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Will someone please turn out the lights?

ruiyyanko

By ruiyyanko
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ruiyyanko

ruiyyanko

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Hello, I'm new to all this, so thought it best to work my way up from the beginner's corner and say hello to everyone from not-so-sunny Bispham (near Blackpool). You can call me Charme or Charmain...not really bothered, so long as it's not Chairman or Charmin (get enough of that at work)! The username Ruiyyanko actually derives from my middle name.

I'd had a telescope on my wishlist for ages, but didn't expect I'd ever get one, so think how astonished I was when my husband came home one evening and told me he had a surprise waiting for me in the car and that he needed my help getting it out of the boot. :hello2:

I have to admit my imagination did run wild for a minute, but fortunately, the box in there said 'Celestron' on the lid..turned out it used to belong to a colleague of his who was willing to let us have the scope for £90. :hello2:

While I may be a novice, my husband is a more experienced amateur, having built his own humble telescope when he was a kid. Actually, he's on here somewhere...you may know him as the guy who wrote that Photography 101 tutorial. Since you are reading this, I will presume you survived the tech equivalent of War and Peace without having gone cross-eyed (or just haven't come across it yet)! As you've probably guessed, he's responsible for all the astro-imaging while I am just content to gaze at the stars.

It turned out that our Celestron NexStar 114SLT was on its last legs anyway (quite literally in fact, since it was the mount's motor that finally packed it in). We'd only had it for a few weeks! That's when the tears started (mine, obviously). After much deliberation, it was decided that we'd be better off getting another telescope than trying to fix it, and that's how the Skywatcher Explorer 150P ended up in our front room.

We started out observing the sky in our backgarden, but most of you will probably know that's quite a challenge. Some nights, I can hardly see Polaris or Orion's Belt (the Andromeda Galaxy remains elusive) due to the skyline of our neighbour's houses, and the light pollution. There is a streetlamp right by our house, and our neighbours like to keep their lights on...even when they are not there. Heaven knows why...However, last night we went scouting for another site and found quite a decent one not that far away. Apparently a local astronomy club also uses it. Sadly, the moon was full, and the forecast cloudy, so we made our sad way home. :hello2:

Oh well, the sky isn't going anywhere, and there will always be other nights (minus the clouds)! Anyhow, it appears hubby is not the only one who's long-winded...I will go now (and forage for nibbles), before you all lose the will to live!

Happy stargazing!

PS - David for posted that pic of me with zero warning! No dinner for him tonight... ;)

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi Charme and welcome to the forum.

As if the clouds weren't enough to make things difficult, we then have neighbours with lights! Well at least you have found an alternative which sounds great and to be honest, it is sometimes easier not to observe at home as you can feel you have to tip toe around the place in the early hours which will always guarantee that you will knock into the noisiest thing in the garden!:hello2::D

Glad you could join and clear skies.

James

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ruiyyanko

ruiyyanko

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Hello again and thanks for the warm welcome!

Yes, the neighbours are a cause for concern (though they are generally quite lovely, bless'em)! I always worry that they might think we're spying on them, though it might not be a bad thing if it meant they turned their lights off. LOL

We were in Orkney for a week December last year, and how lovely and dark it was there. The sky was absolutely stunning! If only we had a telescope then!

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ruiyyanko

ruiyyanko

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Hello Charmain and a very warm welcome to SGL, your Hubby was obviously quite wise in deciding to invest in a new scope instead of a never ending supply of tissues :hello2:

Haha, yeah...the tissues would have bankrupted him!

Hi & welcome from a not too distant kirkham!

Hello to you too! Found any good dark sites nearby, the one we checked out was Pilling Lane Ends.

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stolenfeather

stolenfeather

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Hi Charmain and welcome to this forum. I must admit that you are a welcomed sight since I no longer am the only long-winded female on this forum! Like you, I prefer simply gazing at the skies to capturing images (although I make feeble attempts now and then).

Isabelle

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mr saddo

mr saddo

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hi there, welcome, yeah i know how you feel with the lights, its the same where i live, street light to the north, west, east, and football ground a few street away!!! when there on its a blue glow to the south. i have to scurry in to a corner behind my shed and conifers and hang big long blankets on the clothes line to block out light. oh yeah and i made a shroud to go round my newt.

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