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Hey, new member from Swindon

RobertK

By RobertK
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RobertK

RobertK

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Hey everyone.

I was always fascinated by the night sky since I was a child, but always living in cities made me only see the brightest stars. When I was younger we could not afford any decent telescope, and I didn't want a small desk telescope that will offer very little in terms of details. At some point life took over, career, wife, kids ... Now my older boy is 3yo and he's showing interest in planets etc. I thought I'll wait a bit, but after speaking to my wife, she said she's also interested! So we decided we'll get something for the whole family to enjoy.

I've recently bought a 10" Dobsonian, apparently made by Dark Star, for a bargain price of £125. Already had a look at some of the threads on here about those telescopes, so learned a bit. It needs a bit of TLC, but it's in great shape nonetheless.

Managed to get some clear skies shortly after 10pm yesterday after the weather kept me anxious all day with sunshine, rain and thunderstorm. Scope wasn't aligned and I could work it out, so it was a bit off. Took a closer look today, and I have worked out how it's supposed to be adjusted, so it's perfect now.

Still, managed to put it near Jupiter and then with a bit of scanning with the 25mm piece found It. At first only saw the bright disk and 3 moons. After a moment I was able to make out a fourth moon near Jupiter’s shape and could see the colour bands on its surface.

Next moved towards the Moon and then I moved the telescope towards the luminosity to focus on it. I wasn’t expecting Moon to make such an impression on me. Spent a while just looking at the Moon and took a short video on my phone, not mounted just trying to alight it to the eyepiece. Still below from the video, crappy quality but I wasn’t preparing for this. Still a memory of my first night with a telescope :)

https://bit.ly/3f8N4T9

We were going to finish for the night, but I was still hungry for views. Spotted a bright star near the zenith, turned out later it was Vega.

I'll post another thread in the hardware section to keep track of what I have and the work done to it.

I'm glad to be on board, and although late to the party, I am rekindling my love of the night sky, and willing to regain the knowledge long forgotten.

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toshapetriji

toshapetriji

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1 hour ago, RobertK said:

Thanks guys!

@toshapetrijiare you a member of Swindon Stargazers? Looking to join a local group for meet-ups and to learn from more experienced observers once the pandemic calms down.

No I'm not, I view from home usually or occasionally have a trip out with someone I know. I have thought to join though.

 

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cletrac1922

cletrac1922

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Robert

Welcome to you and your family from Land Down Under

You cannot go far wrong in your selection of scope, and I have a SW 10" Dob as well

Just a couple of tips

With the base been chipboard construction, put down a small waterproof tarp to sit the base on, to stop the base from absorbing moisture in the ground

Get a right angle finderscope as well, if your Dob came with a straight through finderscope, saves having to lay on the ground when spotting things directly above us

John

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RobertK

RobertK

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Seems like a few members in my area then. Would be great to attend a future even when these resume. And thanks again for the welcome.

Right-angle finderscope is definitely on my list, but not rushing it as I should have the Telrad today or tomorrow. The scope is stored in a dry shed so hopefully it will be fine. But as the board was slightly bent already, I may look at upgrading it in the near future.

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