First views that got you "hooked"! - Page 2

CoombellKid · #21 08-08-2008, 06:42 PM

The naked eye view of the milky way in my backyard one night a half
dozen or so years ago when we first moved here from sydney. That
gave me a taste, then it was walking down the main street of Casino
a few days later when I spoted a 60mm Tasco on a wobble tronic mount
in the window of Barber/Gunshop. My wallet and eyeballs have been hooked
ever since.

regards,CS

bmitchell82 (Brendan) · #22 08-08-2008, 07:19 PM

I think it was when i was a young fella year 6 i think and my oldies brought me a project book for my project about the moon (

) then it progressed when i saw comet Mcnaught? last year, and my mate with his 100 dolla DSE wobbletron that was up the duff gave me that, now for the last 6-7 months though talking with people in the know i have got it to a reasonable state of viewing even though the view finder is 4x35 with a massive chip in the objective lense and half the 114 mm mirror missing due to my mate trying to "clean it" he cleaned it alright cleaned the mirror right off.

but even so, views of saturn and jupiter have been possible but the best and thing that pushed me over the boundary to get a decent scope was of all the Jewel Box mag 4.2 in the city with that old scope and i even picked the colours.... SOLD ! DONE SAID MATCH

Jen · #23 08-08-2008, 10:59 PM

Awwwwww nice stories

glenc (Glen) · #24 09-08-2008, 06:51 AM

Is Bishop Christopher Toohey a member of IIS? This is about his first views.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/...e#contentSwap2

Chippy (Nick) · #25 09-08-2008, 07:28 AM

Moons of Jupiter in cheap 10x50 binos (from Sydney). A friend indicated they could be seen, and I couldn't believe it when I finally resolved a couple of them (finally 3) after resting the binos up against a fence. What a night! I haven't looked back since. Hooked (line & sinker). I think Jupiter may always be my favourite...

prova · #26 09-08-2008, 07:58 AM

Always wanted a telescope and for some reason just never took that first big step, then my Wife purchased a dept store 5.1" reflector for my bday and I remember how excited I was, so in a mad rush to use it that evening I put it altogether (had no idea that things like polar align, etc even mattered or existed) I just wanted to go outside and look at the universe, then I saw the moon and just pointed this thing at it..

Think I heard a crack of concrete when my jaw dropped, the image came into focus and I was actually looking at craters in detail!

Fantastic!

Soon after receiving that reflector I found IIS and I think one of my very first posts was "Can you see flag on the Moon"

Legin (Nigel) · #27 09-08-2008, 09:51 PM

Hmmm my first views that got me hooked were obviously naked eye things like the Southern Cross and Orion. I still love just looking at those with my eyes only now I have a few more favourite constellations as well.

But my first telescope views. Binoculars and it was probably the Moon, Orion, the seven sisters and Jupiter with its Galilean moons. I used to go out night after night, many times, just to see the moons of Jupiter having changed postion. I would even sketch them in a notebook and do then look them up later.

I know I wasn't performing rocket science but it fired my imagination none the less

...

kinetic (Steve) · #28 10-08-2008, 05:49 PM

My first views were as a kid at Christmas, Victor Harbor caravan park.
My brother and I were cruising around the park on our bikes and we saw
another caravan park resident using a monster telescope...in the daytime!.
We asked if we could look through it and the bloke showed us Venus in
the late afternoon sky. The scope would have been about an 8" F7ish Newt.

I nagged my father to build one...we eventually did and we ground and
polished our own mirrors.
This scope was later to give Trevor Barry his first views of Saturn.

The other thing that inspired me to dive into astronomy was mum's
uncle Norm.
He was the curator of the Adelaide levels planetarium and he put on
a show for us also when I was a kid of about 10.

Steve B.

Kevnool (Kev) · #29 10-08-2008, 05:58 PM

Trevor only speaks kind words about you Steve......the eight hours of veiwing through your scope in which he became completely hooked.......ask Trevor about his next adventure....Cheers..Kev.

desler · #30 13-08-2008, 02:15 PM

Saturn, M42 and Omega Centauri!

But Saturn was really the one with the chemically sharpened hook!

Darren

ving (David) · #31 13-08-2008, 04:30 PM

next doors bathroom window...

just kidding

Kevnool (Kev) · #32 13-08-2008, 05:37 PM

L.M.A.O....... Ving

Jen · #33 13-08-2008, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ving

next doors bathroom window...

just kidding

LMAO @ Ving

Satchmo · #34 15-08-2008, 10:12 AM

Crescent Moon was the first thing I saw with my 66mm brass spyglass at age 12 . With that scope I then found M42, Venus, Saturn , Jupiter, Omega Cen and NGC 2516. Seeing the rings of Saturn for the first time (having studied every bright star in the vicinity until I found it, was one of the greatest `highs' I can ever remember. I can still remember bouncing up and down with excitement and debating as to whether I should wake my parents at 3AM..
Jupiter was in Scorpius and near opposition so I could make out the disc and two equatorial belts.

The Spyglass was hanging from the clothes line by electrical cord with the eyepiece balanced on cardboard boxes. It a wonder I could see anything. It was originally owned by my great grandfather in England and my great aunt gave it to me and related how she remebered him showing her the Moon through it around 1900. It was great how it fostered my interest when there were no cheap telescopes around like there are now. It did however mean that I ground my first 6" mirror at 14 which stimulated a later career in optics.

erick (Eric) · #35 15-08-2008, 11:10 AM

Great stories everyone - keep them coming! Saturn seems to be leading the race!

Jeff · #36 17-08-2008, 12:25 AM

Similar to Kal, my first telescope views were through an ETX goto (60mm). Items which got me hooked from suburban skies and quickly promped purchase of a dob were:
1. Saturn
2. Pleiades (aka 7 sisters, M45)
3. The Moon (filtered)

Getting hooked further with first dob and first visit to a deep sky site were:
4. Jewel Box
5. Omega Cent
6. 47 Tuc
7. LMC & SMC
8. Eta Carina region
9. Orion nebula
10. Jupiter & moons

jjjnettie (Jeanette) · #37 24-08-2008, 03:44 PM

I've always been fascinated by the night sky.
Any doco on space would interest me.
And of course being a Sci-Fi freak I'm lost already.

But the hook line and sinker came when my boys were studying a little bit of Astronomy at school. For prac they invited this bloke to come with his scope to show the kids a few objects up in the night sky.
Parents were welcome to share the viewing.
The first thing I saw was Omega Centauri. To learn that that big fuzzy thing was in fact millions of stars just floored me.
I honestly can't remember what else he turned his scope to that evening I was so stunned.
Not long after that I bought my first copy of Sky and Space, got out an old pair of bino's and started searching for DSO's.
It's been nearly 5 years now and I can't see me slowing down.

RB (Andrew) · #38 24-08-2008, 04:36 PM

A view of the full moon through a friends 40mm Tasco when I was 6 or 7 years old.
Later I received one as a gift and till this day I still remember the excitement of taking that little scope out the back to have a look around the sky.
Still have the scope, made in Japan, quite solid with some parts made of chrome, no plastic.
I've given it to my eldest son.

Davekyn (David) · #39 24-08-2008, 06:50 PM

First View was"

60mm TASCO
...Rings Of Saturn...OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "You can see the rings WOW!!!!!!!"

Alchemy (Clive) · #40 24-08-2008, 08:03 PM

have to be the rings of saturn through my first scope (over 30 yrs ago).

the amazement that you could see detail in something so far away, when people see my pics its still the planets that impress most... perhaps because people can relate to it more.