Hello, stranger!

[LukeTheNuke]

Hi!

I used to post on SGL years ago, under the username Luke, then later something like Drop Of Sun, and I went to some of the fab SGL star parties, along with Sarah. I'd love to get active on the forums again! I hope to get to know some of the folks who have joined in the years since then, and hopefully see some of the old gang on here again! And I'm especially looking forward to drooling over some of the solar images again!

Anyway, I am really into board gaming these days. I haven't been doing that much stargazing these past years, but I've done the odd night (probably not that much different to some of you with our UK skies, LOL!), and always make sure I get to see the Orion nebula each year, and have really enjoyed it when I've done it, and I'd like to get back more into the hobby again!

My wife Sarah and I have not bought any gear for ages, but we might be in a position to get our dream dob in the near future, which doesn't mean a 20-incher, alas, but something hopefully of a good optical quality that won't give me a hernia or do my dodgy knee in. I dunno whether that would top out at something like one of the lighter, faster 14 inch scopes (we sold our Skywatcher 400P Goto years ago), maybe something a bit posh, like Orion Optics UK. Though I am not sure how those compare optically with Skywatcher / what you get, if anything, for the extra cost (I don't want to make any assumptions or start a war!).

Or would something heavier with wheelbarrow handles be doable? Surely not a Skywatcher 18 inch?! So a new or used dob is top of my mind! I've mainly been using our old GSO 10 inch dob for deep sky, which has lasted well, though optically, I think our Skywatcher scopes were better. I wish we'd kept the old 12 inch SW solid tubes - those were brill!

I suppose a h-alpha solar scope would be rather nice, but I guess those are still ££££s. Maybe I'll have a look at the Lunts on FLO. I don't think I will get back to solar imaging (processing, maybe, but not capture), though never say never!

Anyway, it's lovely to hopefully be back, and I hope you've had some nice choccy today, or something else you enjoy!

Cheers,

Luke

Edited March 31 by LukeTheNuke

[Ratlet]

Welcome back.  My wife is similarly afflicted with boardgames.  She'll be delighted to know that the Venn diagram of astronomy and boardgames has some overlap lol.

You'll get some good feedback on dob choices here for sure.  

[LukeTheNuke]

41 minutes ago, Ratlet said:

Welcome back.  My wife is similarly afflicted with boardgames.  She'll be delighted to know that the Venn diagram of astronomy and boardgames has some overlap lol.

You'll get some good feedback on dob choices here for sure.  

Thanks! I do have some games related to astronomy, so there is definitely some overlap, LOL! Luckily for me, my wife and son also share the same affliction! When I first met Sarah, she beat me about a dozen times straight at my favourite board game!

(cough), and this one...:

Edited March 31 by LukeTheNuke

[Pete Presland]

Hi welcome to SGL from Pete in Bedfordshire 🙂