ALDI have a telescope on Special on Sunday

That, and the expectations Dave! You know the way we (participating IFAS memers) have always slated these kind of scopes due to their description of the maximum power magnification obtainable!

What? You mean my new scope isn't the ground based version of Hubble?!? :lol: The images on the box and the stated magnification are deceptive alright, but hey, that's marketing for ya! BTW it also came with a handy star chart and astro software. I'm sure the software is very basic in terms of what's currently available but it's a godsend.

What? You mean my new scope isn't the ground based version of Hubble?!? :lol:

Afraid not! I got caught too when I got my first scope, a 75mm reflector - I thought I really was going to get a chance to see all those colours in Saturns rings!

As a kid I had a 40mm Tasco "terrestrial" type refractor. Now that was a real piece of junk and enough to kill any interest in astronomy! But it's often too easy to blame the tools; how many top class scopes end up gathering dust in children's wardrobes? At least the Aldiscope will do a decent job and not break the bank, especially if a child loses interest, which seems to be more common these days with so many other distractions. Although how Pop Idol could be more interesting than our universe I'll never know???

Neil,
What software came with the scope?
You're right also about expensive scopes in the closet, I know of one or 2 expensive SCTs just sitting there, rotting away, its sush a waste.

Dave,

It's CyberSky 3.3.1 by Stephen Michael Schimpf 2002. Website is www.cybersky.com Very nifty for a newbie like me but probably basic for most of you guys.

hi Neil,

thanks for that info on the software package . . . Cybersky is pretty good software. Sometimes the likes of Starry Night, etc. have too many gimmicks to make the sky look realistic. Cybersky is easy to customise (star colours, label fonts, etc.) and was the only package I had seen in a long time that allowed you fit an all-sky view to an A4 page when printing. My SkyMap Pro (v.6) always chopped off some of the horizon. The maps are quite clean too. I know the shareware version has some deep-sky objects but am not sure if the CD that came with the scope is the full version? I missed Aldi in Maynooth by 5 minutes last Tuesday week!

atb,

John