Another returning astronomer

[Trillion]

Hi! I'm Janet. I was a keen observer 25 years ago, but then life happened and my poor old 10" reflector languished in our garage untouched.

My other half finally told me to get rid of this. I thought about this, and agreed I couldn't handle something that size now I'm (admit it quietly) in my early sixties. But the bug bit again, so I passed the reflector onto a young man at my local astro club who is giving it the TLC it needs, and I treated myself to a Celestron Nextstar C8 Evolution, which is a more manageable size. Although part of me still thinks this whole "go-to" business is cheating! I've also succumbed to a SeeStar (last time I tried imaging I was using physical film!).

I've been lurking here for a couple of months, but have finally decided to put my head above the parapet.

Janet

[Oldfort]

The C8 is a good choice.  It's lightweight and packs a punch.

[bosun21]

Hi Janet 👋, welcome to SGL. You have purchased yourself a nice scope.

[Trillion]

Yes, I went to the show at Coventry, and it looked like the right thing. I think there's a reason why the C8 was always the iconic Celestron. I remember Leonard Nimoy advertising them on the back page of Sky and Telescope. I've been having a lot of fun with it - Jupiter was spectacular last night.

[Sunshine]

Hello Janet! a big welcome to SGL and we’d love to hear about your observations with your sweet new scope.

[laudropb]

Hello and a warm welcome to the SGL.

[Floater]

Welcome. Hope you have lots of fun. 🙂

[Chandra]

Good return! I too am in a happy "second stage"... In the previous stage I also used chemical films... and the Dobson mount was new (at least around here)...

[YLEM]

Welcome Janet, I just joined myself.

I love my C8!

 

-Jeff

[Trillion]

22 hours ago, Chandra said:

Good return! I too am in a happy "second stage"... In the previous stage I also used chemical films... and the Dobson mount was new (at least around here)...

Welcome!

I think technically this is my 3rd stage! Dad bought me a 6" Fullerscope reflector when I was 13, which I used until I left home at 18. In my early 30s I moved to the outskirts of a village, and got an 8", quickly followed by a 10" equatorial reflector.  I  joined the Cambridge Astronomical Association, helped with Cambridge Young Astronomers, played with the large schmidt camera at the institute - large format film! (And needed to dodge the black cat that lived in the dome!). General life made me stop active involvement in the early 2000s, until a couple of months ago when my husband said I should get rid of the 10" reflector that took up so much space in the garage...

  I did, but replaced it with the C8 Nexstar and Seestar s50 that I'm now using!

 

 

Edited November 28 by Trillion

[Trillion]

17 hours ago, YLEM said:

I love my C8!

Welcome!

I love mine to, though part of me still thinks the "goto" software is cheating...

Edited November 28 by Trillion

[Sunshine]

5 hours ago, Trillion said:

though part of me still thinks the "goto" software is cheating..

Hmm, ever wonder if that’s what horses would say about automobiles? 

[Tony Acorn]

Welcome Trillion.

I have to admit that I'm getting tempted by the SeeStar S50. It's ultra-portability is the main appeal and I already have a motorized 10" Dob, a 6" Newtonian on an HEQ5-Pro and an 80mm Refractor on a ZWO AM-3 mount so my non-astronomical wife will need to be pacified with something if I do "pull the trigger".

Tony 😂

[Trillion]

I'm primarily a visual astronomer - for me nothing beats the thrill of seeing something, even if only faintly, through the eyepiece.

  But the Seestar fills a different role, or even a number of roles. On nights when I can't  face getting the main telescope out and standing in the cold its quick and easy to set up, and I can run it from inside. Or recently I took it with me to visit some friends in Cambridge: I set it up in their light polluted garden and then sat inside, drinking wine and watching the images appear -that's civilised astronomy! It may even convert your wife, as I've found it does impress non-astronomers- good for informal outreach, if you like. Its also given me a chance to start learning the basics of image processing.

  It's not perfect: the fixed, and oddly shaped, FOV, and the fact it can't be upgraded in any way are downsides. The sensor could be better, but that would put the price up. Personally I could not run it from a phone, but use a tablet with a larger screen size. But I hate touch screens in general.

  Overall, for the price charged I think it's an impressive piece of kit.

Edited November 29 by Trillion

[Xilman]

Hi Trillion, another Cambridge Seestar S50 user here. Although I'm a CAA member I've not been to a meeting in ages.

Really love the SS50. Not only does it do live viewing, the stored FITS-format subs can be used to do real science afterwards.

Maybe we'll meet up some time. Please feel free to drop me a PM if you wish, or not if you don't.

Paul

[josefk]

Also a CAA member here @Trillion . I get to the odd lecture and eventy. More frequently i try and bring my young nephew to CYA mornings when i think the topic would appeal to him. It's not a local club for me up the A14/A1 but i like it 👍 and the CYA set-up on a Saturday morning is brilliant. My nephew loves it.

 

[Saganite]

Welcome to SGL  Janet.....

[Xilman]

45 minutes ago, Saganite said:

Welcome to SGL  Janet.....

The river was deep but I swam it - Janet.
The future is ours so let's plan it - Janet..
So please, don't tell me to can it - Janet.
I've one thing to say and that's Dammit, Janet ...

Sorry.  I just couldn't resist.

Oh, woe is me.
My life is a misery.
Oh, can't you see
That I'm at the start of a pretty big downer?

 

 

Edited November 29 by Xilman
Fix punctuation

[Trillion]

The CAA is ridiculously cheap to be a member of! It's been £4 a year since I joined 30 years ago. That can't even cover the cost of tea and biscuits! I assume they are heavily subsidised by the university.

 I am planning to go to the next meeting in December, although the lecture doesn't look desperately interesting, it's usually a good social opportunity. Come and say hi if you're there. You should have no problem spotting me; tallish, white hair, ponytail and glasses. (You can actually see in Spock's thread of images from the 2024 IAS : Tomato's 2nd photo, I'm on the extreme left with my other half).

Edited Friday at 21:16 by Trillion

[Xilman]

1 hour ago, Trillion said:

The CAA is ridiculously cheap to be a member of! It's been £4 a year since I joined 30 years ago. That can't even cover the cost of tea and biscuits! I assume they are heavily subsidised by the univertsity.

 I am planning to go to the next meeting in December, although the lecture doesn't look desperately interesting, it's usually a good social opportunity. Come and say hi if you're there. You should have no problem spotting me; tallish, white hair, ponytail and glasses. (You can actually see in Spock's thread of images from the 2024 IAS : Tomato's 2nd photo, I'm on the extreme left with my other half).

Yes but ...

They make killing out of the terminally lazy like me.  I pay £6 p.a. by direct debit and have never cancelled my membership.  That has paid for an awful lot of biccies for those who actually roll up and eat them.

I may turn up too, now that you have reminded me.  Think Gandalf.  I may even wear my pointy hat to make it obvious.

Edited Friday at 21:01 by Xilman
Fix tyops

[Trillion]

48 minutes ago, Xilman said:

Think Gandalf.  I may even wear my pointy hat to make it obvious.

Maybe I should wear my D&D tee shirt...

[dweller25]

Welcome back Janet.

You have a C8 and a 4” Vixen refactor, a great combination 👍