Hello

[AMcD]

I have engaged in amateur astronomy on and off for over forty years.  As a child I had a small and rickety Tasco refractor.  As the delights and distractions of my teenage years took hold I put away what I mistakenly considered childish things.  Building a career took me further still from the hobby.  

But I never forgot the concluding comments in the small instruction book that came with the Tasco telescope.  It told me that whilst the flame of the hobby may sputter and dim from time to time, it will never go out.  And it has never gone out.

Over the past ten years I have slowly put together an observatory, my work life again taking me away from this endeavour for months or years at a time.  As I get older, I find myself less inclined to stand in the cold, so am now engaged in a project to introduce remote operation that I hope will let me engage in astrophotography from the comfort of my study. 

I find the help and advice of other amateurs to be one of the best things about the hobby and am looking forward to learning from those whose knowledge is infinitely greater than mine,

A

[Mr Spock]

Hi, welcome to SGL 

[laudropb]

Hello and a warm welcome to the SGL.

[Floater]

Welcome. I hope you have lots of fun and great success with the remote AP. 🙂

[banjaxed]

Hi and welcome to SGL.

[Dave Lloyd]

Hi there and welcome. 

[Zermelo]

Ah, Tasco - a name that evokes plenty of memories.

Welcome to the forum, and from the look of your profile picture, some of us will be learning a bit from you too.

[Moonshed]

Welcome to SGL. My first “proper” telescope was  a Tasco refractor, I think it was about about 2”. I purchased it specifically to observe Halley’s comet in 1986 and it did the job. I will never forget the comments my two young girls made when I let them view it through the scope “Is that it? That little smudge?” Yep, that was it!
I’m still looking at little smudges today, 34 years later.

[Pete Presland]

Hi welcome to SGL from Pete in Bedfordshire 🙂

[sloz1664]

Hi, and a very warm welcome to the Lounge 😀

Steve