Hi from Suffolk

[Quatermass]

Hi everyone soon to be getting a sky watcher 200p and EQ5 just got started really having wet my whistle on a 130 sky-watcher and then the bug bit hard and I ordered the 200p. Found astro baby's great site and review on it so decided to join the forum and meet all you star watchers. Hope to join the star party's later as I love going fishing at night as well this is a great hobby that combines my love of being out in the night along the river bank with the sky above me. My wife and I are keen to join a local club if you know of any good ones that would welcome a couple of newbies like us.

[The Sailor]

Hi Quatermass, welcome, in Lowestoft here, a number of clubs dotted round this area.

Jim

[Astro_Baby]

HI from me too You'll love the 200 on the EQ5 mount I am sure. Its a bit of a beast after a 130 but you'll soon get the hang of it I am sure

[brantuk]

Hi Quatermass and welcome to the group

There's the Ipswich Astro Soc you could try - they do taster evenings and have a variety of scopes to use:

OASI - Introduction

Cheers !

[malx]

Hi Quatermass, welcome to SGL.

[just looking]

Hello from me ;o)

[zedds]

Welcome to SGL Quatermass

[Pete Presland]

hi welcome to sgl from bedfordshire

[Quatermass]

Wow Hi everyone thanks for the warm welcome this must be a really active forum I guess. I will tell you a bit more about myself as I will run into some of you at star party's later on I'm sure.

I live in Bungay in Suffolk been here about 11 years now and I am 52 years young a hum.. I got interested in astronomy a few months ago after finding my old binoculars and going out side to in the evening and trying to find a few constellations. That was the start of it I guess although I go fishing at night time and I was often out there looking up at the sky and taken in the amazing views. So after managing to find my way around the night sky and learning the constellation I decided that it would be good to get a telescope. Phil Burton's photography shop in Bungay began selling telescopes and that was when I set eyes on the sky watcher 130 scope. As usual I rushed into it and we got the cash together and bought it. My first night out with that scope was when I saw Jupiter's moons for the first time, I was hooked! A month down the line and a new sky watcher 200p with eq5 mount has been ordered and I hope to pick it up on Monday. I am excited! I looked at several reviews and went on the sky at night forums as I get that mag each month now and they all said it was good telescope for deep sky object and astrophotography which is the way I want to go later on. Astro baby's review was really great and the website is very well laid out and helpful. I used to run a website on my marine tank when we got into all that so I know its not easy putting together a good site. So hi astro baby great site thought I saw you on the sky at night podcast being interviewed at a star party? I guess when I get the sky watcher 200p model I'm going to be shocked at the size of it compared to the other one I guess. Other hobby's I love are kite flying, fish keeping, fishing, photography, game design, my xbox, map reading, cartoons, astronomy can now be firmly added to that list. My wife and I have a little caravan a lovely old sprite and are looking forward to going to a few star party's and joining in the merry band of astronomers. Other things you may like to know.. I am dyslexic I have a dog called max lurcher cross daft as a brush and I'm just a little bit bonkers!

So far I have been looking at the moon Jupiter a few deep sky objects like the ring nebula that was a [removed word] to find and the Andromeda galaxy so cool.. favorite one has to be the 7 sisters that is so lovely to look at. Thank for the warm welcome and when I get a bit more confidence I will go and join an astronomy club near by Ipswich is a bit far for me. Big fan of old sci fi movies that was why I chose quatermass for my forum name any one remember quatermass and the pit!

[mark7331]

Hi Quatermass. Cor for a moment then I was 13 again and watching John Mills! My mum thought it was a science program and therefore good for me!

Anyway. Hello and welcome to SGL!

EDIT: Sorry totally forgot to say "Nice scope!"

[Bizibilder]

Hello Quatermass and welcome to SGL!!

[nebogipfel]

....... any one remember quatermass and the pit!

Bernard Quatermass is a bit of a hero of mine, a proper British scientist and gentleman, much like Sir Patrick

I like the '67 version with Andrew Kier as the Prof' but my favourite Quatermass has to be John Mills in the TV series ........all together now "huffity puffity ringstone round"

[Quatermass]

Hi mark is that your dog! Hope his friendly. I am soo excited about getting my new sky watcher roll on Monday cant wait.. First thing Im going to do is turn it towards the Andromeda galaxy again so far its just been a puffy fogg hope it will look better with the 200p model. Sure is a lot of people on this forum never had such a welcome from a forum before hope you all dont mind an obsessive dyslexic joining your ranks.

[Quatermass]

I grew up with the space race and my dad was an american in the us air force so I was always interested in space flight boggle eyed aliens and movies like quatermass the day the earth stood still and invasion of the body snatcher. Any one remember the ufo at rendelsham? my old man was working on the air base that night and knew the guys that investigated the ufo sighting. I remember him coming home and telling us all about it. But quatermass was a classic.

Not sure I believe in little green men but I'm sure there is other life out there somewhere the universe is just too big for there not to be. Hope there as friendly as the people on this forum if there out there!

[mark7331]

Quatermass, I am also dyslexic (plus aspergers) and take it from me you are very very welcome here. The 200 will give you better definition but some things will look smudgy. You will be amazed though. Honestly. When you get it have a look at M57. I dare you not to jump for joy!

