star gazing

Is there anyone else on here who indulges in a bit of amateur astronomy.I have always been interested in Astronomy so a couple of months ago i bought something i had always wanted, a telescope. not a boy scout scope but a 1/2 decent reflector. I have joined a local astronomical club which has a superb telescope ..so far i have seen the moon , Jupiter and Saturn ...Now i have got myself kitted out properly as i had a set of decent eyepieces delivered today and when aint so damn cold i will be spending a few nights in the garden (when the street light go off that is)...to see what i can see ...i may even see home

Re: star gazing

I remember you saying when you got your telescope Steve, I hope you'll get a good few clear nights when it's not so cold and you can enjoy all your new stuff.
Don't forget to let us know when that big promised meteor is heading our way to destroy us all, give me plenty of time to finish off my cigars and all my fine port stock.

Re: star gazing

You probably already know this excellent site but others might not:

http://www.heavens-above.com/

Once you register it remembers where you are so you get an accurate star map for your location at the current time or any time you nominate. For your happy astronomical ignoramus like me it is great when you wonder what that bright thing in the sky is you can look it up and discover that it is the moon or Jupiter etc. It also shows the location of the space station and satellites; wonderful site.

We are very lucky the southern skies are so full of stars. (Mind you I am just in the northern hemisphere at the moment so that map is what I would be seeing if I was home)

Re: star gazing

I was lucky enough to get a view of Saturn through a good telescope once, at the Astronomy Club at the U of Guelph. I was quite thrilled.

Re: star gazing

I would love a good telescope - I'm sure you will enjoy your new hobby Steve - reach for the stars kid

Re: star gazing

Its surprising how affordable it is ..OK if you really want to get involved you can spend thousands but I have got set up for about £150 ..OK i was very lucky with my telescope as i found a very good E Bay bargain which appears to have paid off ..but realistically you can get a good scope and accessories for about £200 ... I joined a club http://www.oasi.org.uk/
and can get all the help I need from the other members ..I am also very lucky as this group has its own observatory with a extremely large antique telescope which we can use , when the weather is ok...

Re: star gazing

My husband was very interested in the cosmos and that rubbed off onto my eldest granddaughter, so we bought her a good telescope. Unfortunately, her mother found her peering into neighbours houses with it! It was confiscated until she was older.

Annie - I have also seen Saturn. Not far from where I used to live in Birmingham, there is a place called The Lickey Hills and the Park Rangers put on some excellent things there and one was when they invited some profressional astronomers to bring their telescopes and explain it all to us (all during the time Saturn was visible) - amazing sight.

Re: star gazing

Last week my telescope broke 3 months old hardly used .....I then found out that it was had a very cheap mount.....I had already bought some accessories so with a bit of help from family I purchased a good quality REAL telescope ..I paid a bit extra to get it foe the weekend and it came today ....guess what ...it was faulty... a part has got to go back and be replaced before i can use it .....

Re: star gazing

How bloomin annoying is that

Re: star gazing

I could actually repair it ..if it was out of warranty i would have very easily ..but at £400 out of the box why should I .