Hello from North Bristol

[Dark Vader]

Hi all

A quick hello and an introduction.

I've always had what I'd call a vague interest in the night sky, looking up on clear nights and wondering what I was actually looking at. At the beginning of this year, I saw the 2 bright lights in the sky at sunrise, downloaded the mobile app Skyview and found out it was the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter. I found that I could point my phone at the sky and it would tell me what I was looking at. I looked around a fair bit after that, identified a few constellations. I've moved on to Stellarium now, after reading through these forums.

An old friend of the family no longer with us gave us a box of "junk", as she called it. In this box kept in a garage was a very dusty pair of Mirador Japanese 7x50 binoculars with no lens caps. Not knowing anything, I cleaned them off under hot running water with a couple of drops of dishwashing detergent (what could possibly go wrong?) with cotton wool and Q tips, buffed the lenses with a microfibre and on what I thought was a dark night, pointed them skywards. Occasionally the moon stayed still long enough to make out the odd bit of detail, then I researched a bit of binocular astronomy and found out not to hold them like a submarine captain in an old war film!

Then, after spending hours lurking on here reading all your very informative posts and, it has to be said, not understanding much of it, I bought some Olympus DPS1 10x50s and had a similar "Wow" moment to when I first pointed the 7x50s upwards. The neighbours think there's something wrong with me as I can now be found lying on a sunbed in the garden in the dead of night looking at the sky through binoculars!

I now want a decent scope..... I think I'm at the top of that very slippery financial slope.

Looking at the Skywatcher 200P, from what I've read here that's a pretty good place to start?

Thank you all for all the informative posts, even though I don't yet understand most of them. I've found out I live under a class 6 sky so I'm not too hopeful of seeing that much from the back garden. 

Andy

 

 

[Nigella Bryant]

Welcome, I live in Bristol too under bortle 6 sky conditions but you'd be surprised how much you can see. I've only just taken up astrophotography and I'm amazed what can be done. Here are my first examples from my Bristol back garden. I use a 12inch newtononian. 

Edited May 12, 2019 by Nigella Bryant

[Mr Spock]

Hi Andy, welcome to SGL

[John]

Welcome to the forum Andy

If you want to get a "hands on" feel for some scopes and talk about them, Bristol Astro Society have regular open viewing nights at our observatory at Failand. There are usually a few different scopes there plus the society 12 inch in it's dome. We announce such events at the bottom of our home web page:

http://www.bristolastrosoc.org.uk/www/index.php

This forum will be a great source of advice and info as well - lots of experience here

 

 

 

[RiponJas]

Hello there and welcome 😀

[Guest]

Hello there and welcome  SGL

 

Regards

Martin

[Floater]

Welcome. Have lots of fun on your journey. 🙂

And you’re right: the 200P is a very good place to start. (The sunbed will be no use with it, though ... )

[jock1958]

Hi Andy and welcome to the Lounge. The 200P has some very good reviews and won’t break the bank. Enjoy 😃

[CraigT82]

I'm in Bedminster in south Bristol, with similarly light polluted skies! However plenty to see with a scope... moon, planets and double stars will keep you entertained for years

[sloz1664]

Hi Andy and a very warm welcome to the Lounge

Steve

[laudropb]

Hello and a warm welcome to the SGL.

[Greymouser]

Hello and welcome to this great forum. I assume you are considering the 200p Dobsonian, only thing is I would suggest to not get an Equatorial mount, at first anyway with whatever scope you choose. A simple alt az is better and easier to get started on, in my opinion. John's advice is most excellent too, the local society will be a great help.

[Demonperformer]

Hi, Andy, and welcome to SGL.

I used nothing but a pair of 7x50s for decades. Still have them in my arsenal, and often get them out while the gear is imaging and just cruise the skies. Still come across new things.

The 200 dob is a great starter instrument. Is there an astro society near you (surely got to be one somewhere within striking distance of Bristol)? Before purchase, how about going along and seeing them. Societies often hold open "viewing" evenings when you would have the opportunity of having a look through various scopes. It would also give you a chance to see the physical bulk of some telescopes. I wish I had done that before purchasing a 10" dob (long gone now) ... totally unsuitable for my circumstances (although others get on with them very well). Nothing beats seeing a scope "in the flesh" for working out how well you will get on with it ...

Enjoy the journey.

[PeterCPC]

Hello and welcome.

Peter

[banjaxed]

Hi and welcome to SGL.

[ronl]

Hello and welcome to SGL, hope you enjoy your time with us, the 200p is a great scope, it's

surprising what you can see when the weather is kind to you.

Good luck and Clear Sky's.

[Pete Presland]

Hi welcome to SGL from Peter in Bedfordshire 🙂

[Dave Lloyd]

Hi Andy, welcome. 

[robbymain]

Hi Andy! Welcome from another North Bristol-based gazer. Generally just been using my 150P from my back garden in Patchway but I'm interested in finding some darker sites up towards Westonbirt/Tetbury when the moon is absent so please let me know if you would be interested in same?

[pandoraefretum]

Let's have us a Star Party!

[PH-R]

Welcome, I am over the water from you in South Wales.

[robbymain]

9 minutes ago, pandoraefretum said:

Let's have us a Star Party!

Oh We definitely should! I'm still searching for a decent dark site, away from roads but within 45 mins drive of Bristol - any suggestions?!

[Dark Vader]

2 hours ago, robbymain said:

Hi Andy! Welcome from another North Bristol-based gazer. Generally just been using my 150P from my back garden in Patchway but I'm interested in finding some darker sites up towards Westonbirt/Tetbury when the moon is absent so please let me know if you would be interested in same?

I would like to look up from a dark site. I've been limited to back garden viewing, from the bottom end of Little Stoke. I've chosen the binocular route for now to learn my way around the sky. 

I did see a website just after I started that said Troopers Hill over in St George was a dark site but I've just not had the time to check it out.

[pandoraefretum]

3 hours ago, robbymain said:

Oh We definitely should! I'm still searching for a decent dark site, away from roads but within 45 mins drive of Bristol - any suggestions?!

That is a very good question... I once went to Lacock which was certainly darker than Bristol.
I tend to think South of the city is good.. because more things (including ecliptic) lie South.
But really not much of an idea... it's only really dark from midnight to 2 am at the moment.
I've just come back from a Greek Island.. I could see all of Scorpio right down to the tail including Ptolemy's Cluster. Was spectacular!

[Nigella Bryant]

1 hour ago, Dark Vader said:

I would like to look up from a dark site. I've been limited to back garden viewing, from the bottom end of Little Stoke. I've chosen the binocular route for now to learn my way around the sky. 

I did see a website just after I started that said Troopers Hill over in St George was a dark site but I've just not had the time to check it out.

Hi, I live near troppers Hill, it's not a dark site, bortle 6 I'm just five mins walk from it. There's a good expanse of southerly sky but that's about it.