Hello, new to star gazing

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Tom18202
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Hello, new to star gazing

#1

Post by Tom18202 »


Hi All,

Thank you for including me in this group. I live in Massachusetts and was looking into purchasing a telescope for myself and 8 year old daughter who is obsessed with stars and the sky. I was hoping to come here and learn about the type of telescope needed and how to go about getting into this hobby.

Thank You,
Tom
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Graeme1858 Great Britain
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Re: Hello, new to star gazing

#2

Post by Graeme1858 »


Hello Tom

Welcome to the Forum.

Regards

Graeme
______________________________________________
Celestron 9.25 f10 SCT, f6.3FR, CGX mount.
ASI1600MM Pro, ASI294MC Pro, ASI224MC
ZWO EFW, ZWO OAG, ASI220MM Mini.
APM 11x70 ED APO Binoculars.

https://www.averywayobservatory.co.uk/
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helicon United States of America
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Re: Hello, new to star gazing

#3

Post by helicon »


Hi Tom and Welcome to TSS. You have come to the right place!
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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messier 111 Canada
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Re: Hello, new to star gazing

#4

Post by messier 111 »


:text-welcomeconfetti: to tss .
I LOVE REFRACTORS , :Astronomer1: :sprefac:

REFRACTOR , TS-Optics Doublet SD-APO 125 mm f/7.8 . Lunt 80mm MT Ha Doublet Refractor .

EYEPIECES, Delos , Delite and 26mm Nagler t5 , 2 zoom Svbony 7-21 , Orion Premium Linear BinoViewer .

FILTER , Nebustar 2 tele vue . Apm solar wedge . contrast booster 2 inches .

Mounts , berno mack 3 with telepod , cg-4 motorized , eq6 pro belt drive .

“Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.”
― Isaac Asimov

Jean-Yves :flags-canada:
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starfield United States of America
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Re: Hello, new to star gazing

#5

Post by starfield »


Hi, Tom. Welcome.

A dobsonian reflector is a good beginner scope, but before diving in, you might want to see if there's an astronomy club in your area and attend a star party. There you can see all sorts of different rigs and gets lots of good advice as well. This is great hobby to share with your daughter. My Dad introduced me to astronomy when I was 10 and once I started I was hooked.
Scopes: Esprit 100, 12.5" Telekit Dob
Camera: 294 MC Pro, 224 mc, 2600mm
Guiding: ZWO 290 mini on 120mm guide scope
Mounts: EQ6R-Pro, EQ Platform.
Filters: Optolong L-Pro & L-Enhance, Chroma 36mm LRGB, 5nm HA, 3nm OIII, 3nm SII.
Software: SharpCap, SGP, StarTools 1.7, Photoshop, Pixinsight
The Death Star Observatory
Astro Photos:https://www.astrobin.com/users/starfield/
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Ylem United States of America
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Re: Hello, new to star gazing

#6

Post by Ylem »


Welcome to TSS Tom, thanks for joining us 🙂
Clear Skies,
-Jeff :telescopewink:


Member; ASTRA-NJ



Orion 80ED
Celestron C5, 6SE, Celestar 8
Vixen Porta Mount ll
Coronado PST
A big box of Plossls
Little box of filters
:D



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Re: Hello, new to star gazing

#7

Post by turboscrew »


Hello and welcome!
I second @starfield: don't rush into buying a scope before gathering some advice first.
First: avoid Bird-Jones type telescopes for beginners. Bird-Jones works fine if it's precision manufactured, what beginner's scopes are not. Many scopes are also sold with not solid enough mount. You probably don't want an F/4 scope, because well-working eyepieces are expensive, and I don't think you'll like some F/15 scope either, unless you have decided to stick with observing planets.

These are examples of things you need to know before going into a telescope shop.
- Juha

Senior Embedded SW Designer
Telescope: OrionOptics XV12, Mount: CEM120, Tri-pier 360 and alternative dobson mount.
Grab 'n go: Omegon AC 102/660 on AZ-3 mount
Eyepieces: 26 mm Omegon SWAN 70°, 15 mm TV Plössl, 12.5 mm Baader Morpheus, 10 mm TV Delos, 6 mm Baader Classic Ortho, 5 mm TV DeLite, 4 mm and 3 mm TV Radians
Cameras: ZWO ASI 294MM Pro, Omegon veLOX 178C
OAG: TS-Optics TSOAG09, ZWO EFW 7 x 36 mm, ZWO filter sets: LRGB and Ha/OIII/SII
Explore Scientific HR 2" coma corrector, Meade x3 1.25" Barlow, TV PowerMate 4x 2"
Some filters (#80A, ND-96, ND-09, Astronomik UHC)
Laptop: Acer Enduro Urban N3 semi-rugged, Windows 11
LAT 61° 28' 10.9" N, Bortle 5

I don't suffer from insanity. I'm enjoying every minute of it.