The Day the Earth Stood Still was amazing! I remember it like it was yesterday. I used to think that little green men would come see us but now I think that while it's likely that life is out there, I don't think they'll come visiting. The energy requried is just too vast.

I sometimes think that maybe we're the first intelligent life. ?

Oh and yes. That's my dog Bowie (after David Bowie). She's a rotweiller, 1 and 1/2 years and, I've had dogs all my life, she is without exception the funniest, most clever and loving creature I've ever met. Fantastic with children, other anmials. She's my treasure and I am very lucky.

Mark

[Quatermass]

Hi Mark wow another dyslexic star gazer brilliant! asperguis as well that means your a highly creative person Im guessing!

I found out I was dyslexic while studying theology and new testament greek! It was like double dutch to me but they told me to go and get tested and at the age of 34 found out I was dyslexic that was a shock although I new I had trouble at school and often got frustrated as hell never new I had a learning disablity. Well I dont really see it as a dysablitys more like a gift really as it helps me see things in a different way to others.

SO you recon im going to jump for joy when I get my new scope I hope so really looking forward to getting it. I will let you know how high I jump providing these clouds give us all a break and the rain sigh.. A dog called Bowie thats cool David Bowie is brilliant I often post his lyrics on face book as my daughter is now getting into bowie like I did many years ago. I got attacked by a rockviller back in 1989 so I am a bit scared of them but no too dogs are ever the same and I have met other rocks that are really nice just a bit nervous of them now though. My name is mark as well by the way.

I was on the sky at night forum posting about the size of our galaxy today and asked them to give me some good visual examples to explain it. They came up with some good ones as well. The best one was that one astronomical unit /the distance from the earth to the sun/ could become one inch and then one mile is one light year. Also that if you could whizz around the earth 7.5 times in one second that is the speed of light. Amazing universe we live in thats for sure and it sure does inspire us all to do some cool stuff including those Quatermass films war of the worlds and the like. Well hope to see you at a star party some time mark thanks for the welcome and I will let you know what my new sky watcher 200p is like when I unwrap it next week wahoooooo!

[mark7331]

Glad to meet you Mark. I don't think of it as a disability anymore because as you say - we can see things others can't. Bowie is a bit of a soppy example. When she meets someone new she flops on her back and wiggles around (as in the photo) and sometimes has a bit of an over excited pee. Bless.

Expecting an excited post as soon as the 200 arives. And ask lots and lots of questions!

Clear skies!

Mark

[ezza123]

Hey Quatermass, Welcome from me in North Hampshire :-)

[Thunder]

Hi and welcome to SGL

another dyslexic star gazer brilliant!

you can clock another one up here too.

[Quatermass]

Hi hi hi and double hi everyone what a fantastic welcome im shocked!

Lol mark my dog wees on fishermans holdalls can be quite embarrising at times but I love him. Hi thunder hi ezzi thank for the welcome.

[Quatermass]

Thunder your dyslexic as well isn't it great! when I got my first sky watcher and read the manual my head went into boggle over drive trying to figure out what on earth the declination and right asenction dial were all about I drove my wife nuts as my head tried to understand it all. I'm slowly getting the hang of it now but it still confuses me a bit. Not too bothered about it all just yet but finding out about the ecliptic and coliminating my scope was like learning klingon!

[Quatermass]

Mark one question for I go to roost the m57 the ring nebula right.. I saw that last week with the old scope the sky watcher 130 and it was so small I had to look long and hard to make sure I had found it but the next night it was a bit darker and I could just make out that it was like a small smoke ring in the 130 it was about as wide as this letter O tiny but I was really pleased I had found it at last. My question is what will it look like in my new 200p will I be pleasantly surprised and jump for joy??? I hope I will be, as I really want to find those deep sky object and get a better look at them, later on do some astrophotography when I win the lottery and can afford an slr camera and all the rest that goes with that side of the hobby.

[mark7331]

I just bought a 200mm scope from Orion Optics made just for astrophotography and, using a 2x barlow with a 15mm eye piece at 900mm focal length (you'll have 1000mm) it took up about 1/8th of the field of view. In other words it was pretty big and although smokey was stunning.

The scale of the image is affected by the focal length not the aperture (aperture grabs the light and focal length shoves it all to a point).

Now I think you have a 1000mm so this should give you about the same view as me. The ring is 3x3 arcminutes and a the 2x + 15mm EP will give you just about 22ish arcmins field of view - so M57 is about an 1/7th-8th of the field of view. Not at all tiny and a decent magnification.

Your 130 would give you just over 1 degree (60 arcmins) so M57 would look tiny.

Mark

EDIT: if you're interested in the maths I have a spreadsheet I've made! Sad eh?

[Thunder]

Well I often have to go back and reread things a few times before i finally realise that half the stuff i was reading wasnt actually written, but i jsut do it now without thinking :S

i hope your 200 will bring you much joy.

[Quatermass]

Thanks for that Mark, well from what your saying it looks like I am in for a real treat cant wait. I will let you know how I get on with it providing these clouds give me a break. Mm the maths sheet is it easy to understand I'm rubbish at maths!