7271 replies to this topic

[aeajr]

TIPS for new members

 

 

Top right of the screen you will see your screen name with a little down arrow.
Go to My Settings.  This is where you can make a number of changes.

 

You can set whether you want to receive private messages from people and how
you want to be notified about posts.

 

 

COUNTRY/REGION/STATE:  A good thing to do, if you have not, is to go into
your profile and enter your country and/or your city so people who are
trying to help you will know approximately where you are in the world.

 

 

SIGNATURE:   Also, I recommend you create a signature (my settings)
where you can list your telescope your eyepieces or whatever you wish.  My
signature is at the bottom of this post.  A signature helps people help you
because they know what you have.  We get a lot of requests from people
saying, "I am new, what eyepieces should I get”, or something similar."   Now we play 20 questions to find out what telescope they have, what eyepieces they already own, etc..

 

 

BUDGET: When asking about things to buy it is good to provide a budget.   An
eyepiece can be $30 or it can be $300.  If we don't know your budget we
won't know how to advise you.

 

Terms like "budget-priced" or "low cost" have absolutely no meaning.  What
is low cost to me may be expensive to you.  We need numbers. In fact, consider
rephrasing to something like this, “I have the following telescope and
eyepieces and this much to spend.   What would you suggest?"   Give it a try.

 

LINKS: If you are asking a question about a specific product I suggest you
provide a link to that product so we know exactly what you are talking
about.  For example, Orion had the Starseeker IV 150.   Well, it turns out
there were two different telescopes that could be described by that name.
Which are you asking about?

 

 

Or someone says they just got a 5” Celestron scope and wants to know what eyepieces to get.
Well, Celestron makes a number of 5” scopes and packages.   If there is no link then people will answer based on the one they think you are asking about rather than the one you
want to know about.

 

 

If you are not in the USA, a link is even more important.   Offer a link to
a website in your country that sells telescope equipment so we can try to
understand what things cost and what equipment is available in your country.

Part of what makes Cloudy Nights so great is that people are very happy to
help one another.  These tips just make it easier for us to help each other
or to understand what is being discussed in the thread.  I hope you find
these tips helpful.

 

Glad you decided to join us in the sky.  

[A Star Geezer]

wished I had seen this when I first started here. But I guess stumbling bumbling alone can be fun.

[Baitz]

Hi All,

 

I'm excited to be a new member!  I began my journey into astrophotography last year but have only recently had time to seriously dedicate myself to the hobby.

I've been reading the CN forums for some time and have a wealth of information that has helped me along the way.

 

I thought it time to sign up and join in!

[konrad]

Welcome to all new members enjoy CN

[gooeytek]

Recently joined this forum with the intention of delving deeper into astronomy after visiting the Custer Institute in Southold, Long Island.  I've gotten the bug and acquired a smart telescope (S50), and since Custer is reviving their Radio Astronomy program, I'm looking into that too.

[Cody719]

Hey everybody I’m Cody. First time poster, long time lurker…

New to the hobby since last October. Started with an Apertura AD8 focused on planetary. The first time seeing Saturns rings or Jupiters GRS was magical. I definitely got the bug and wanted more. This is a dangerous hobby…


I now have an Evolution 8 and a Seestar S50. Really enjoying the hobby and have learned a lot from this forum.

The best part of it all is that my teenage son is very much into the hobby too. Win win

-Cody

[overmyhead48]

greetings everyone!

I am very new to the astronomy scene and looking for some guidance on what to do. I have spent quite a bit of time browsing through the forums and watching people on you tube. All of my equipment was passed down to me after my father passed away about 10 years ago and has been sitting in my garage ever since. I recently moved back home after spending 26 years in the Navy. I want to get started but don't have a big budget for this hobby. My father had some nice stuff but a lot of the electronics is quite old and I'm trying to figure out the best way to use this equipment while I save to upgrade things. the below is a summary of the equipment I have. I think I'm interested in EAA for my setup with perhaps some astrophotography when I get good at using the equipment.

Scope- Takahashi TOA 150

Mount- Takahashi Temma 2 NJP Go To ( I bought a 24vdc power supply to run the mount)

Tripod- Takahashi Metal tripod

Scope has a smaller finder and a slightly larger scope (maybe 3"x20") that I think was used as a guide scope

SBIG ST-4 guide camera with the control box

SBIG ST-2000xcm

SBIG AO-7

Numerous eye pieces (probably 20, mostly Tele Vue), a few filters.

