What was the first thing you saw through a telescope which got you hooked?

[DrNeb]

The first thing that got me hooked was tonight! my 10inch dob has not arrived yet. so i'm using a tiny 3 inch scope until it does!

About an hour ago i just saw Jupiter. It looked like a tiny ball of yellow light. however! what got me really excited! i could see a stripe of dots almost in perfect alignment! i just checked stellarium to confirm. i would never of thought that i could see some moons with such a small scope.

I am now hooked! i was worried about my expectations with a 10 inch! but after seeing what i just witnessed i am no longer.

Thrilled!

[LukeSkywatcher]

I know what you mean....I find myself looking up at the sky all the time. When I was on holiday in the Maldives in July, there was virtually zero light pollution and I couldn't make out any constellations as there were so many stars! I tried for ages, but couldn't even find a single reference point from which I could start to star hop. Then my wife said she could see a smudge in the Sky. M31. Gotcha. Binos picked it out beautifully. Couldn't believe what a difference really good dark skies made. Wished I lived out in the sticks......

I hear you. I was at a family wedding a couple of yrs ago at a hotel in the middle of nowhere (30 miles outside of Dublin city). I went outside for fresh air and the sky was sooooooo dark and full of stars that i could not identify a single star,planet or constellation. There was just too many stars.

That was a very weird experience.

[Buzz Dark Night]

I am of the age where the Apollo moon landings coincided with my school days and I begged my Dad to buy me a telescope for Xmas one year and first view of the moon it just blew my socks off!

Forward 40 years and my interest was re-awakened when I saw Jupiter through a 10 inch scope and WOW! WOW! WOW! I was just like that 10 year old kid again, only difference was that I had a cheque book and was able to buy myself a damn good telescope to make up for all those lost years!

[toshapetriji]

I´m new to astronomy so still getting lot´s of wows. I love viewing the moon but the real wow was Saturn, what a sight that is.

Thanks Astro_Baby loving the scope. Bit skint now though too many things to buy, lol.

[umadog]

Saturn. Age 7 or 8. 50 mm refractor at 40x.

[quantum64]

TBH, i was hooked long before i looked through a telescope.

That's exactly what I was thinking.

[Geys1987]

M57 with my 114/900 reflector. It was my first DSO and it's still my favorite. When it's up in the sky and I'm outside with the scope I observe it every time (often more then once) .

[brantuk]

Started with the Venus transit in binocs projected on a blank sheet, Halle Bop, then binocs on the Moon got us intrigued. Bought a small scope and first object was Saturn - there was no going back after that awe inspiring view

[jgs001]

Looking at the moon through a pair of 7x35's from behind double glazing... something that simple made such a difference to the view... Even from indoors through the window.

[Dave S]

I am of the age where the Apollo moon landings coincided with my school days and I begged my Dad to buy me a telescope for Xmas one year and first view of the moon it just blew my socks off!

Same here.

Dave...

[Pete Presland]

easy one that a very very small saturn,i could still make the rings out just

[star_chaser]

mrs johnson from no42

na just kidding the moon for me

[tiwar]

The moon and Jupiter so far. I hope Saturn is as good as everyone says.....

T x

[Zapp]

Sure is, worth staying up late for. When I started last year it was rising quite early and it was the first thing I saw. M81 and M82 were special too, my first dsos but Saturn got me hooked

Jupiter was great as well, I went camping in the lake district and set an alarm for silly o'clock and set up my scope trying not to wake the entire campsite. Got a great view, very much worth it.

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

[angusb1]

The Moon through a 50mm refractor 30 years ago. Hooked ever since

[Hypernova]

It must've been Saturn through a rubbish Vivitar 60mm refractor back in 2008, the 'scope was absolute rubbish and the mount wobbled really badly but I was absolutely amazed. I persevered with the **** 'scope and went on to observe Jupiter, the Moon and the crescent of Venus which were all amazing to me as a newbie and couldn't help but drag my mum out to have a look

When I went to my first of second astro club meet back in March 2009 I had a real WOW!!! moment when I nudged a friend's 12" OO to M13 and saw the amazing sight that was countless stars scattered across the FOV at around 120x. It was almost too good to be true and I haven't forgotten the sight since

[Doley68]

Like a great deal of us, it was saturn through a 50mm refractor.

It was in 1980 if I remember correctly. Never looked back!

[bobbyowl]

Jupiter ober Christmas 2009.

[Ewok]

Hi.

I have always enjoyed looking skyward to the stars, but couldn't believe the view I got of the moon through my littlle nephews toy like Tasco telescope. Just blew my mind and opened up a whole new world to me.

[JamesM]

Having nearly finished an astronomy course at the local university, the tutor surprised us all one evening by announcing that instead of learning another constellation, it was about time we got out there to observe some of this stuff. After he set up his large dobsonian he then announced to everyone that we were only allowed to look through the scope if we promised not to tell the others what we had seen until everyone else had taken a look. He also said that we would need to spend a little bit of time trying to remember what this object is called. As you might imagine, that got all of our juices going trying to anticipate what on earth (or not:D) he was going to reveal to us.

I was fortunate to be the first to look through his scope and really had to struggle hard not to let out of the bag what I had just seen. I will never forget watching the faces of each of my fellow students as they stood back from the scope, hand over their mouth each looking at the other with absolute amazement as there eyes met with a fixed expression which shouted, "Did I just see...... Saturn!!!!"

You can't escape that moment of magic as you make contact with something that is so familiar and yet so unique when you 'see' it for real for the first time. Of course that still applies to everything else that you see through the scope for the first time but I'm so glad that Saturn was my first real observation. Never looked back.

James

[samtheeagle]

Saturn. What a wow moment that was. It was the first thing I aimed my first scope at, and blimey wasn't it a sight! I reckon I might remember that for the rest of my days...

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I got hooked very early, but spotting M13 through a pair of 10x50 binoculars was great. M42, Saturn and a lunar eclipse through the 70mm achromat at school was another defining moment.

[iamjulian]

Saturn through a big telescope on the roof of a university in a dark location. It was a "holy cow" moment.

[Stephen]

The moon through my granddads binoculars, just blew my mind

[Macavity]

I was never greatly impressed by my first mid-sixties standard 30x30 telescope. But it was fun, terrestrially, and I did see the Jovian satellites and a some hint of Saturn's rings.

Following the idea of SPM, I actually *did* make a telescope from a simple(!) 1-dioptre, close-up, camera "supplementary" lens. A couple of microscope eyepieces gave it a "colossal" magnification! <G> But at least enough to see the Moon in wobbly, faint, closeup and resolve my first ever double star - Mizar (itself)! Doubles and clusters have remained my favourite objects...