New Guy

[LAW]

:hi:

Hey everyone, I've always been fascinated by space and I can remember trying to explain to one of my primary school teachers that I wanted to be either an astronomer or a physicist (yep, chronic geek :ashamed:). I haven't got there yet but I haven't lost any of the interest. I've been into photography for a few years buy even my 300mm telephoto lens was hopelessly inadequate for looking at the sky (although I did get a recognizable image of M42 once :D)

I recently succumbed to curiosity and bought one of those cheap 1000mm lenses off ebay :shrug: and actually it's not too bad. It arrived just in time for my birthday so I pointed it at the 'supermoon' on the weekend and I managed to pick up Venus as it set before the cloud rolled in.

http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/ww351/NSWRATS/IMG_8763.jpg

http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/ww351/NSWRATS/IMG_8860.jpg

http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/ww351/NSWRATS/IMG_9004.jpg

http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/ww351/NSWRATS/IMG_9015.jpg

I'm hoping to find more cool stuff and eventually get some decent kit. (I'm very jealous of all the gucci kit and photos on here)

:thumbsup:

[ballaratdragons]

G'day Murphy, welcome.

I didn't even know the word 'Physicist' when I was in Primary School, let alone know what one is.

Great that you have stuck with it throughout life.

They look like bats in the 1st pic :thumbsup:

[brian nordstrom]

:D Dont apoligise mate , those photos are really good 100% better than my first attempts .
Yep they do look like Bats , and with the full moon behind them ,, well :thumbsup:. Good photo LAW .
Brian.

[madbadgalaxyman]

Murphy,

your photos are very interesting and enjoyable to look at.

Welcome to iceinspace.
There are all kinds of people in the IIS community, ranging from beginners through to some of the most knowledgeable and experienced amateur astronomers on the planet.....for instance:
- people who are absolute masters of telescope making
- people who have mastered the art and science of astro-imaging
- people who have spent decades observing galaxies and nebulae with massive telescopes and who know the visual appearance of the universe "like the back of my hand"
- people who discover multiple supernovae
- people who know the intricate details of the structures and properties of galaxies
- people who know so much about the solar system that what they don't know can be written on a postage stamp.

etc. etc...etc.....

For me personally, Iceinspace is a whole lot more valuable than my local astronomical society.

What we all have in common is that this is a friendly community and we all share an absolute enthusiasm and fanaticism about astronomy.

cheers, madbadgalaxyman

Further note added in edit:
I guess one of the best things about being an amateur is the fact that we are all in it for the enjoyment. We don't really have anything to prove;
but all the same, my list of some of the types of advanced amateur astronomers that we have withinn our community is a good illustration of just how very far some people have taken their hobby, just for the sake of their own interest and curiosity and enjoyment.

[LAW]

Thanks guys I've found loads of information and interesting stuff on here, and plenty of inspiration to go outside and look up too.

I just realised when I looked at my pictures that I hadn't reset my workflow so I had exported those pictures in super low quality because I'd just finished processing the thumbnails from a photoshoot. I hate it when that happens.

Anyway, back on topic I was amazed at what this little lens is capable of, I pointed it at Alpha Centauri and somehow managed to snap a reasonably clear shot of the binary system. It's not very big, and it's cropped pretty drastically but I'm quite proud of my $150 lens. I had to shoot it at 1/1000, F/16, ISO6400 because I haven't saved up enough to buy a tracking mount but I reckon that's not a bad effort.

http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/ww351/NSWRATS/IMG_9142.jpg

[brian nordstrom]

:thumbsup: Alright , you can definatly see its a double star , that very good thru just your telephoto lense .
Brian.