#1041  
Old 21-10-2010, 11:13 PM
buddinseeker (Mike)
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Thanks for the info, my son is a very tall for his age 5.

Spent a little time out in Malaga at BOTW and got to see a few actual telescopes. One thing that surprised me was the size of these Dobsonians, their huge, the pictures in magazines do not do them justice. Was a bit cloudy and the sky pretty star free but the very helpful and informative guy in the shop pulled a 10inch outside to give me a little run through driving it. Upclose and personal with the moon and a first ever real life glimpse of Saturn has me very interested.

I guess now I am chewing on 8 or 10 and what accesories might help enhance the experience as a first time user.

The models I am considering is the Skywatcher collapsible Dobsonian. Just to big otherwise. Anything things I should be aware of with these ones, any drawbacks?

Any must have accesories. I believe these scopes come with 2 eye pieces. (high power and low power)

Finally my thanks to BOTW Malaga, they made a beginner feel very welcome and answered all my questions.
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  #1042  
Old 22-10-2010, 08:20 AM
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that_guy (Tony)
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heyy buddinseeker, invest in a telrad finder, its great and i wont be without it on me dob. i use it more often then the finderscope. easy to align and no fiddling with the focusing cos its 0x magnification. Its illuminiated circles makes it real easy to star hop, from memeory i think it was 2 degrees circle, 5 degrees and 20 degrees... tho i could be wrong.. anyhow its a great tool to star hop and learn your way around the sky
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  #1043  
Old 22-10-2010, 10:28 PM
lozza000 (Lauren)
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Hey all, I am a beginner, and I was just wondering what a beginner should start off looking at?
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  #1044  
Old 23-10-2010, 12:54 AM
buddinseeker (Mike)
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Cheers for all the help

Will post a further slew of questions in the appropriate forums as I realise I have to ask them. Will post back once I make the final decision on the scope though, think the decision will be between to 8" and 10" dob and if it will fit in my car to get a little mobile
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  #1045  
Old 23-10-2010, 09:37 AM
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Kevnool (Kev)
Fast Scope & Fast Engine

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Quote:
Originally Posted by lozza000 View Post
Hey all, I am a beginner, and I was just wondering what a beginner should start off looking at?
Hi Lauren and welcome .
If i was in your shoes i would go and get a planisphere from a quality bookshop or astro shop learn how it works get a bananna lounge and lay out under the stars and look up at the constellations.

Check out the bright stars on the planisphere and at the moment just look straight up at the brightest thing in the sky besides the moon and you will see Jupiter.

Take some binoculars with you for starters and lay back and enjoy until you decide totake the next step (beyond the stars and planets).

Cheers Kev.
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  #1046  
Old 23-10-2010, 10:02 AM
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Allan_L (Allan)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lozza000 View Post
Hey all, I am a beginner, and I was just wondering what a beginner should start off looking at?
Hi Lauren,
welcome to IIS.

This question would depend greatly on what you intend to use to look with?
Eyes
Binos
Small telescope
etc.

The best thing for beginners is to start with easy to find objects.

The elephant in the room, of course, is the Moon.
You will be amazed the detail you can see with simple equipment.
the best time is when it is less than half illuminated. Then look along the line where light goes to dark (the terminator) for so much more detail is seen due to the angle of the sun creating shadows that highlight the lunar profile.

Next would generally be the two larger planets.
Saturn is always stunning, but at the moment is probably setting to early to see.
but Jupiter is at a good position. The four larger moons are always a treat.

Maybe next would be some star clusters.
The jewel box near the second bright star in the southern cross.
Tuc47 near the small magellenic cloud.
Omega Centauri again near the cross and the pointers.

Then perhaps Nebula.
the great Orion nebula is easy to find (the second "star" in the sword of Orion) and beautiful.
Then look for Eta Carinae, again in the southern sky not far from the Cross.

After that, you will be enthusiastic enough to obtain star charts with objects and locations.

The Messier objects are a good place to move to then (although some are Northern Hemisphere. Caldwell objects are often overlooked but like Messier, the list is not to long, they are fairly easy to see, and many are Southern hemisphere.

Sometimes I enjoy just panning the milky way from the cross with binos, and discovering the many beautiful objects in that belt.

Have a look at the monthly challenge in Observational Astronomy thread.
Plenty of threads discus whats on.

finally, I like to look in th Aust Sky and Telescope mag for what is on at the moment, and the curent month star chart.

Enjoy.
And feel free to ask many questions.
We all started as you did.
Keep the enthusiasm going by sharing with people as on this forum.
And if you are ever over in the Eastern State, look us up.
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  #1047  
Old 23-10-2010, 05:38 PM
buddinseeker (Mike)
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Just to finish of my story.

now the owner of a Skywatcher 10" Dobsonian (collapsable)

I plumped for the 10 in the end and with a little luck I will try it out tonight it is all assembled though must say the instructions are a little vague in places with how tight to make things....
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  #1048  
Old 23-10-2010, 07:00 PM
lozza000 (Lauren)
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Great! Thanks for the help
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  #1049  
Old 23-10-2010, 11:20 PM
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Kevnool (Kev)
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Your welcome glad i could help
Cheers Kev.
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  #1050  
Old 26-10-2010, 04:13 PM
Trixie (Carey)
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I was going to take my time but couldnt resist it and bought my telescope today (Skywatcher 8" dobsonian). By the time I got home the clouds had rolled in. If anyone in the Adelaide region was planning on looking at the sky tonight Im sorry, its probably my fault!
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  #1051  
Old 26-10-2010, 04:25 PM
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mental4astro (Alexander)
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Congrats Trixie!

