I'm the new guy

[JaseD (Jase)]

Hi all,
Well I've finally decided after lurking, to bite the bullet and introduce myself. I'm Jase and I am from the East Coast of the Northern Territory. We are just coming into the dry up here; the nights are cooling and clouds clearing.

A bit about me... I am a chalky who teaches science. I have loved space since I was a kid. Mum and Dad got me a cheap refractor from Big W, when I was 9. It was good for seeing the moon and Jupiter (good for a kid) but anything after that was way out of my viewing but was enough to get me interested. Now, I finally decided to speak with Ian from nightskysecrets, as I had done all the research I really wanted to do and decided to get an newt 8" astrograph. I had originally settled for a vixen and Ian suggested I go for the SW 200 Quattro CF. So here we are just waiting for it to come in and the clouds to settle.

I also have the heq5 goto mount (thought about a 6 but reviews all said 5 was better).

I went for the astrograph as I am already a keen landscape photog, nightscapes, city lights and sunsets being my favourite. So logically, well to me anyway, the milky way and beyond was calling. So piggy backing and full blown scope astrophotog here I come. Something to enhance my kids learning in science as well.

Anyway that's me. I will lurk around in the background for now, but will ask the noob questions soon; after all as I tell my yr 7s, "the stupid question is the one you don't ask".

Peace out
Jase D.

[Kunama]

Hello Jase, Welcome, sounds like you are all set to go.
Enjoy !!!

[Visionary (David)]

Jase, welcome!

[RobF (Rob)]

Jase

8" Newt and HEQ5 is an awesome combination. Great resolution and light-sucking power. Hope you get your gear going soon and some nice clear winter nights to turn it all loose on.

[astronobob (Bob)]

Welcome Jase,
Some exciting times ahead & some mild learning curves tho benefits are just awesome

[JaseD (Jase)]

Cheers one and all. Really looking forward to it all.

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Hi Jase and
Straight into Astrophotography eh ?
We normally warn 'new guys' about the slippery slope into the black abyss of astrophotography but it seems too late for you already.
So welcome to the abyss

I'm a long time serious amateur photog with many cameras used over many years but I have to say that astrophotography will teach you a lot more about the craft than you thought possible. It will delve into areas of technology and understanding that you did not know existed.

Best advice, take it a step at a time, don't hurry the process. Try the true and tested widefeild and planetary\lunar movie stacking exercises before you hand over your credit card for more hardware for guiding, scope control and cooled cameras.
Ask questions on here, there is a wealth of experience and knowledge to tap into and all will willingly share their expertise and encourage you to learn.
And most of all, enjoy the journey

Cheers
Brent

[N1 (Mirko)]

Jase, welcome and good on ya for not mucking about and getting straight into it. There is nothing wrong with that. I would encourage any starter to consider leaving the well-trodden paths or skipping what others might consider essential steps whenever they see fit. That is how you discover new territory. That is how I got into the hobby. If one day I do decide to go into AP myself, I'll probably get as much advice as I can, then do the exact opposite wherever possible

[JaseD (Jase)]

Yeah Brent, I can't see the minister for finance and home affairs giving the go ahead for a CCD for a number of years and if I pester her, I will definitely be speaking with the War office 😝. So for now I am keen to run with my nik D7000 and play with it. I am most definitely sticking in our backyard, so to speak, for a while; then venture out to the Messier objects later. One thing I am keen on is attaching the camera to a dovetail, with an ultra wide and running off some MW shots as well. Were I am, I have a dark sky site pretty close which is on a beach front so that will be cool.

Lol Mirko, I am a Science teacher so I try things out by nature 😃

[ZeroID (Brent)]

Jase, my first 'guide scope' was an old binocular front lens assembly and a $15 webcam so let your 'try things out' nature explore other options.
The OTA was a plastic Xerox toner tube and the focusser off a cheap kids plastic scope.
The cheapest good CCD is an ZWO ASI 120MC (One Shot Colour) at about $300 imported and is very capable on planets\lunar and can be made to work on DSO if you get clever. So not astronomically (hah!) out of reach.
So go for it with the Nikon and widefeild. You could also look into Back Yard Nikon, a piece of software put out by the same guy who wrote Back Yard EOS for Canon. Computer control for your Nikon for astroimaging. If it is anywhere near as good as his BYEos software which I use then it will make things a heck of a lot easier and teach you heaps more aswell. Cost about $30 -$50 IIRC depending on whether you go with the Premium version or not. Well worth it..

[PeterM]

Welcome to the hobby that takes you places you never imagined Jase,

You are certainly in the right place for advice, expertise and encouragement in this wonderful hobby and/or addiction.

Its great to see you are a science teacher, I guess/hope some of your passion will rub off on some of your students which is something we are short of in our amateur astro ranks.

Regards
Peter