Quote:
Originally Posted by Hemi
Simply wonderful thread!
Enjoyed reading it immensely. I totally agree Chris, that the reading that goes with the observing is almost as good....for me reading others accounts of their own adventures is every bit as good.
Hemi
|
Thanks for the kind words Hemi. I've never been to Darwin but my brother was over-nighting there in the 70's when Cyclone Tracey flattened much of it. He was supposed to take a plane out the next day (he was an airline pilot) but ended up being delayed for quite a few days while some of the debris was sorted out. I hope you get good skies there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by coltpeacemaker
Great read Chris! I have just got my self a Celestron cpc 800 edge hd after many years using binos I can relate very much to your story! The highs and the lows off the hobby but it's been a blast.
Being from Perth too its disappointing there's no Stores dedicated to telescopes so I have been buying from the eastern states and have had no problems so far. My favourite spot is up in Pickering brook at a mate orchard which lets me escape the Perth lights so I can spot those fuzzy hiding out there. Cheers
|
The Celestron cpc 800 looks like a very nice score indeed. I might have to do some serious saving before I can snag a prize like that!
Pickering Brook is a lovely spot. Sitting in an orchard setting looking at the stars sounds like a great way to relax and enjoy the skies. We’re near Mundaring but far enough from any townsites to also enjoy some good viewing. Although not tonight. The only light struggling to pierce the cloudy gloom right now is Jupiter. However, it was clear last night and I sat outside for a while happily star hopping with the familiar smell of bush smoke in the air (from local hazard reduction burns) and the noise of bandicoots scuttling around me in the dark for company.
Good to hear that you’ve been happy with the experience of buying from the East. I’ll probably end up doing that too at some stage.
I’ve now been enjoying the hobby for a month, so can’t claim to be completely new any more, but I’ve got through the initially stages of waving the telescope all over the sky attempting to find new and different sights. I ticked off a few well known targets and then settled down to learn a “small” patch well. We have a lot of trees on the block but the area of sky I’ve chosen is easy to see from where I set up. It’s basically the Southern Cross and some other nearby attractions.
Initially I’d find the pointers and the Cross without trouble and then immediately get lost! But now I can locate all the parts of the Cross, the Jewel Box, the Running Chicken Nebula, Eta Carina in the The Carina Nebula, the Southern Pleiades, etc reasonably quickly and reliably. My aim is to explore those features a bit more thoroughly but also to be able to point my telescope randomly up in that vague general direction and get to know the less obvious patches of surrounding sky well enough to be able to pick where I'm looking, even when I haven’t landed on an easily identifiable section. I’m really enjoying the challenge and it should keep me occupied for a very long time yet!
Cheers,
Chris
EDIT: Well, I did say that the only light struggling to break through the cloudy gloom tonight was Jupiter, but a few minutes ago, just before the cloud completely shut everything out, this object appeared from behind a tree.
Hand held picture taken in a hurry with a regular camera, an inexpensive 300mm lens and everything set on automatic. So it's a bit fuzzy. I was about to fetch a tripod and try something a bit steadier and more considered when it vanished back behind the cloud.... With colour like that it may have been the glow from the exhaust pipe of an Alien spacecraft - so I was probably lucky not to get snatched up and probed...