Bad luck Adelaide, ! 8"= 8 weeks cloud cover!
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  #1052  
Old 26-10-2010, 09:19 PM
Trixie (Carey)
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Well I went out and set it up to look at Jupiter and waited for a gap in the clouds. This was the first time I have looked at anything through a telescope so I was pretty blown away by the view! Cant wait for a clear night now. Until then I will probably bore everyone to death talking about my first view of Jupiter
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  #1053  
Old 31-10-2010, 03:40 PM
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Kevnool (Kev)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Trixie View Post
Well I went out and set it up to look at Jupiter and waited for a gap in the clouds. This was the first time I have looked at anything through a telescope so I was pretty blown away by the view! Cant wait for a clear night now. Until then I will probably bore everyone to death talking about my first view of Jupiter
Great stuff Carey.
You wont bore people with Jupiter cause thats all the buzz here at the moment.

Every 6 months i pay the city of churches a visit and most times there i look up in despair at the intense skyglow and cloud.

Cheers
Kev
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  #1054  
Old 01-11-2010, 02:02 PM
skitzottarius (Greg)
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Hiya all!

Thought I better stop in & say hi before I start posting a whole slew of new (yet I dare say repeated!), newbie questions!

I'm a complete, unadulterated amateur. No doubt in my mind & happy to say so. I've been gazing at the skies my entire life, & I'm able to spot a few constellations without refering to a chart or book. For example I'm ok with the more 'well known' such as Orion, Crux, etc...the Zodiacs of course (well, mostly). I can easily point out some other stuff (like the Pleiades), & for the most part, can spot a planet if it's up....
Got my first 'scope last year - a Saxon 1300 x 900 Reflector - a trifling toy compared to some, I know, but it's my first baby! hehehe

I'm yet to get as far as astrophotography - would need a beter camera then the one I've got anyhoo. And I'm also without any motorised tracking...but I'm working towards it!
I'm located just outside of Newcastle, in NSW & am lucky enough to be 'suburban' but with very little local light pollution....mostly. ;o)

Feel free to drop me a line of intro or some hints/tips/etc - I'll be sure to dig through all the forum listings for any topic I've got in mind before posting a fresh one up!
Anyhoo, as stated, just wanted to say hi & introduce myself..which I see I am yet to do...Hi all, I'm Skitzottarius aka: Greg!

Right then, off to scroll through the forums I go! Happy hunting folks!

Skitz
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  #1055  
Old 01-11-2010, 05:53 PM
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iceman (Mike)
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Hi Greg, to IIS!

Great to have another novacastrian. Are you a member of the NAS? They're a great bunch!

Feel free to ask plenty of questions!
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  #1056  
Old 02-11-2010, 02:58 PM
skitzottarius (Greg)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iceman View Post
Hi Greg, to IIS!

Great to have another novacastrian. Are you a member of the NAS? They're a great bunch!

Feel free to ask plenty of questions!

Hiya Mike! Thanks for the warm welcome, much appreciated.
By NAS I take it that's Newcastle Astronomy Society (or somthin' like that)? I'm yet to look any local groups up, but will be doing so over the next few weeks...
I'm seriously looking forward to advancing my level of skills & am always looking at future options when it comes to new 'scopes....not in the market yet, but always nice to know what's out there! I am very keen to locate the correct motorised tracking for my scope (I always go the wrong direction by hand! ), & am pricing things as I type (nice that Melbourne Cup day has slowed work to the point I can google things!).

Anyhoo, thanks again for the greets!

Skitz/Greg
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  #1057  
Old 14-11-2010, 12:08 AM
nataura (Nat)
Nat

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i got my telescope last week, braved myself it fix it. took it to my condo apartment terrace. managed to get a glimpse of moon and Jupiter. the telescope keeps shifting and is not steady. i guess, i have a long way to go
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  #1058  
Old 14-11-2010, 07:58 AM
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erick (Eric)
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Be patient, and work carefully Nat. Try to tighten the mount up so it is stable and wobbles as little as possible. Shorten the legs if that helps. You should be able to get views of the Moon and Jupiter with care.
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  #1059  
Old 14-11-2010, 04:47 PM
blasterchief (Dilan Fernando)
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Hi everyone,

I'm really keen to get into just doing astronomy as a hobby, and I've been doing a reasonable bit of research about what kind of scope to start out with.

So just thought I'd introduce myself, I think I might post a thread in the equipment area for a bit of advice.

Cheers,

Dilan
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  #1060  
Old 14-11-2010, 05:26 PM
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erick (Eric)
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Howdy Dilan!
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