First views that got you "hooked"!

[erick]

Probably been done before, but reading some beginners comments, I thought what were the first few things I saw (binos or scope) that had me hooked!

In no particular order:-

Moons of Jupiter
The Jewel Box
Omega Centauri
Orion Nebula
Rings of Saturn

This is probably a standard list! :)

What about you?

[sheeny]

Saturn
47 Tucanae
Omega Centauri
The moon

Later I discovered the Jewel Box, Jupiter's moons, etc

Al.

PS How could I forget M42???

[vash]

I can't remember what it was that got me really hooked.
I remember zipping around the sky and came across a yellow star when I looked through the eyepiece saw Saturn just floating there all majestic like.
Probably the views through the 10 dob where enough to keep me going then seeing that first shot that came up on the screen of the DSLR made me want to pursue the photography side more.

[wavelandscott]

The hook for me was most likely the Apollo program and all things lunar...I am a child of Apollo, my Mother would wake me up to see/hear the different aspects of the launches/landings...

The first view that hooked me was when I was in Primary school and we took a trip to the planetarium...to "see" the constellations and hear the stories behind them. Relatedly of "Curious George" fame. HA Rey's book about the constellations.

My parents tried to get me a telescope (cheap department store type reflector) but we never got it to work right and it was very dis-heartening.

In High School I got to look through a "real telescope" for the first time...again the moon and Saturn did it for me.

Once I got my own telescope...well that is a mightly long list.

So for me the first views were all "naked sky" views (planetarium assisted)...

[Striker]

Saturn then Omega then I had enough of visual...lol

Astrophotography was the only way to go for me....no offence.

[Ric]

The good old Moon is what got me started back in the 60's. I used to spend hours looking for the Apollo 11 lander with my Tasco 2.5". :rofl:

I guess my parents never had the heart to tell me that I couldn't see it.:whistle:

[Matty P]

The objects that got me hooked were:

Saturn
Jupiter
The Moon
M42 - Orion Nebula
47 Tuc

Although the main object that got me hooked was Saturn. After seeing Saturn through my 70mm refractor, there was no turning back.

:thumbsup:

[AlexN]

Saturn, M42, Jupiter, Eta Car. NGC2070. - That was my first night of observing, and I was floored... even just looking into a seemingly empty section of sky, and seeing a wealth of stars, where to the naked eye there were none was facinating enough... but seeing nebs and planets for the first time was a real hoot!

[Babalyon 5]

My wife & I had been armchair astronomers for years, eating up documentaries on television and newspapers etc. I am from rural SA with not a lot of money to spare, so never had a scope. Same as my wife, but she is a city girl. On a whim, she came home with a 60mm Tasco refractor that she had bought from BigW. We set it up and pointed it at this big bright star. It was Jupiter. :rofl:I remember the shock when I saw it and turned the scope around to look at the lens to see if it was a trick from the manufacturer. Even though the scope was crap, I'll never forget the off white colour of the planet and the two brown main bands, with 4 points of light next to it, the moons. Fantastic!!:eyepop:

[leon]

I reckon it would have to be Saturn, for me, I remember being blown away when I first spotted it in my just finished 200mm Reflector.

But now it is imaging only, don't do any visual stuff.

Leon

[StarLane]

For me,

Orion neb
Saturn
Carina neb
Omega Centauri
then,
LMC
SMC

That was all I needed to continue in the hobby.

[Rodstar]

Jupiter and its four brightest moon.....that had me immediately hooked.

Shortly afterwoods, I was luckly enough to see a large scale projection of Omega Cent out at the Trunkey Creek Observatory. I think that was enought to hook me for life.

[Kal]

A decade ago I borrowed a friends (apomans) Meade ETX and when I took it out and used it for the first time I just so happened to catch one of jupiters moons transit the planet. I was so impressed with what a small 3.5" scope could deliver that I went out and bought my own ETX.

[AdrianF]

In this order
1 Moon
2 Jupiter
3 7 sisters
4 Orion

Adrian

[mrsnipey]

Jupiter, then the moon.
Now I can't wait for the moon to disappear.

