Beginners Start Here!

[mildredbass]

Hello everybody! I'm glad to join your community. :)

[mloutfie]

Hi All, new member here. Been doing backyard observing for a month now in NOBLE PARK area in Melbourne. Any suggestion on nearby observing sight with less light pollution within 30 minutes drive from me?

[DavidS]

Hi. Welcome to IceInSpace. I suggest you have a look at lightpollutionmap.info

You want a place with radiance if you can.

David

[Miawilson]

Hello Everyone, I am new here and glad to join your community and seeking for information with the help of this platform.:)

[AdamJL]

Hello Mia, welcome to IIS

[Drac0]

Welcome Emy, enjoy your stay. :welcome:

[Miawilson]

Thank you Adam :) hope i will get useful information here

[AstroViking]

Hello all,


Medium-term lurker here, finally surfacing to say "Hello" and to join in the conversations.


Current gear is a DSLR + Star Adventurer, long-term goal is to have a dark sky site and my own observatory. (Although that goal is a long, long way off at the moment!)


Cheers,
V

[AdamJL]

G'day Steve and welcome. Yep, that's the dream of everyone here!

[Enceladus76]

Hey all,

Justin here and dipping my toes into Ice in Space. Hoping to increase my knowledge, gear and skills in astro...:)

[m11]

Hi Justin,

Welcome :)

Have fun and its a great learning experience.

Equipment acquisition can be a slippery slope, I would say just go easy at the start if possible. :thumbsup:

[PhillipB]

Hello,

I'm a middle aged man with a lifetime interest in astronomy new to Ice In Space. Over time I've used (just visually, nothing fancy :) ) an 80mm refractor when I was a kid and a Celestron C8 SCT as an adult. A few years back I upgraded to a Meade 12 inch scope but I've never got around to using it. Astronomy has been a bit sidelined for me lately and Ice In Space was suggested to me by someone at Bintel as a place where equipment could be offered for sale. Once I have "served my time" on this forum (30 days and 5 posts) I intend to list for sale a Meade 12 inch LX200 ACF and Giant Field Tripod. Probably also a Coronado SolarMax 40 (solar Hydrogen alpha) telescope. Till then I'll just keep using my pair of 1x7mm eyes (the focusser needs attention nowadays! :) ) under the night skies of Penrith NSW. Well, day skies for the solar telescope...

Nice to be here. Thanks for reading
Phillip

[RDB]

hello I am fairly new to astronomy-have a 120mm ED Black Diamond refractor scope with a NEQ6 Pro Go To Equatorial mount.
Seems a pretty good telescope to me, any suggestions please
cheers
Ron:)

[Ironh59]

Hi all
Newbie here.
Really grateful for the support I have been getting from the community in general. Wherever I go for stargazing, fellow astronomers offer their support, knowledge and even let me use their gear. Its a wonderful community and I am proud to be a part of it.

Just letting you all know that I own a 3D printer. I have come to know that it is useful for making some of the parts/accessories like bahtinov mask. If you are in Sydney I will be more than happy to print them for you at no cost if you are able to provide stl files. Its little something I can do for the community.

Thanks

[meltaxa]

Hi everyone. My name is Dennis and I'm new here too. Based in inner city Brisbane. Starting out looking at the moon and the planets to know my gear better before targeting DSO. I find IIS a valuable resource. I've been documenting my journey on a FB page, in particular I photo-chop my astro images into fruit when the skies are cloudy: https://www.facebook.com/fruityastro.

[Peter72]

Hi all. Another newby, am in rural NSW.
So, I've recently purchased an 8 in Bintel Dobsonian, and hopefully it'll arrive next week.
I really only started getting serious about going down this rabbit hole recently and after finding the Ed Ting channel on YouTube I decided to hand over the hard earned.
The interesting thing about this forum besides the obvious amount of info available, is the more I read the more I realise I have no idea about 99% of the content, but it's thoroughly interesting.
I've downloaded a few apps which have been a tremendous help and got the cheap binoculars out.
Can't wait for the telescope to arrive 😀

[generalzod]

Hi All I'm new in the Astronomy/Astrophotagraphy, here is my set up

Skywatcher Az GTI
ZWO Camera ASI485MC
Raspberry Pi 4 Running Stellarmate
Skywatcher Evolux 62ED

[nosleep]

New to all this and looking at buying a telescope and would also like to get into astro photography at some point.
Will probably get a cheap setup to begin with such as this :https://www.sirius-optics.com.au/saxon-1309eq2-velocity-reflector-telescope-with-motor-drive-system.html
No idea if this would accept a camera a little later on. But no matter, just wanting to begin my astronomy journey. :)

[mura_gadi]

Hello,

The telescope below was recommended as a good starting scope by an experienced astronomer and having looked at the specs it is a great buy bang for buck...

http://www.astroanarchy.com.au/telescopes/Virtuoso_Dob150.html

The 150mm will give you a more aperture and the tabletop setup will be way easier to use.