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smp United States of America
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Re: Hello, new to star gazing

#8

Post by smp »


Hi Tom, and welcome here to the Forum!

smp
Stephen
- - - - -
Telescopes: Questar 3.5 Standard SN 18-11421; Stellina (EAA)
Solar: Thousand Oaks white light filter; Daystar Quark (chromosphere) Hα filter
Mounts: Explore Scientific Twilight I; Majestic heavy duty tripod
Local Club: New Hampshire Astronomical Society
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JayTee United States of America
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Re: Hello, new to star gazing

#9

Post by JayTee »


Hello Tom and welcome to TSS. Glad you joined us.

Before we can give you our best advice, knowing what your budget is would really help us help you get what would work best for you and your daughter.

Cheers
∞ Primary Scopes: #1: Celestron CPC1100 #2: 8" f/7.5 Dob #3: CR150HD f/8 6" frac
∞ AP Scopes: #1: TPO 6" f/9 RC #2: ES 102 f/7 APO #3: ES 80mm f/6 APO
∞ G&G Scopes: #1: Meade 102mm f/7.8 #2: Bresser 102mm f/4.5
∞ Guide Scopes: 70 & 80mm fracs -- The El Cheapo Bros.
∞ Mounts: iOptron CEM70AG, SW EQ6, Celestron AVX, SLT & GT (Alt-Az), Meade DS2000
∞ Cameras: #1: ZWO ASI294MC Pro #2: 662MC #3: 120MC, Canon T3i, Orion SSAG, WYZE Cam3
∞ Binos: 10X50,11X70,15X70, 25X100
∞ EPs: ES 2": 21mm 100° & 30mm 82° Pentax XW: 7, 10, 14, & 20mm 70°

Searching the skies since 1966. "I never met a scope I didn't want to keep."

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Re: Hello, new to star gazing

#10

Post by Refractordude »


Tom18202 wrote: Sun Nov 21, 2021 2:39 pm Hi All,

Thank you for including me in this group. I live in Massachusetts and was looking into purchasing a telescope for myself and 8 year old daughter who is obsessed with stars and the sky. I was hoping to come here and learn about the type of telescope needed and how to go about getting into this hobby.

Thank You,
Tom
Hello Tom and welcome.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21885
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Makuser United States of America
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Re: Hello, new to star gazing

#11

Post by Makuser »


Hi Tom. We're all happy to have you on board here on TSS. Welcome to the forum Tom and the best of wishes on your future telescope purchase to you and also to your daughter.
:text-welcomeconfetti:
Marshall
Sky-Watcher 90mm f/13.8 Maksutov-Cassegrain on motorized Multimount
Orion Astroview 120ST f/5 Refractor on EQ3 mount
Celestron Comet Catcher 140mm f/3.64 Schmidt-Newtonian on alt-az mount
Celestron Omni XLT150R f/5 Refractor on CG4 mount with dual axis drives.
Orion 180mm f/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain on CG5-GT Goto mount.
Orion XT12i 12" f/4.9 Dobsonian Intelliscope.
Kamakura 7x35 Binoculars and Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars. ZWO ASI 120MC camera.
>)))))*>
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Re: Hello, new to star gazing

#12

Post by Lady Fraktor »


Hello and welcome to the forums :)
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss
The only culture I have is from yogurt
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Butterfly Maiden Great Britain
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Re: Hello, new to star gazing

#13

Post by Butterfly Maiden »


Hello Tom and welcome to the Forum.
Vanessa

Nikon D82 Fieldscope with 30x/45x/56x angled eyepiece.
Olympus DPS-1 10x50 binoculars.
Leica 8x32BN binoculars.
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Richard South Africa
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Re: Hello, new to star gazing

#14

Post by Richard »


Welcome to TSS Tom
Reflectors GSO 200 Dobs
Refractors None
SCT C5 on a SLT mount
Mak 150 Bosma on a EQ5
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Bigzmey United States of America
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Re: Hello, new to star gazing

#15

Post by Bigzmey »