[Quark]

Hi Eric,
Never underestimate the ramifications of letting someone look through your telescope.

About 25 yrs ago a young bloke gave me my first look through a scope, at Saturn, changed my life.

It just made such an impression on me, could not believe what I was seeing.

Regards
Trevor

[Jen]

orion nebula, orion nebula, and orion nebula :D
then i had to wait a month before i could see saturn and when i finally did :eyepop::eyepop: it brought tears to my eyes :whistle: it was a very special moment to me, then Jupiter and its moons and then of course our moon i guess lol
it just keeps getting better and better :thumbsup:

[Jone5y]

For me it was 47 Tuc.
It was the first DSO I stumbled upon during first light with a scope that had only been finished for an hour or two and I had no idea what I was looking at at the time. It is not the most spectacular thing in the sky but certainly 1 I will remember.

[Craig.a.c]

Years ago, with no real interest in astronomy, I bought a second hand 4.5" reflector and pointed it towards saturn and M42 (thought it was just a fuzzy star at the time) and I was hooked. After some time though I lost interest in the hobby and sold the telescope. A few years later a friend of mine bought a 4.5" reflector and later decided that he didn't want it so I took it of his hands.
As soon as I realised there was so much more out there to see and a 4.5" wasn't going to cut it I decided to upgrade to my new 12" GSO dob, can't use it though (to many clouds) :(

[glenc]

The galaxy NGC 253 from my backyard with my new K-Mart 4.5" reflector about 30 years ago.
It was "almost" like this http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=46099&d=1218017592
The image is by Peter_4059

[CoombellKid]

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]

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 (:D) 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 :D

[Jen]

Awwwwww nice stories :2thumbs:

[glenc]

Is Bishop Christopher Toohey a member of IIS? This is about his first views.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/called-to-discover-heaven-on-earth/2008/08/08/1218139081327.html?page=fullpage#co ntentSwap2

[Chippy]

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]

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"

:lol:

[Legin]

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 :thumbsup:...

[kinetic]

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]

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]

Saturn, M42 and Omega Centauri!

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

Darren:eyepop:

[ving]

next doors bathroom window... ;)

just kidding :)

[Kevnool]

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

[Jen]

LMAO @ Ving :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

[Satchmo]

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]

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

[Jeff]

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]

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]

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]

First View was"

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

[Alchemy]

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.

[Glenhuon]

Always had an interest in Space and Astronomy from when I was a kid (another SciFi enthusiast here Jeannette :) ), used to read up everything I could find on it, but could never afford a scope or even bino's. First view was of the moon through a brass telescope on a lighthouse in the early 70,s. A dozen years later in Aus I got my first scope, a 60mm f15 refractor and saw Saturn, Jupiter, the jewel box and Orion and I was forever hooked.
So my list would be
1 The moon
2 Saturn
3 The Jewel Box
4 Orion Nebula
5 Omega Cent through the 20 inch at the Bunbury Observatory, that was the clincher :)

[StevenA]

My first veiw that hooked me was with the naked eye. I saw a fireball on Dec 9th 2006 from my porch at about 21:00hrs EST (I had just packed my scope away and walked out again to practise finding constellations.) It was fantastic to say the least.

[meliux]

firstly, I don't yet own a telescope, or even a pair of high-power binos (although I do intend to buy a 25x100 bino before christmas)... however my growing love of astronomy, much like others, has has been because of the following:

Streaming NasaTV - specifically watching for hours leading up to shuttle launches, ISS coverage, etc.
looking up at the sky and asking questions like "is there really that much dust that I can't see the bright centre of the milky way?" and investigating the answers.
KStars (and lately Stellarium... love the twinkling! hehe)
Hubblesite.org - specifically the NGC4038/4039 "Antennae" galaxies colliding. If you were on a life-supporting planet somewhere in there, just imagine what the view would be like at night. Wow.jawdropping movie of the NGC4038/4039 Antennae galaxies... one view of this and I was hooked! :eyepop:
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2006/46/video/a/

[MrB]

For me it was:
#1
Halley in '86, I was 11.
Used to sneak out late at night/early morning with my younger brother (and grandad's expensive bino's), and walk a few houses down the road to a friends house.
Back then the streetlights used to turn off around midnight so it was brilliant, and exciting for young kids.

