Oh boy oh boy I really enjoyed that story Tom and thank you so much for sharing it with us.
Your journey is so much like the one I had with my father!
Being woken up all hours of the night for eclipses etc, the thrill of going after Halley's comet, showing me supernova sn1987a blazing away naked eye in our sky, showing me the milkyway... *sigh* I could go on! He's passed on, but I still have his 7x50 binoculars which I cherish. In a sense I feel that he is still with me when I use them. Like you, my passion for astronomy has grown stronger as I've grown older. So many times, oh how I wish he could see me now- I could teach him so much now (& share so much)- have large scope, will travel!
. Best I could do is dedicate one of my XW eyepieces in his honour (yet to be engraved). And again, like you, I now share it with my daughter. The Geminid's meteor shower in December is a big thing for us & she has a blast! When I leave this soil I told her, keep looking at the Geminids every year and think of me.
Okay I'm getting teary now!
I did a thread not so long ago in fact on a story about one of the meteor showers we did together. She was clearing out her room and found a diary entry of hers which she showed me. Oh what pure gold that was!
"I Was Eight Years Old, Fair Go Mum!"
If you want to have some great fun teaching the kids the sky, how about this laser pointer- only $9 from Sydney on e-bay. It's a 1mw so it's legal. I got mine from these people and I was very happy with their service- well packaged & received inside three days. It's not a massively bright beam, but I've got no problem seeing it through light pollution.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Q1-New-St...item460e9f89fb
Regarding your interest in widefield night sky photography, Mike Salway (iceman) the founder of this forum, is currently running an on-line tutorial on how to do this (he's just done the first one).
More info here:
http://www.mikesalway.com.au/2013/05...e-nightscapes/
Take your time learning the sky- in my opinion doing so actually enables stuff to sink in better. But a good start I think would be in learning the
brightest stars. Then slowly learn the constellations. And if you have trouble making out their shape for what their supposed to be- some of us even make up our own (so we can recognise easily). Sagittarius and Centaurus are hair raisers for me- I make my own up there
. And I doubt if many of us know all of them anyway. Four years on and I'm still making my way learning them. But there's no hurry- the sky isn't going anywhere and when the moon is out and bright, that's a perfect time to do that so it doesn't take time away from actual observing nights.
Malcolm's suggestion of a planisphere is a good one. It helped me a lot when I first started out & I still refer to it. I found it especially useful when objects such as Sagittarius (there we go again
) cross the meridian and end up upside down as they head west to set. Aye..aye.aye.. so very confusing. Because now the objects are in a different place now aren't they.
Kind of upside down and what was on the right is now on the left.
I have 10x60 binoculars which I use without a tripod. They just slide under being hand held do-able. I got mine from Andrews Communications- take a look at their website, they're very helpful people to deal with & their prices are good (lots of us get our gear from them).
If you want more help, don't be afraid to ask- the guys here are always happy to assist. It's a hobby we find ourselves constantly learning in I think, no matter what the skill level. So the best advice I could give you, which I'm pleased you already plan to do, is to take it slow! I really enjoy working one constellation at a time when observing. When I first started, I spent 6 months alone not budging from Crux and Carina. I love to source out from several maps as many objects I can for the one constellation (the process of planning is half the fun!) and explore away. I feel like I really get to know a constellation this way and then I end up remembering off the top of my head where those objects are. It sure makes it a great personal experience with the the sky.
An 8" is a great scope, no doubt about that. But if you can afford it, go the 10". Unless you plan on going from the 8" to a 12" eventually. But you wouldn't go from an 8" to a 10" (not a big enough leap to make a lot of difference). Myself, I started with a 6" dob and went to a 10". I think the 10" will see you through a lot longer. Also! It's heavy enough to accommodate a DSLR. I use prime focus using a T-Ring with my Canon DSLR. Some fish tank magnets on the bottom of the tube is very helpful in balancing it. Two large ones (separated to make 4) should see you thru nicely. Just make sure they're gently slid onto the tube- you don't want them smashing onto the tube as it connects esp. near the mirror (I'm always worried it may dent the tube or knock out the alignment of the mirror). Using prime focus you can take amazing pics of the moon, the sun (with a solar filter), planets, and bright star clusters & some bright DSO's (that one I haven't done yet). This is really hubby's domain- me, I'm mainly a visual observer.
So here's some pics to give you an idea of what I'm talking about.
Note the magnets on the bottom of the tube (tho only 2 are visible in the pic) to balance it- a combination of large and smaller magnets plus a bag with weights with a velcro strap wrapped around the tube. However, the magnets ended up doing most of the work and if I used 2 large magnets in place of the smaller magnet, that bag of weights wouldn't have been needed. The wires seen at the base belong to the Argo Narvis which is push-to-go electronic guidance.
Solar eclipse.
The moon.
Hope all this helps. Either way, get the binos- you'll still use them plenty when you get your telescope.
Oh and oops nearly forgot!
