Post by jmcm on Jan 22, 2014 19:19:10 GMT
Firstly can I say a big thank you to Colin (Lisburn Astronomer) for taking the time to point me in the direction of this forum. Having had a quick look through some of the posts it's clear to see everyone here is more and willing to help and offer advice.
Anyway as you'll probably guess I'm one of the latest "Newbies" to register here looking to get some advice. I'm really keen to get into astronomy and hopefully meet some people who might be willing to help me find my feet and help me make some good choices early on with regards to equipment. I'm really keen to see the planets and having seen some of the pictures of Jupiter on the forum id love to be able to take a picture like this and show it off!
Having had the lend of a pair of Celestron 25x70 binoculars I now realise that if I want to that this seriously and reap the full benefits a telescope seems to be the way forward.
My budget is around £200-250 and last year I nearly bought a Skywatcher Explorer 130m and I'm wondering if this would be the way forward for a beginner. I have also seen a Skywatcher Explorer 150p which would be slightly over budget but I'm wondering would the extra be worth it? Would this sort of budget allow for planetary observation? In the future I'd like to invest in a camera so having the option of connecting it to the telescope needs to be considered. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Ideally what I want to gain from this new hobby will be to learn about star gazing and finding my way across nights sky. I have two sons (aged 2 & 4) so in the long run I'd love this to be something I can get them involved in.
I'm located in Ballinderry, Lisburn so if anyone is heading out in area and wouldn't mind me tagging along to see the basics I'd really appreciate it. I can assure you I'm not a nutter and you'll be perfectly safe! In fact I'll even bring tea, coffee and cake!
Thanks
Jonny
Anyway as you'll probably guess I'm one of the latest "Newbies" to register here looking to get some advice. I'm really keen to get into astronomy and hopefully meet some people who might be willing to help me find my feet and help me make some good choices early on with regards to equipment. I'm really keen to see the planets and having seen some of the pictures of Jupiter on the forum id love to be able to take a picture like this and show it off!
Having had the lend of a pair of Celestron 25x70 binoculars I now realise that if I want to that this seriously and reap the full benefits a telescope seems to be the way forward.
My budget is around £200-250 and last year I nearly bought a Skywatcher Explorer 130m and I'm wondering if this would be the way forward for a beginner. I have also seen a Skywatcher Explorer 150p which would be slightly over budget but I'm wondering would the extra be worth it? Would this sort of budget allow for planetary observation? In the future I'd like to invest in a camera so having the option of connecting it to the telescope needs to be considered. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Ideally what I want to gain from this new hobby will be to learn about star gazing and finding my way across nights sky. I have two sons (aged 2 & 4) so in the long run I'd love this to be something I can get them involved in.
I'm located in Ballinderry, Lisburn so if anyone is heading out in area and wouldn't mind me tagging along to see the basics I'd really appreciate it. I can assure you I'm not a nutter and you'll be perfectly safe! In fact I'll even bring tea, coffee and cake!
Thanks
Jonny