#2
SN1987A in '87(obviously ;)), I was 12.
This was a lone pursuit, again with grandad's bino's.

#3
Aurora Australis in ? (89,90,91??)
Mum used to drag my brother and I out of bed in the wee hours to see this, was awesome.
Never seen it since.

#4
Shoemaker-Levi 9/Jupiter in '94
Unfortunatelly, didn't have any bino's or a scope, or know anyone with either, so not viewed.... but loved all the mainstream news and mag coverage.

#5
Hale-Bopp in '97
Lived in a house on the beach at this time, used to sit there with beer in hand watching awesome sunsets over the Indian Ocean and Penguin Island, followed by HB. Good times.
No bino's or 'scope, but did build a rough as guts camera to take some photo's, still have the negs.

#6
P1 McNaught.
Awesome, awesome.

[Rick Petrie]

Have always had an enthusiastic passion for the night sky and my first real closeup of the moon and jupiter was on a surveying trip to Wee Waa in the sixties and setup our theodolite on a verandah and was amazed at the detail on the moon etc.
Since then I have not pursued a real interest until last August on my birthday I got a GSO 10" Dob and now I am totally into it.
Thanks to my wife and Deeno for finding the scope.:thumbsup:

[IanT]

For my 13th Birthday, my parents bought me a 50 mm refractor by Royal Astro-Opt of Japan (which I still have in its original battered wooden box). This had remarkably good optics but sat on a tiny little metal tripod. I remember laying on the grass, peering up at Jupiter with my dog trying to lick my face. Now, 40 years later, the night sky is still a source of wonder and fun. In my minds eye, the view of Jupiter through the Royal back then was as good as it is now through my 12" Dob!
Cheers
Ian

[Fox]

SATURN! for me.
I had the most wonderful opportunity years ago when I took my scope (Genesis) over to a friends party, bonfire, BBQ etc. (mainly 20-30 year old Uni grads) and Saturn and Jupiter were brilliantly high. Although reluctant at first because I thought it might seem a bit too 'nerdy', they swayed me to set up the scope. The views of the gas giants floored everyone, period! Best of all, it was wondrous to witness the reactions of people who got their first view through a good telescope: "OMG, that's awesome...", "I'll never forget that in my whole life..." etc. etc. They simply couldn't believe it, for what they just thought were just typical bright stars turned into living globes with subtle planetary/weather detail... Fox!

[Jazza]

I'll echo most sentiments here...
M42
Saturn
47 Tuc!
The moon

Those were the big'uns I think :D

[Mark]

I grew up at dark site that was literally so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Actually, that's not true. It was so dark that you could see your hand by starlight. :)

My earliest memories are of lying on the lawn or sitting on the front veranda using my naked eyes to soak in the heavens. I got my first scope, a department store 40mm f/? refractor with draw-tube focuser when I was about 10. It had a tiny tripod and I had to lie on my back and rest it against a post or other fixed object to view anything higher than about 30 degrees. I recall the only object i ever saw with it (other than the moon) was M31. At least I believe it was, now. Of course, I had no idea what it was at the time. The memory is so strong that I reckon I could stand on the veranda of that house and point to that exact point on the northern horizon, just above tree line. Unfortunately, that house has since burnt down. Bloody top memory, though. That was the moment I decided I would have a 'big telescope when I was all grown up'.

That was 34 years ago. I have big telescopes now. I must be all grown up.

:)

Mark

[astro_nutt]

Hi everyone!
Going on the school camps gave me the opportunity to see the night sky that I wouldn't see at home..but what really got me hooked was borrowing a 60mm refractor...(Kmart focal!)..and viewed M42..I had to find out what it was!!..a visit to the local Library followed by every Astronomy mag set me on the path..after several years and a few scopes later I still get a kick out of M42!!..for me the wonder of the night sky hasn't dwindled one bit..but has grown..cause there is always something new or exciting to find or discover..or to rediscover!!
Cheers!!