I downloaded Sky Safari 7 pro on my phone

I bought a mini pc that runs windows and got an Android emulator to run the sky safari.

I bought a cable to convert the DIN 4 RS232 connector on the mount to USB 

I bought a Wi-Fi router to allow me to remote into the mini pc from another computer.

I downloaded Sharp cap to do the live stacking.

I downloaded what I could find for drivers to get the camera to work and while it turns on, I can't seem to actually connect to the camera to check firmware.

I am located in Phoenix and would love to meet local folks who understand what I'm trying to do and could teach me how to make it all work. I do have bright skies in my area (Bortle 6) but I can visually spot Polaris and have a pretty good southern field of view.

[dnrmilspec]

Welcome.  Sounds like you are off to a great start. 

 

There are many of us who would tell you that there IS NO upgrade to a TOA 150.  It is a very special scope and I am sure your father would want you to keep it. 

 

You are preparing nicely and I recommend that you post in the Beginning Deep Sky Imaging forum.  You will get some great information and help there.

 

By the way, if you wanted to bring your equipment to Tucson Starizona has an event where they will teach you how to use it.  

[goldguy79]

Hi all, total newb here introducing myself. While my gear might be good, I'm still learning. I kind of have this mind set to go big or go home.  
Happy to find this site and looking forward to electronically meeting you all and learning endlessly along the way. Cheers from South Dakota.

[elcapitan]

Hello Cloudy Nighters, dipping my toes into the waters of celestial viewing and just purchased my first telescope, a Celestron Nextstar 8SE. Researched various options and the 8SE is what I came up with as a starting place.

 

I've had at least a mild interest in astronomy from an early age and was captivated as a kid by the Cosmos series by Carl Sagan and later in life the follow up by Neil deGrasse Tyson. My technical expertise is lacking so will need to acquire some skills and hopefully the 8SE will aid in my learning.

 

A little about me, raised in the rural midwest, former Marine, educated, relocated to Scottsdale from Chicago 20ish years ago. I've spent much of my life engaged in endurance activities, traveling the world, and riding motos. And I was very fortunate to be able to spend some years traveling the world on my motorcycle. I'm aging out of some of these activities and hoping viewing the night sky will bring some joy and not be so punishing to my body. I'll be perusing some of the fora here as I get acquainted with the new hobby. Thanks to everyone who shares their expertise here. Mark. 

[pseudoscope]

Hello all,

 

I am classified here as "Lift Off", but that does not feel right: it feels more like re-entry to me.

 

As a kid I had a telescope, a Polarex 60/900 Model 114. Seeing Saturn's rings with it was magical. Then life happened, and the hobby came to an end. Or maybe a pause. That is now almost half a century ago.

 

I have hesitated for years beginning the hobby again, and finally, this summer, decided to jump. As you can see from my signature, there still is something missing from my kit, but I'm getting there.

 

My intention is to make this a mostly non-digital, lightweight, i.e. mobile, hobby.

 

The Cloudy Nights forums were a useful source of information in helping me select what to buy, so thank you to everybody who contributed here.

 

Happy viewing!

 

[RobertKivett]

Hi Cloudy Nights Members!  My Name is Robert Kivett and I am a new member.  I been doing Visual observing for over a year with a SCT 8SE Telescope and I love it!  I join the CFAS in Orlando FL.  

[Cgw_vince]

Hi everyone 

I’m Vincent from France, and with my son we’ve been stargazing for a while with the 8” Dobson he had for his tenth birthday (he’s 26 now !)

We’re about to jump into the rabbit hole again

I came across this forum while searching for answers regarding an issue with our 

intelliscope object locator, and found out that a fellow could repair it !

I’ll update shortly my detailed information 

 

thanks for having us, have fun y’all

 

Vincent

[Dave Mitsky]

While it doesn't deal with purchasing or using a telescope directly, some of you may find some of the information on astronomy, amateur astronomy, and observing presented in my post (#22) at https://www.cloudyni...mers/?p=5184287 useful. There are sections on various books, observing guides, the Moon, the planets, star-hopping, stellar atlases, planispheres, planetarium programs, astronomy apps, deep-sky objects, lists of worthwhile celestial objects to observe, binocular astronomy, urban astronomy, and other related topics.

