New Member and Beginner to Astronomy

Hello All,

I am a new member and a beginner too, have been reading some of the suff in the forum for the last while, and as a result bought the book "Turn left at Orion" which is really really good, wouldn't know where to start!

My brief story, I was asked a couple of years ago by an elderly gentleman to help him assemble a refractor telescope. As a result got to see Saturn, Jupiter and the Moon, and was very impressed. I was very lucky that at the time I was living very near Dowth, which has good, dark skies. Christmas gone past I got a Meade Telescope ETX/ 70 AT from my fiancé and have been very impressed with all the features of this telescope. Just got to see Orion Nebulae a few weeks ago, for the first time. A good friend, also an astronomer, who has a LARGE Meade telescope :lol: introduced me to the nebulae and constellations in the sky and also introduced me to this website.

Even though it is only a few weeks after Christmas, I have been reading books, magazines :roll: and yes I can't believe it, but I have actually just purchased a Celestron C6/RGT refractor :shock:

Today i got the chance to finally put the telescope together in the spare bedroom where it now stands. Everything went together very easily. The CG5 Equatorial mount is very strong.

I hope to give the telescope its first light over the next week or two and will write back as to how I get on.

All the best for now.
Raymond.

Hi Raymond, and welcome to the site. "Turn left at Orion" is a good book, you'll find a lot more than the Orion Nebula to look at. