Welcome: Introduce yourself

Hey guys!

Triton's Fury — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:56:31 GMT

Normal 0 Hey everyone,

I thought I'd take the time and introduce myself so that way I’m not just some strange new face around here. =] My name is Peter, I am a junior in high school and I live in a rural area of northern New Jersey. Ever since I was a young child, I’ve always been intrigued by astronomy. Because of my age, I never had the time or incentive to start. Not to long ago, I found an old tiny kiddy telescope I used as a kid and tried it again just for ol’ time sake. In doing so, not only did I remember how much I use to enjoy it, but also it has struck a whole brand new interest in astronomy and now that I am older, I wish to pursue it as a hobby. As of the moment, I do not own a telescope, but after I do a bit of research I hope to soon find one that best suits me. Hahaha I hope that’s not a little bit of “tmi” :P Thanks for all the information I’ve been able to find on here so far. =] Peaceee,

~~~Pete

telescope

farmout — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:36:18 GMT

want a new first time go to tele amature hobby.what to buy ,where to buy

A Welcome to New Members,, Please take the time to read.

tkerr — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:33:51 GMT

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all who have recently joined astronomy.com web site and forums.

For those of you with previous experience you will find these are excellent discussion forums to share your personal experiences and knowledge with other members.
New members with more experience and knowledge are always a welcome addition. I can assure you that your help will be greatly appreciated by many.

If on the other hand you have just recently acquired a curiosity for the night sky, new to the hobby of amateur astronomy/stargazing you will find a wealth of knowledge which is available to you from the numerous members here. The one thing amateur astronomers have in common is that we all enjoy sharing our experience and helping others learn this great hobby of ours. A few members here have even taken their enthusiasm beyond the level of amateur hobbyist.

As a beginner you probably have quite a few questions. We all did, and we all often still do even with years of experience. You can always learn something new everyday.

You may find there is so much information for your brain to absorb. It might just be so overwhelming it will make your head spin. So Many books, computer programs and an abundance of information scattered all over the Internet. There is so much that it is too hard to keep track of it all.
I have taken a little time to make some of it easier for you to locate. I have consolidated and put into easy to understand language a lot of information you will want to know. It is in a couple posts here at astronomy.com. You can find them in the following links.

Getting started with amateur astronomy and telescopes
http://www.astronomy.com/ASY/CS/forums/291288/ShowPost.aspx

Thinking about starting astrophotography
http://www.astronomy.com/ASY/CS/forums/302121/ShowPost.aspx#302121

You will also find much more information in the above sub menu "Welcome To Astronomy"

As you scan through posted message in the various forum groups and topic areas you will soon notice numerous members here with varied levels of experience and knowledge. All of whom are more than willing to share their experiences and knowledge. Many are available daily to answer any questions you have regarding anything to do with astronomy.
Remember; the only stupid question is the one that wasn't asked.

You will find the forum discussion areas are indexed into different groups, each group has separate topic areas. Some of the areas are self explanatory, while other will have an explanation to what should be posted and discussed. The Group and Area titles and explanations will make it easier for you to choose which to post your messages and questions. So relax and enjoy the forums. Don't be shy, If you're unsure which area to post your message feel free to ask. There is a General Astronomy Forum which pretty much covers everything else not covered by the other areas. If by chance there happens to be an area where it would be better placed, One of the Moderators will help out and relocate your message to the more appropriate topic area.

I would also like to take a little of your time to point out a few things about the astronomy.com forum community. Even though you will find a variety of very interesting, educational, generally informative and sometimes even entertaining topics and discussions here. As a member of astronomy.com, please remember and consider a few courtesies as you take part in the forum discussions.

First and foremost, this is a website intended for and dedicated to the sciences of astronomy and the amateur astronomer. Astronomy is a science dedicated to the observations of the celestial bodies within our universe. It is also the observations, discussions and studies of the history, structure, evolution and dynamics of all those celestial objects and of the physical universe.

The purpose of these forums, and, what has attracted us all here, is our curiosity of the night skies, and our common desires and interest for the sciences of astronomy and the equipment we use.

For many of us it is probably just the simple enjoyment in observing all those celestial bodies that make up the night sky. Some come here to learn tips and tricks to observing, and or, taking photos of those celestial objects. Many of you are new and come to learn as much about the equipment so you will can make a better informed decision on a telescope or accessory purchase.

Unfortunately there are some highly controversial topics which are currently prohibited here at astronomy.com. Please avoid those topics and avoid interjecting them into any discussion.
We understand there are some subjects which can be religiously or politically charged. Nonetheless, religious and or political confrontations and debates are not the purpose for these forums. It is also not the purpose of astronomy.com forums to be used as a platform to denigrate people or their beliefs whatever they may be. At the same time astronomy.com is not the place for setting the stage to impose or evangelize a specific belief or faith onto other members. Religious and or political content within a discussion can be a sensitive subject to some people who may take it very personal. To maintain civility and prevent attacks and insults among the membership some additions to the Forum policies had to be enacted. The posting of message intended for, or which could turn into, discussing subject matters of politics and or religion are strictly prohibited. There are other subjects you might also find that won't receive a warm welcome here which will most likely be locked or removed from the forums. (UFOs or Alien Abduction Conspiracy, End of the world, (2012) and such politically charged topics such as Global Warming). These are all subjects which have a strong potential for trouble which is not the purpose of these discussion forums.

If you have any questions about the web site and forum policies you can refer to the following link, or ask a moderator.
http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=4531

Understanding that many people enjoy the anonymity which the Internet provides, we must keep in mind this is a family oriented, multi-cultural forum with members from all around the world, and of all ages, ranging from pre-teen to senior citizens. Each coming from a different background with their own values and beliefs or faith. These forums are open for all, (visitors and members), to view at their own discretion. We all must take this into consideration whenever we post our messages. Be careful of the language, content, and implications of your message posts. If it isn't appropriate for our youngest members to read, then it isn't appropriate to post in any of these forums. Keep it clean and friendly. And most importantly Keep it on topic. Astronomy!!!

We are here because we all have one thing in common, "Astronomy". Sharing our experiences and ideas allows us to learn from each other. We are here to enjoy ourselves, have a little fun and make some new friends. We are here to help each other when we can.

Welcome, Have fun and Enjoy

And last but not least:

CAUTION:
Amateur astronomy is a compassion that can easily become an addictive / obsessive disorder.
Symptoms include but are not limited to any combination of or all of the following:
Depression, fatigue, anxiety, insomnia, aperture fever, stiff sore neck and a sensitivity to bright lights.
Often reported too is the mysteriously re-occurring presence of cuts, scrapes, contusions and other miscellaneous injuries.
Though the actual cause of bodily injuries is unknown for certain, it is thought to be associated with a preoccupation with looking up at the sky while walking or performing other tasks.
Take extreme caution while operating any motor vehicle or heavy machinery. Doing so can prove to be extremely hazardous to your health and the safety of others near you while under the influence of, or experiencing any of the effects caused by this disorder.

Have A Nice ___________

Hello everyone

astrodlpjr.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:12:08 GMT

My daughter is doing an astronomy project for her school, I have been into Astronomy for most of my life. We use a C-8 mounted on an CG5. So we came to this site hopping to get some help from you. She, with my help started a web site, www.keeplookingup.webs.com, we need photos of the messier object, planets, your equipment, etc. Photo's that you have taken. The project is to show the general public what is possible, with equipment that anyone can buy. She is hoping to collect all the planets, and most of the messier object, if not all. If you would like to help, goto www.keeplookingup.webs.com

Thank you

Dave

2012

Wakeupcall — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 15:53:23 GMT

Sorry if this has been posted.

Does anyone have a theory on the 2012 agenda that is going on at the moment?

Are we passing into the era of Aquarious? Where Earth is covered mainly in water?

Also - the ice caps have only been ice for about 2% of the time the earth existed, doesnt seem too far fetched.

Thanks :)

Goodness I know How It Was When I Was Young!

Keppler's Dummie — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:30:01 GMT

I as well know the feeling of getting old. Live in S. Arkansas, am a retired Engineer from the Internet industry. Majored in photographic sciences. Most of the earlier years with technical aspects of photo printing. All that I learned, resides with the dinosaurs! When a youngster the local astromony guru lived two houses down. No city lights in our neighborhood back then. Yes we did have TV (black&white), telephones and cars. His 4inch Unitron was so so grand. Equally a Rich Field Telescope and me to go for everything... He wanted me to follow along with him so he bought me my own telescope one year for my birthday! The 6 inch reflector came from Edmund Scientific. The only catch to it was we had to grind the mirror and that took all summer working on the weekends. When Halley's arrived I was ready, now with kids of my own and a sympathetic wife, I purchased a brand new Meade Deep Sky 10 and the works. It is a great scope except for a few problems from being in storage for 15 or more years. I decided now that I have grand kids it was time to get ready to pass some stuff down. I got the scope out and it was a horror to look upon. I have now completely taken all of it apart and ultrasonic cleaned every piece and painted etc. Looks like it was out of the box. I have some issues to address, but that is for another thread. Keppler's Dummie

Hello :)

jewlza_92 — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:36 GMT

My name is Julie.

I am new to Astronomy but boy am i into it.Its so amazing and just the kind of thing i can see myself doing for the rest of my life.I started to learn about it in Physics class but it was vague and barely tapped topics in Astronomy so i decided to pick up a few books.My first was the one by Bill Bryson "A short history of nearly everything",awesome book.It talks about almost everything and got into the subject of astronomy for a couple of chapters.Since then i have been hooked and cant wait to buy my first telescope.

So any reccomendations for my first telescope?

Hello

evobob — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:11:05 GMT

I have been interested in the stars for many years, but just really got into astronomy about 2 years ago. having a blast

Mkay, I'm new!

ccsgrrl13 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:10:04 GMT

Hey guys!

My name is Shelby, from western North Carolina.

I love love love globular clusters!

Anyone else love globs?

-Shelbs

the scientist

the scientist — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 07:56:37 GMT

hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi from Sacramento

Oriondk — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:03:52 GMT

Hi everyone, I'm glad I found this place mentioned in Astronomy. I've been looking for a good forum for awhile now. I have a Stellarvue AT1010 80mm refractor and a really cheap mount, that I bought some years ago. Haven't used it too much, though.I love the scope but the mount, not so much. Been an off again, on again member of the Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society, though not very active due to work and time issues. I hope to rejoin and be more involved but I have a lot to learn.

This looks like a great place. Thanks for having me. I'll have lots of questions.

Dave

HELLO FELLOW STAR GAZERS

LUVDECOCMOS — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:25:35 GMT

I'M A 54 YR. OLD LOVER OF THE STARS. GOT STARTED LATE AFTER VIEWING THE MILKY WAY FROM THE SHORES OF LAKE MICHIGAN. I'VE BEEN SEMI OBSESSED EVER SINCE.

Hello

Phild — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:42:32 GMT

First time Newbe Trying to get started in this hobby and looking for some direction.

Hello

quietfern — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:13:36 GMT

Hey everyone,

I am currently a student of the University of Minnesota studying for a degree in Applied Economics. I recently watched the Cosmos series and now am fascinated by astronomy so I am hoping to learn some new stuff here! I would love recommendations on books or other things to look into!

HI

RonJon — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:43:40 GMT

Hi everyone. I recently got into Astronomy and got me a new Celestron CPC 1100 scope and can't wait to learn from all your experiences and knowledge.

Kindest Regards,

Richard...

Hello

Novae54 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:18:07 GMT

Hi. I was so happy to read all the articles here for amateur astronomers such as myself. I purchased my first telescope about 8 years ago and almost killed myself trying to carry it out into the backyard, it was so heavy. Needless to say, i've discovered binoculars are my best friend. I live in the city with serious light pollution. I step outside, and my neighbors light sensor throws enough light to stop a prison escape! But there are nights when I slip past the sensor and can see beautiful stars. I saw Jupiter tonight bright as anything, and I saw 2 of its moons. That made my evening!

As you can probably tell, i'm an extreme amateur. With my work schedule, I don't have a lot of time to join clubs, but upon finding this website, I am so ready to learn as much as I can. I've already lured one of my daughters to the telescope and I hope I can pass on to her my love of the night sky.

Heylo!

Shellsmiley — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:01:20 GMT

Heylo everyone

My name is Shelley. I've always been astounded by outer space. Everything about it is amazing. Our galaxy, other galaxies, stars, planets, comets, asteroids, dust and gases, just simply everything...

My friend, one time asked me "If the government were to ask for volunteers to go outer space and try some new technology and one of the high risks was death, would you do it?" and I answered her "Of course I would! Even just a glimpse of outer space for me would put me to a happy, peaceful death IF that were to happen. I'd be the first volunteer to DIE if it meant going outer space even for 1 minute."

