London calling

[Surreydocker]

Hello everyone,

I've always found myself gazing up at the stars whenever I found myself under a dark sky but, living in central London, I've never seriously considered astronomy. However, with lockdown providing clearer air and plenty of spare time, I bought a pair of binocs and I've been amazed at how much I can see, even though I live in a flat, surrounded by other blocks of flats and lots of amenity and street lighting. Aided by a copy of Turn Left at Orion and Stellarium, I am really enjoying star hopping. Last night, I draped a towel over my head (no longer caring what the neighbours think) and went out on my balcony and found M13 for the first time - it gave me such a buzz ! So now I am on the journey and looking forward to a lot more discoveries.

Cheers, Ian

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

You have the towel. All you now need is three pints of beer & you're equipped for imminent armageddon. Welcome to the forum.

 

[ronl]

Hello Ian, and welcome to the community, hope you enjoy your time here in SGL,

see you around the forums.

Clear Sky's.

[Surreydocker]

(You have the towel. All you now need is three pints of beer & you're equipped for imminent armageddon. Welcome to the forum.)

 

Thanks, the beer's in the fridge !

Edited June 23, 2020 by Surreydocker

[JamesF]

28 minutes ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

You have the towel. All you now need is three pints of beer & you're equipped for imminent armageddon.

Salted snacks too, as far as I recall

James

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

Just now, JamesF said:

Salted snacks too, as far as I recall

James

Darnit I forgot the peanuts. That's me busted back to Space Cadet 2nd Class.

[markse68]

Hi Ian, welcome! It’s amazing what you can see and frustrating what you can’t from our light polluted skies ( I’m in SE London) but this place is great for inspiration for things to look for and it’s full of really helpful friendly folk   Took me ages to find M13 last year but it’s a firm favourite now. 
Mark

[knobby]

Jaffa cakes 😂

[Neil H]

Yummy Jaffa cakes you better get loads of boxes Sorry forgot welcome I got stuck at Jaffa cakes

did you get a tripod as well it will make your arms ache after a long session

[Surreydocker]

6 minutes ago, Neil H said:

Yummy Jaffa cakes you better get loads of boxes Sorry forgot welcome I got stuck at Jaffa cakes

did you get a tripod as well it will make your arms ache after a long session

Thanks, yes, I have a few tripods. I used a monopod with a ball head last night and that seemed to work for me (I do get a stiff neck from viewing near zenith though !)

[laudropb]

Hello and a warm welcome to the SGL.

[banjaxed]

Hi Ian, welcome to SGL.

[barkingsteve]

Hi Ian and welcome.

Don't let living in London hold you back. There are plenty of options from visual to EAA, narrow band imaging or just lucky imaging the moon and planets, all are viable thanks to technology these days 👍

[Neil H]

Get a nice garden recliner lay back in it and enjoy the skies

[callisto]

A big hi from me also 👋

[Dr Strange]

4 hours ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

You have the towel. All you now need is three pints of beer & you're equipped for imminent armageddon. Welcome to the forum.

 

Don't forget the peanut's! Peanut's are important to restore salts after a matter transference... And welcome to SGL! And I second the recommendation on a lawn chair or Adirondack chair for the balcony. You can prop your arms on the chair arms to steady the Bino's 

[toshapetriji]

welcome

[sputniksteve]

"Listen. It's a tough universe. There's all sorts of people and things trying to do you, kill you, rip you off, everything. If you're going to survive out there, you've really got to know where your towel is."

 

Hi 🙂

[Dr Strange]

Forgot to mention, if you really want to up your game investing in a Skywatcher 200p Dobsonian which is a 200mm Dobsonian. A real jump up in aperture. It will really open up those views due to the aperture and is great for star hopping. It is £289 but well worth it! I would also suggest a Telrad for £39, a right angle corrected image (RACI) finderscope which makes it much easier on your neck to star hop, and the Sky and Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas which is a map of the stars that is a great guide to the galaxy and beyond. That setup will blow your mind and really expand your experience. Links to everything I mentioned is below.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/telrad-finder-astronomy.html

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p297_TS-Optics-8x50-Finder---with-Bracket---black-colour---90--angled.html

https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/the-pocket-sky-atlas/

 

[Surreydocker]

Thanks all, for the very warm welcome. I look forward to tapping into the wealth of knowledge on here !

[Surreydocker]

5 hours ago, barkingsteve said:

Hi Ian and welcome.

Don't let living in London hold you back. There are plenty of options from visual to EAA, narrow band imaging or just lucky imaging the moon and planets, all are viable thanks to technology these days 👍

Thanks Steve, EEA and narrowband imaging sound interesting- I might well end up down those alleys !

[Surreydocker]

2 hours ago, Dr Strange said:

Forgot to mention, if you really want to up your game investing in a Skywatcher 200p Dobsonian which is a 200mm Dobsonian. A real jump up in aperture. It will really open up those views due to the aperture and is great for star hopping. It is £289 but well worth it! I would also suggest a Telrad for £39, a right angle corrected image (RACI) finderscope which makes it much easier on your neck to star hop, and the Sky and Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas which is a map of the stars that is a great guide to the galaxy and beyond. That setup will blow your mind and really expand your experience. Links to everything I mentioned is below.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians/skywatcher-skyliner-200p-dobsonian.html

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/finders/telrad-finder-astronomy.html

https://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/info/p297_TS-Optics-8x50-Finder---with-Bracket---black-colour---90--angled.html

https://skyandtelescope.org/observing/the-pocket-sky-atlas/

 

Thanks very much for the recommendation, my balcony may not have enough room for a dob but if not, my mother has a garden so maybe I could keep one there !

[Nerf_Caching]

18 minutes ago, Surreydocker said:

Thanks very much for the recommendation, my balcony may not have enough room for a dob but if not, my mother has a garden so maybe I could keep one there !

A more portable option could be the Skywatcher Heritage 130 or 150p, with the latter being a newly-released model. Both feature collapsible tubes and cost under 200.

[Nigella Bryant]

Welcome, if you're looking for the answer it's 42. 

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi @Surreydocker and welcome to SGL. 

Enjoy the views; (and Jaffa Cakes, etc).