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Hi everyone, complete newbie reporting in

UHF

By UHF
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UHF

UHF

Posted
Posted

Hi,

I thought I should post here first and say hi.

I'm completely new to this, I have no equipment and basically no clue. After years of looking up and wishing that I knew what everything was I was finally motivated by the recent BBC series "Wonders of the Solar System" as I'm sure many others were.

I'm going to have a read and see whats what, I've already downloaded Stellarium and found that the 3 stars laying abreast in the Western sky (ie my back garden), are in fact orions belt and the red/orange coloured star higher and to the left is actually Mars :(

At the moment its idle curiosity but I'd like to get some equipment to get a better look but I just don't know where to start and indeed what benefit I'll get where I am, luckily I'm no longer in London but now in Stevenage where the night sky is a lot clearer but alas there is still a lot of light pollution, but at least its actually feasible to look up :D

I guess my main concern / question is whether buying equipment actually gives more detail or gives the viewer a larger white dot, I guess a daft question but I really don't know the answer.

If I do invest then I'm not a fan of "buying cheap" as this tends to mean spending more in the long run as it soon goes into the bin. Then again, maybe the curiosity will vanish after a while, who knows.

Either way, looking forward and hello to everyone.

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glowjet

glowjet

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Posted

Hi UHF,

A very warm welcome to SGL, perhaps before venturing into the purchase of a telescope, consider the sage old advice of buying a pair of 10x50 bino`s and take a good look at the night sky, if it kindles your interest further, then you can proceed from there, there will be many forum members willing to help with advice for your first scope, when you are ready to take the next step.

John.

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UHF

UHF

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Hi,

Totally agree, I've just finished reading a link someone posted from some editors of a magazine.

Having taken up model plane flying 3 years ago I know all about not spending a fortune up front and starting off slow. My plan is to continue reading, learn and spend a few weeks just looking up, then maybe buying some decent binoculars, these will be useful for me anyway as I often visit airshows anyway.

I also need to learn what all these different types of telescopes are and how they work, then I can make an educated decision based on what kinds of things I am most interested in looking at, where and how often, this will all influence things.

For now, I'm happy looking at Stellarium and pointing at stuff knowing what it actually is. If anyone can recommend any good books I can get reading, the Internet is good but sometimes its nice to read on a variety of topics from ONE persons perspective rather than being confused by thousands of people writing about a variety of topics.

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essex sky

essex sky

Posted
Posted

hi, uhf

timeless advice from glow jet, you can get a decent pair of 10x50's for around 30-40 quid, learn the constellations, scout out a few objects with the bins , you will soon know if you are hooked.

p.s if you have a clear western horizon take a look in the evening twilight as venus is now nicely on show, it is bright so you can't miss it

clear skies

lance

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brantuk

brantuk

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Hi UHF and welcome to the group.

I echo glowjets good advice - you may find your local Liddl still has those £14 10x50 binocs by Rockwell in stock - they're unbelievably good for the price.

Next step would be to go visit a local astro society on a viewing evening. You'l get to see the different types of scopes and have a look through them. Normally they don't charge the first couple of "intro" sessions.

Alternatively a day/night visit to a star party - couple of bigges coming up over the next week or so - SGL5 and Kelling to name but two. They'll have trade stands there too so you'll get an idea of types and prices of scopes.

Also a lot of reading is recommended - scopes are like cars with all their specialisms and purposes so you'll need to educate yourself (before spending) as to what type of astronomy you want to engage in.

Of course you can ask anything specific in the forum once you start getting a few ideas - you'll allways get an answer from someone.

Hope that helps and you have fun with the hobby :(

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UHF

UHF

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Thanks for everyones recommendations, might have a look in the local Lidls at those £14.99 bins, up to £50 isn't an issue, would I get much benefit spending a little more?

BTW I don't have an unrestricted view of the west in my garden due to neighbouring houses, so Venus right now is too low on the horizon and is setting fast as the light is fading.

One benefit of being a member of a model flying club is that I have access to a private field in the middle of nowhere round the clock :( Who knows, maybe one day I might combine the two hobbies, either way, it looks like I'll have something to do in the winter when typically not much flying happens :D

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muddy

muddy

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hi and welcome

although I am a newcomer and have a telescope I also get a lot of satisfaction using my 15X70 binos on a tripod with the help of stellerium. It also gives me a quick fix when the clouds part for a short time but not long enough to set up the telescope. The sense of achievement on finding something in the night sky from the screen of the computer is like landing your rc plane for the first time without crashing. But be prepared the credit card will take a bit of abuse you will always be looking for that little bit more lol.

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Astro_Baby

Astro_Baby

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Hi and welcome from me too - another option for you might be buy a small TAL telescope off ebay. TAL 1s some up at about £50 quite often and they are great small scopes. If you hate the hobby in the end you can always sell it on for more or less what you paid for it.

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DAVPPK

DAVPPK

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A good book which I have is "Turn Left At Orion" - very useful for finding objects and will last a long time. :)

Welcome UHF:)

I agree with the above, Turn Left At Orion is almost regarded as a classic these days, and it's very useful indeed!!

Dave :p

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