[Wavytone]

The event that got me hooked was a partial solar eclipse visible from Canberra late in the afternoon of 1974 20th June after school, and the discovery of an antique refracting telescope which is probably quite a valuable one.

A month or so earlier we had heard of the eclipse and discovered the objective of a 4.5" Thomas Cooke refractor lying around in the cupboard of a chemistry class room, in its cell. Three of us managed to rig it up to project an image on a wall and had a nice view of the eclipse after school was finished.

After that we hunted round and found the rest of the scope in pieces - it had a beautiful phosphor bronze mount with a clockwork drive driven by weights and a governor, with a 1440 tooth bronze worm gear. It's the only only small scope I've ever seen that had setting circles with verniers that read to minutes of arc (dec) and something similar in RA.

We were able to reassemble it and had it working in the school grounds for a while, the drive worked a treat. What has become of it since I have no idea. The optics were f/15, airspaced and in perfect condition, it displayed a perfect Airy disk and with the help of some more modern eyepieces (we pooled our pocket money to buy 2-3) the views we had of the planets were lovely.

From memory the scope was donated by Colonel Oddie to the school in the early 1920's, about the time the Oddie 9" refractor on was erected on Mt Stromlo (and since destroyed in the bushfires). What has become of it since I have no idea.

[Jen]

Awwww that was such a cute story Mark lol @ all grown up now :lol:
Well done for following your dreams from when you were a kid :thumbsup:

[Lukazy]

Jen Hawkins - oh and Saturn through a little Tasco many moons ago

[Paddy]

Omega Centauri through a 10" dob at an astronomy weekend run for the Melbourne CAE by Ballaarat astronomical society. Didn't get a scope for about 8 years, but couldn't get that image of millions stars out of my head. Was also blown away by Jupiter and its moons during that session. My beloved had bought me the weekend after seeing me wandering around York optical looking at the pictures of nebulae and galaxies and asking about scopes. She also bought me my first telescope as a birthday present after we spent some time looking at comet McNaught last year. She doesn't seem to regret the complete obsession that she has so triggered!

[tonybarry]

I read Patrick Moore's "Guide to the Moon" and "Guide to the Planets" when I was 8 to 10 years old. Got really keen on space. Bought my first telescope when I was fourteen (a 4" Newtonian, Focal brand, from Kmart back in 1974) and looked at Saturn, Jupiter, and the moon. It just blew my mind.

I recall the first time I saw Saturn. The ring system just beat me. I realised just how far away it all was. I recall Jupiter being crisp (small but crisp), and the moon was just awesome.

I went away and did other things. Now I'm back with an f/4 8" Newtonian, a fairly supportive spouse (well she thinks it beats visiting the pub) and an 8yo daughter who lacks perseverance but maybe will grow into it.

From watching Hubble pix, I get the idea that it really is endless out there. Kind of scary, kind of freeing, makes me value the home we have, makes me want to find out more about what's out there.

[roccop]

Jupiter on my first scope - sw600 skywatcher 200mmx1000mm

[discovery]

Jupiter through a massive dob or at least it looked massive I was only 11 at the time.
:astron: No matter what I am observing, if I can I''ll always swing around to get a look at Jupiter before I go in.

[lesbehrens]

jupiter and its 4 moons, also looking at the orion neb.
i went out and bourght a 10" dob after my first view.

[Crusader]

While not technically a view through bino's or a telescope, I think the naked eye views of the night skies got me hooked. As a kid I could spend hours just laying on the lawn staring up at all the stars. Since then I always wanted a telescope, but never got one till I finally could afford one this year.

First view in my 10" dob was Saturn and it's definitely one of the most memorable "Wow" moments. After that M42 and of course Omega Centauri and 47 Tucanae!

[rastis95]

Orion Neb definetly got me going, then some planet hunting, never a dull thing to see :D

[Benny L]

My Dad used to work at the Perth observatory when I was a kid.. we used to and still pull all-nighters taking pictures of the heavens for the last 18 years..

I'm now 23 and still loving it! :D