs ;-) But I'll set it up in the stables and that should help temperature climatization and also gives me a chance to check all's ready.

 

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