Well, I am on my way.
Purchased a Celestron Nextar Evolution 9 and 1/4 inch telescope.
Put it all together this morning and is presently charging. It looks fantastic.
Michael at BINTEL was fantastic and patient and I was impressed with the process we went through before picking a telescope. We talked for over two hours before settling on the Celestron.
Learn't a heap and scored some books. Clearly the planets and Messier objects will take a years of fun and discovery. Also got a Barlow (hopefully I got the name right) lens and a moon lens (to tone down the brightness of the moon) to go with the two eye pieces that came with the telescope (40mm and 13mm)
Gave the astro-photography a miss, although Michael showed me some tools of the trade,...particularly basic equipment. But I figure thats a year or two away....if at all??
At this stage, I have the following short term plans (not including star gazing).
The first Macarthur Astronomy Forum is on the 18th. This is important so I can meet other members and start observing with others.
Need a carry bag for all the accruements.
An IPAD to take advantage of the inbuilt WIFI system. The software that I was shown is awesome!!!
Thats about it for now.
All I need is a bit of clear sky now to align the scope and start star gazing.
Thanks for all your help and suggestions.