I doubt either setup would take a DSLR well and both mounts will be limited how much extra weight you can load onto them.

I think the table top with GOTO at the same price with more aperture would be a better intro scope imho. A cell phone mount will work with the table top pretty well depending on your phones adjustment settings.

Mobile phones are taking some decent snaps you just need to check the manual for how to access settings for aperture etc on your model.

[nosleep]

Thanks for the feedback Steve, much appreciated. That 6" Dobsonian is sure worth serious consideration.

[Maddie]

Hi,

I’m new to this forum. I’ve been enjoying astronomy and astrophotography for the past few months and I’m looking forward to learning from more experienced members.

Maddie

[TeamG]

Long time lurker, first time poster, need to get the count up to sell some goodies.

Shoot from bortle 5 in Canberra, kicked it all up a gear last year with big mount, refracter and dedicated astro cam

[SteveB-01]

Hi all, first time to this forum but not a first is astronomy, been doing this, on and off, since 78.

But I am new to digital astro, so I'm looking forward to heaps of tips in that area. Maybe tips on a pier, observatory, new mount, etc.. oh everything then.

[varshnei]

Another long time lurker but newish poster, need to get the count up to sell some goodies as well!!

Ive bought some stuff from here and learned a fair bit too.

[Tropic]

Yet another new member here, just ordered a nice little APO for visual and now need to find and gather all the bits to make it work.

[Questor]

Hey folks - newbie to the forum here, but not super new to the sky. Hoping to pick up plenty of tips and advice both directly and by osmosis :)

[barryehc]

I'm new to this forum but have had a life long interest in astronomy. Unlike lots of the entries I have seen I am winding down my observing and astrophotography. I've lots of experience so hopefully I can offer some suggestions.
barry

[Kevchu]

Hi Barry, Totally new to forums and am quite new to Astrophotography, Have a Meade LX200 x 10" x F10 ACF Mounted on a Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro. Have been using it for visual for some months now and would like to start Astrophotography. Have Nikon D850 with lenses, recently purchased a QHY286C and have no idea how to mount it to my scope. Can you please suggest an good electronic focuser to put on the my 10" Meade, also how to mount the QHY286C need all the help I can get. do you or any other members know anyone in Perth WA area? so I can meet & greet to get more info on setting up?
Regards, Kevin

[UKBill]

Hi all and happy new year 2023.
In 10 days or so I am arriving in Australia (Sydney) for a short stay to see my grandkids.
They are based near Coffs Harbour
So I arrive in Sydney and drive up, returning 30th to fly back on 31st.
I have some of the kit needed to start (no star tracker though) but no real experience at all. I have with me a Nikon D3300 and a selection of lenses, and a digital remote control for the camera, a lot of memory modules and batteries.
I also have a 2nd Nikon D3300 but with the IR filter removed. I have yet to get a decent photo out of it though no matter how I play with the RAW images in Gyimp It is still too red. :( so not thinking of bringing that camera with me, or my Scope due to it's size.
In short... anyone in the Coffs Harbour area got a couple of hours to help an old cluts like me introduce my grand kids to Astronomy and Astro photography. Back in the UK it is far too cold for my old bones to do astronomy for more than a couple of hours a year. The warm nights also coincide with thick cloud usually :( Any advice or help appreciated. Grand kids are 10 and 8 years old.
Keep smiling :)

[12InchTim]

Hi there,

I started my astronomy journey recently and getting into astro aswell. It's been a steep but enjoyable learning curve. First post on the forums, got to get the post count up

Cheers,

Tim

[BigK]

Been a member for a few years, looking to upgrade “ lockdown” equipment soon, appreciate the great advice available here.

[BreakaMilk]

Done photography for a while, always loved astrophotography and astronomy. Wanting to learn more about Deep Space photography, and maybe one day get a setup (hard to afford when you're a broke uni student lol). Currently just use a Nikon D800 and a basic tripod. Hopefully will get a star tracker to start learning more skills.

Looking forward to learning heaps from the seasoned pros! :)

[xelasnave]

Go static..you will be surprised...high ISO..and a copy of Deep Sky Stacker and get out there..start 2 to 5 seconds
And learn by experimenting.
Welcome.

Alex

[bobbyslogger]

Hi all,

Been lurking on an off for a while. Finally managed a decent shot of Orion and it processed reasonably well. Just need to fine tune the focus as I didn;t realise how much my eyesight has fallen off after 50.

I'm trying to find Carina but being in Inner Sydney, haven't had much success. I know it's between the Southern Cross and the false cross but not much luck. Any tips on an easy way to find her?

