Jump to content

Narrowband

What equipment got you into astronomy?


Recommended Posts

11 minutes ago, Mandy D said:

This little beastie: A Skywatcher 250PX. I'd been looking at getting a telescope for years, but always considered them too expensive, prior to Chinese manufacturing taking the marketplace by storm. I spotted it on the internet, ex-display but otherwise brand-new with a substantial discount. It was probably a bit bigger than I'd been planning, but hey, aperture rules, right?

Skywatcher_250PX.jpg

Nice! Not a bad size to start with if you've got the space. Also I note you're another Derbyshirean? I was just visiting my parents in Duckmanton! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, badhex said:

Nice! Not a bad size to start with if you've got the space. Also I note you're another Derbyshirean? I was just visiting my parents in Duckmanton! 

Yes, yes, I am and not too far from Duckmanton. You definitely need the space for that scope and it is under a south facing verandah in my photo, but not in the UK. I bought something smaller for the UK, as Covid restrictions were preventing us from getting to the big one.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Mandy D said:

Yes, yes, I am and not too far from Duckmanton. You definitely need the space for that scope and it is under a south facing verandah in my photo, but not in the UK. I bought something smaller for the UK, as Covid restrictions were preventing us from getting to the big one.

Nice. I was just lamenting going from Bortle 5 skies in Ducky to Bortle 8 at home in Berlin on another thread! 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, badhex said:

Nice. I was just lamenting going from Bortle 5 skies in Ducky to Bortle 8 at home in Berlin on another thread! 

I don't know the Bortle rating of my skies, but when we cross the road in the hamlet where the big Dob is, you cannot see where you are going at night unless you leave a light on, hence the streetlamp behind the scope.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At the age of 6 or 7 I caught a view of the moon through one of my friends 60mm refractor, and I was hooked. My parents bought me a 60mm refractor of my own that Christmas. It came on a flimsy table-top alt-az tripod. Looking back now it makes me laugh how 'low-budget' it really was, but I had a lot of fun with it and it fired a life-long interest in all things Astro. It wasn't until, as a young man in the early 1990s, that I got my first 'proper' scope. I spent pretty much all of my savings at the time on a Vixen FL102S refractor, which I have to this day. It still takes pride of place amongst what appears to be an ever expanding collection of scopes and Astro-gadgets 🙂

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.