Welcome on board Tom! Getting to astronomy with your daughter, this is great! I spent many evening observing with my daughter when she was growing up, fun times.
Scopes: Stellarvue: SV102ED; Celestron: 9.25" EdgeHD, 8" SCT, 150ST, Onyx 80ED; iOptron: Hankmeister 6" Mak; SW: 7" Mak; Meade: 80ST.
Mounts: SW: SkyTee2, AzGTi; iOptron: AZMP; ES: Twilight I; Bresser: EXOS2; UA: MicroStar.
Binos: APM: 100-90 APO; Canon: IS 15x50; Orion: Binoviewer, LG II 15x70, WV 10x50, Nikon: AE 16x50, 10x50, 8x40.
EPs: Pentax: XWs & XFs; TeleVue: Delites, Panoptic & Plossls; ES: 68, 62; Vixen: SLVs; Baader: BCOs, Aspherics, Mark IV.
Diagonals: Baader: BBHS mirror, Zeiss Spec T2 prism, Clicklock dielectric; TeleVue: Evebrite dielectric; AltairAstro: 2" prism.
Filters: Lumicon: DeepSky, UHC, OIII, H-beta; Baader: Moon & SkyGlow, Contrast Booster, UHC-S, 6-color set; Astronomik: UHC.

Observing: DSOs: 3106 (Completed: Messier, Herschel 1, 2, 3. In progress: H2,500: 2180, S110: 77). Doubles: 2382, Comets: 34, Asteroids: 255
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Re: Hello, new to star gazing

#16

Post by Unitron48 »


Hello, Tom! Welcome to the group!

Dave
Unitron (60mm, 102mm), Brandon 94
Stellarvue SVX127D
http://www.unitronhistory.com

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." Albert Einstein
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Greenman Great Britain
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Re: Hello, new to star gazing

#17

Post by Greenman »


:text-welcomewave: Hi Tom, Welcome aboard, lots of choices out there and which scope to go for, it depends a bit on what you want to concentrate on and your level of expenditure. The good news is that there is plenty of help here to help you in your decision.
Cheers,

Tony.

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Smart Scope: Dwarf II - Club and outreach work.

AP Refractor: Altair 72EDF Deluxe F6;1x & 0.8 Flatteners; Antares Versascope 60mm finder. ASIAir Pro.Li battery pack for grab & go.

Celestron AVX Mount; X-cel LX eyepieces & Barlows 2x 3x, ZWO 2” Filter holder,

Cameras: main DSO ASI533MC; DSO guide ASI120MM; Planetary ASI224MC; DSLR Canon EOS100 stock.

Filters: Astronomik IR cut; Optolong L-Pro; Optolong L-Enhance.

Binoculars: Celestron 15 x 70.

Latitude: 52.219853
Longitude: -1.034471
Accuracy: 5 m
Bortle 4 site. https://maps.google.com/?q=52.21985,-1.03447

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DeanD Australia
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Re: Hello, new to star gazing

#18

Post by DeanD »


Hi Tom, and welcome! I second the comments above about telescopes. May I suggest that when you are ready you let us know your budget, the sort of things you are most interested in looking at, and if possible do some research and give us a list of what you have come across. Don't just leap in and buy something or you might be disappointed.
For example: a popular "beginners" scope (last least until people buy it and try to use it!) is the "Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ Newtonian", which is a type of "Bird-Jones" design that Juha mentioned (it is not strictly speaking a "Newtonian": bit of false advertising there!). In my experience (trying to fix it for people) it has a flimsy mount/tripod, doubtful optics and is a source of immense frustration for first-time users...
"What telescope should I buy?" is a similar question to "How long is a piece of string?", so expect lots of different answers.
However, there are a lot of good options out there for a reasonable price, so don't despair!
This is why, if possible, you check out a local astronomy club.
All the best to you and your daughter,

Dean
Telescopes: 12" f5 dob, Celestron CPC800, 150mmf5 Celestron achro, Tak TSA102, TV76, ETX125...
Binos: Steiner Wildlife XP 10x26, Swarovski 8x30 Habicht, Zeiss SFL 8x40, Vanguard Endeavour 10.5x45, Fuji FMTR-SX 10x50, Tak 22x60, Orion Resolux 15x70
Eyepieces: way too many (is that possible?), but I do like my TV 32mm plossl, 13mm Nagler T6, 27mm Panoptic and 3-6mm Nagler zoom, plus Fujiyama 18mm and 25mm orthos and Tak 7.5mm LE
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