So if that doesn't show how passionate I am about knowing everything and wanting to be outer space, then I don't know what is! :P

I hope to get a lot out of this site. Thanks for reading!

- Shelley

Hi.

Cwarren — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:50:11 GMT

Hi. I'm Curtis.

Hello!

Tarcin the Stargazer — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:11:32 GMT

Hello everybody! I am quite new to the skies, but I have been interested in the Cosmos since 2nd Grade. I plan on astrophysics as a profession, though I still need to go to high school first. I still don't have a telescope yet ( I am saving up for one) but still enjoy looking with just my eyes. I am also near a NASA facility which has a public area, and a public observatory in my city, so it is very easy to connect with Space for me. I hope I enjoy my stay here and contribute to the forums, while learning a thing or two on the way! Cheers! Tarcin

I'm Back

maryccc — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:47:27 GMT

Hi I'm Back. I use to come here a long time ago when I had a telescope. A cheap tasco but it made me happy. I even tried astrophotography with a point and shoot unsuccesfully. I got a few shots I thought were good. I still have my passion for looking at the stars and can name most of the constellations I see. I don't have a telescope and am not sure when I will get one because I am going to get a dslr camera most likely a canon xsi. Maybe after that I will save for the telescope. I could get the telescope first but I really want the camera and I can always try to take pictures at my local observatory. I appreciate all the great information I learned here and hope to learn more.

General astronomy

Android — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:30:10 GMT

A hearty HI to you all. My forum name is Android and am what you might generousy call an arm chair astronomer. My telescope is my computer but do own a good sized binocular. A retired consultant, I am now an author with five books published and a sixth in publication now. Working on three others one of which has a problem which, perhaps, some of you, using your intelligent imaginations, might help me with. Principal character is a young woman, currently a freshman at the U of Arizona and the story is set fifty years in the future. Her major is astronomy and she will eventually earn her masters and a PhD. She hopes for (and eventually will get) a position on the UofA faculty in the Lunar and Planetary department. She is well equiped with a 14" Cassegrain and accessories. She discovered a comet in her second semester. While astronomy won't be the only facet of her career I will be writing about, I have to give her a plausible research topic in astronomy (fifty years hence) for her PhD dissertation which she will continue working on once she has joined the UofA faculty together with a plausible solution(s). If you have a suggestion(s) to offer, please express it/them in plain language the average reader will understand.

My thanks in advance for whatever help you might be able to provide.

Android

Best place to study Astronomy

xazzo — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:33:19 GMT

Hi all!! I'm new to this amazing universe and i have a question and love to know if any of you guys could help. My girlfriend is going to school in one more year and she is interested in Astronomy as her major, so my question is this, if money and location was no object, where is the absolute best place to do this? Thanks a lot for your time and help! Xavier

New to astronomy

Napster — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:49:30 GMT

Hi all,

My name is Bob and I have just purchased my first scope, a Starmax 102 with a German EQ-2 mount. In fact I’m picking it up at the post office tomorrow. I know it’s not a good choice for deep space observations but I understand it is more than adequate for the planets and that would be fine for me right now. Does anyone have any experience with this scope? All opinions would be appreciated… Thanks.

Bob

Hello from Ohio

stiffdogg06 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:33:08 GMT

Hey all,

Name is Andy Lastivka. I am 21 yrs old from Columbus, Ohio. I am currently a Senior at The Ohio State University for Business Administration in Finance. My hobbies are star gazing and tooling with my 400whp Civic. ;)

Well, I've ALWAYS been amazed with anything related to Astronomy. I'm still learning about binoculars and telescopes before I make a purchase, so I know I get the best bang for the buck.

- Andy

Ok so I'm here

bubs — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:43:16 GMT

Ok Hello to all,I'm Tony Semenuk from St Clair Shores ,Mi,just getting into the swing of things after a nasty divorce and subsequent move ,It took me almost a year to save enough to buy a used sct witha Cg-5 mount.The scope I bought was well used to say the least but is still bigger than anything I ever dreamed of owning.I'm still getting used to it and have tons of questions.like checking my collimation and source for used parts ,cheap add ons etc,I hope to not bore you guys with my endless questions...