New kid in town

[BadWolf]

A quick hello to everybody. I live in light polluted Brisbane (Aspley/Boondall area) and joined Ice in Space several weeks ago. Family issues have kept me from posting and announcing my presence, but now here I am.



My backstory starts waaayyy back in 1968 when as a 13 year old in Bundaberg I joined what was a very active Astronomy Club with their own observatory out in the sugar cane fields called "Alloway Observatory". Under their tutelage I ground a 6 inch f/8 mirror and got started in astronomy. My fondest memory is those dark skies in rural Queensland and looking at 47 Tuc seeing the tiny stars looking like firelies.



After a lifetime, and now in retirement, my interest has piqued once more, and I am now active on clear nights, out making up for all the lost observation time since those youthful days. My main interest is visual astronomy - not a great choice for Brisbane - but having been a keen photographer for many years, I will be having a go at some basic level Astrophotography over the near term. I have read many forum posts and note that there is a high level of expertise among the members. Looking forward to communicating as time goes by,


Stewart B

[xelasnave]

Welcome Stewart thank you for your post and I hope you enjoy the Iceinspace experience.
Alex

[srmnm]

Hello Stewart,

Thanks for sharing your story!
Enjoy the visual astronomy. I lived in Wynnum, and even close to the port I was able to do lots of viewing. BAS do dark sky nights up at Maleny regularly. You should check it out.

Cheers,
Will

[m11]

Welcome Stewart,

I am sure you find everyone really helpful on iceinspace.

I have been given lots of help and still learning from the members on this forum.

Have fun viewing!

[gaseous]

Welcome Stewart.
If you troll about on Facebook you'll find various local groups that hold fairly regular viewing nights (covid permitting) at an assortment of dark sites within a couple of hours of Brisbane if you're keen to escape the city lights. BAS, SEQAS, and Astro Anarchy are three that spring to mind, although I dare say there are others as well.

[BadWolf]

Thanks for the tips about dark sky nights. I was aware of BAS but not the other two you mentioned. Will do some sleuthing. Stewart

[BadWolf]

Thanks for the welcome.There seems to be a lot of quality advice and skills regarding astrophotography on the forum. Being an avid photographer (old darkroom days, and now Adobe Lightroom), I am keen to move slowly into some astrophotography - probably with a Nikon DSLR 7200 (APSC) initially before moving forward.

[Aron]

astrophotography is such a money pit, you're better be ready buying every nitbits here and there, hahahaha

[xelasnave]

$1500 for HEQ 5, $850 for F5 8 inch Newtonian and Coma corrector, $40 for t ring and you are there...add auto guide scope and camera $550...but you can get away with good polar align and shorter subs..works for me.
A big bang for your buck set up that can last you life time..better still go narrow band later $3000.
Start right away but ...dont put it off.. trust me on that one...
Alex

[Startrek]

Stewart,
Welcome to IIS
Hope you enjoy your journey in this great hobby, there are plenty of folk who can offer advice and support
In regard to Astrophotography I started out 5 years ago exactly how Alex described, although I used a 6” f6 newt , HEQ5, Canon 600D DSLR, then after 2 years progressed to an 8” f5 newt and EQ6-R mount , and now use a OSC cooled Astro camera
I’m also retired and enjoy both visual astronomy ( 12” Goto dob ) and Astrophotography from Sydney and my getaway on the South Coast of NSW
All the best
Clear Skies
Martin