[jrjuergens]

Hi everyone, 

First time in forever that I am joining a forum - hope to learn a lot.
I recently got into astrophotography after using a Celestron 90 AZ and my phone to take some pictures of the moon while on vacation in Ontario. It escalated pretty quickly into buying a used C8 Classic and an Orion Atlas Pro EQ/AZ that I am now using as the core of a dedicated lunar and planetary photography rig. I'm a nerd in numerous dimensions so this seems like a logical new hobby to start tinkering with another type of technology, optics. In a while I will hopefully be able to share my first set of pictures and maybe even a mosaic of the moon.

Talk to y'all soon!

[AndrewBennettDev]

Hello everyone! My name is Andrew and I just joined CloudyNights yesterday. I have loved astronomy and astrophysics since I was in middle school but never really joined any communities. I have been getting more serious lately about my interest in these topics (including revisiting some maths courses on Khan Academy because, turns out, you forget a fair bit of algebra after 20+ years...) and spending time outside every night with either binoculars or my trusty old 114mm Zhumell reflector from my childhood. I also recently joined a local astronomy club, and now CN! I'm really hoping to learn more and make good connections with people who understand why the night sky is so tempting. I hope you're all well and I can't wait to find my wait through the community!

[Kefka1138]

Warm welcome to all the newcomers! Great to see new peers joining the platform. 

[konrad]

Welcome to all new members enjoy the forums

[astro.nanuuuuuu]

Hi all,

 

I'm sort of new here and to the hobby. I've always had an interest in space and got started in the pandemic with binoculars. I have been testing and trying out a lot of different things, including telescopes, eyepieces, astrophotography, outreach, etc., but I love getting under the stars just to look up because it’s so relaxing. I get lost in the cosmos and can spend hours in my backyard hunting down faint fuzzies. They’re a challenge, living under a light-polluted suburban sky.

 

I currently own six telescopes and two binoculars, but the two that get used the most are my 8” and 12” dobs. I’ve had many telescopes in these five years (again, I've been testing and trying stuff), both refractors and reflectors (the first one was a Celestron PowerSeeker 70AZ I bought for $10), but I like dobs because of their simplicity. None of my telescopes have push to, go to, or navigation aids. I use a star chart, a Telrad/red dot finder, and sometimes faith that the object I’m looking for pops up in the eyepiece, lol. Hey, learning the night sky and how to find stuff is part of the fun!

 

Anyhow, that's me and part of my astronomy journey.

 

Greetings and clear skies to all!

 

Thank you.

Edited by astro.nanuuuuuu, 08 July 2025 - 04:21 PM.

[Bearcub]

I decided to check who is from lithuania and i found almost nothing. So while i am not new member i will write that i am from lithuania, in case more folk from my country lurk here.

[Hinermad]

Hello! I'm Dave, and I'm finally finding time to pursue my interest in astronomy more fully. I'm retired and live in western New York. I've been interested in space and astronomy since I was a kid; I heard Mom tell a neighbor "he has space in his head" when I was twelve. I took it as a compliment. (grin) NASA was a great inspiration back then.

 

I bought an Orion Observer 134 EQ about a year and a half ago and just recently received a better mount and tripod (Celestron CG-4 and the associated tripod, from the Omni XLT telescope series.) I haven't put them together yet because it's summer and my house and yard are surrounded by big trees. I have an open space to the north but I can't quite see Polaris until the leaves fall, so polar alignment is going to be a guess until then. (I did make a smartphone holder that fits the scope's finder studs so I might be able to do a virtual alignment with Stellarium. But I worked with electronics and software for most of my career and I don't trust either one. I want to check them against Polaris. The stars don't lie.)

 

I did a bit of star photography when I was in high school. Mostly star trails, but I managed to get a nice image of Orion on film. I didn't have anything to do tracking so exposure times were limited to about 30 seconds or less. I'm hoping to change that now.

 

Thank you for making such a helpful web site. The site itself is half of it; the other half is the users, and from what I've read I can tell this is going to be a great place to find information.

 

Dave

[Angf117]

Hi all,

new here and I love astronomy have a few cheap reflectors and refractors. Live in East Tennessee nice to meet everyone!