Beginners Perspective

[steve.garner]

After using a few small scopes ( more like toys really ) over the years I have been firmly in the, look at some bright objects/planets - oh that's nice - there's some dots - is that it, camp. I bought a secondhand 'decent' scope, a Saxon 8" collapsible dob, going cheap because the eyepieces and finderscope were missing and one of the collapsible rods was jammed. After sorting all of the issues out and cleaning the filthy mirrors ( I was a bit nervous to do this but it was ok ) it was ready to go. I'm fortunate to live in an area which gets nice dark clear skies with relatively low light pollution but it's been a frustrating couple of weeks in Brisbane with total cloud over. So last night conditions were excellent with the moon not rising until late the test drive began.
I can see the Milky Way clearly so that's what I pointed the scope at - WOW I'm now firmly in the, this is the best thing ever, camp. I think as learners we have to get out of the point the scope and have a quick look mentality, as when you spend time to really let your eye adapt to what is there you see so much more. I'm truly blown away by how many stars there are up there.
Dark skies are a must.

One very happy novice

[Atmos]

I totally agree with you Stephen. I have done a lot of public outreach over the last few years and I have seen people in both camps. Some people have been dissatisfied with what they've seen as they were expecting to see something close to a Hubble image behind the eye piece. On the other hand others are just so excited to be able to see the rings around Saturn, detailed or not!

[sharptrack2]

I have to admit I was very disillusioned for many years after I first started, a very long time ago, but I also need to take responsibility for that. A little over a year ago I decided to actually learn about what I was trying to do. The Internet was a major contributor to that learning :thumbsup: . Once I figured out that the telescope I was using, a consumer class, 5" Newtonian, was BADLY misaligned, the stars were the limit! ;) I still struggle a bit, because, as an observer only, you cannot see all the detail a camera can. But when I do find that target and get a good look at it, it makes up for all the frustration. :P

[AEAJR]

One of the things I recommend to newbies is to avoid looking at the super detailed, super artificially colored pictures and go to "Turn Left at Orion" for realistic representations of what they will see.

I am into this for a year and having a grand time. For me the WOW factor is not how pretty it is but that I can see it at all. My sky is very light polluted. Whole sections of the sky are blank to the naked eye. And yet, with the telescopes I can see things that are millions of trillions of miles away.

The Milky way is a rumor I have heard but never seen.

Sometimes I run a calculation in my head about distance. If this thing is 100 light years away and each light year is 5.8 trillion miles, that is 580 trillion miles, and I can see it. :thumbsup: At 200X it now looks like it is ONLY 290 trillion miles away. ;)

Mars is roughly 50 million miles away right now. At 200X it looks like it is 2.5 million miles away. Maybe that's why I can't see a lot of surface detail. :)

The Moon is 250,000 miles away. At 300X it looks like it is 833 miles away. Could I see a car or a flag at 833 miles? :shrug: Guess that is why I can't see the lunar rover the Apollo teams left behind. ;)

But when I look off into that blank sky with binoculars or a telescope and discover amazing things, that is exciting. GoTo and PushTo computer assist has been a great help in this respect as there is not a lot for me to align on with a Telrad or a red dot finder.

[PeterD]

Hi,

Hi All This is Peter Dykas from Australia and i read your post and also i am suggesting something I prescribe to novices is to abstain from taking a gander at the super definite.

[Scorpius51]

That is very sad Ed :(. I hope you have an opportunity to get out into the country areas with a dark sky. Better still, come over to Oz!

[el_draco]

Bingo! Who needs crack for a high. Congrats on becoming hooked on the best thing since, well, anything really :thumbsup:

[el_draco]

Did someone mention its like a freeway across most of our skies.. ;)