Thanks,

Rob

[DobDobDob]

Good shot Rob, considering the light pollution from your location, keep going with it, btw, over 50 isn't a disadvantage :rofl:

[henry417]

hi all,
my first post here

got into astro last year. still learning how to get better shots with the equipment i have.

here's Carina with 43subs x180s (11xHa, 16xO 16xS) , REdcat 51 , ASI1600mm , SW HEQ5 mount.

i am unsure about the post processing , are there any recommendations of youtube or any online materials on post processing ?


thank you

henry

[pjb009]

Hi all haven’t posted in years.
Is there a thread for posting UAPs on Iceinspace ?
We just observed what appeared to look similar to a star with meteor tail Sunshine Coast Qld in the east sky .
Thanks
Amended :
https://7news.com.au/technology/space/mysterious-light-above-east-coast-actually-indias-chandrayaan-3-moon-landing-mission-c-11284152.amp

[LookAtTheStars1]

I am a beginner astronomer and I just wanted to get your opinions on the Bintel BT202-B 8 Inch Dobsonian Telescope since this is the telescope I am currently leaning towards.

[m11]

Hi Benjamin,

Thats a great scope to start off with, decent amount of aperture to start off with and easy to use.

The eyepieces it comes with are ok as well, being plossls from memory.

I found a laser collimator easier to use with my dobs and also having a telrad with the optical finder made it easier to locate objects.

Have fun, :)

[Kaleb_Daark]

So "Hello everyone".
Another longish time lurker first time poster.
Like a lot of people here I've been into space since I was a kid (a long time ago).
Been getting back into the photography side of things over the last couple of years.
Pretty basic setup so far, Celestron Nexstar 4SE with a moderately OK Canon M6. Not the best, but it does OK.
Hopefully I can pick up some info from the more experienced of you and correct my errors...

[johnhild]

Great photos

[Simon_W]

G'day everyone,

Another long-time lurker, minimal post-maker.

Been keeping a keen eye on the classifieds for years (bought a few things too!), and am now up to sell/give away some things too.

Here is one of my fav's using an esprit100ed with a canon 650d :)

313565

[humner]

another long time lurker. I made a DIY stepper motor driven EQ mount, but still not found time to properly use it yet.

[Chetankumar]

Hello everyone. How are you guys
:welcome:

[hegemon]

Hi all,
As I understand it, I can write a welcome post here.
So...
I’m new to the forum and not very good at astrophotography yet, but I have a great desire to start understanding this, which is why I’m here.

[MattB_77]

Hi all,
Recently joined the site. Was directed here from the Bintel shop in Sydney. I've been into astronomy most of my life and bought a 10" Dobsonian years ago - unfortunately spent a lot of time sitting in the garage. Probably looking to downsize soon - but need to meet the minimum requirements before I can put it up for sale here!

[Harro]

Hi everyone :)

[Brucegoose]

Hi Everyone.

I've rejoined as I don't have access to the original email address that I previously joined with.

I'm into astrophotography.

[kssz2]

Hi everyone, looking forward to selling some astro gear

[Beanix_Rising]

Hello I’m new to posting …have been reading a lot but not writing…but I might want to list some stuff for sale so have to get my 5 posts LOL. Just started SO astrophotography this year…learning lots as I go cheers

[Seraphim]

Hi All, had not realised Australia had such a vibrant stargazing forum and only registered to sell my scope but I think I'll stay a while and learn a lot first!

I'm currently in Sydney butmoving to more rural QLD soon so hoping for darker skies!!

[gl65]

Hi All, been a member since 2016 and enjoyed this site, learning so much over the years what a great resource.
:)

[Bluebeard]

Hi,

Long-time lurker first time poster. What light pollution filters would anyone recommend for inner-city Sydney? Mainly for planet watching because we can't see the stars here!
Thanks

[Bluebeard]

Can anybody recommend any parks in the inner city of Sydney with reasonable tree lines?

The ones around Newtown, Stanmore, Chippendale and Erskineville are all crowded by trees making anything below 50degrees on the horizon impossible. In this neck of the woods, even planetary viewing is best done after 10pm for them to clear the tree line. Thoughts?

Giles

[Adskie180]

Hi Guys,

Been around here for a long time finally decided to say hi.

I am from Sydney and enjoy learning about astrophotography.

[Digzzy]

Hi All
I haven't been a member for long. I am in NSW. thought i would say Hi.
I will start to scroll through the threads for information and will probably ask questions

[BenAstro]

Hello I would like to say hi to everyone on this forum from south Brisbane.

[volcanic]

:welcome:

[Modoz61]

Hi all, just got a permanent setup and working through the wrinkles. I’m sure I will have a heap of questions and hope one day to be able to help others too
Regards
Mike

[Mattysouth]

Hi everyone
Just a Noob with a RASA 8… probably not the easiest for a noob but starting to get some epic images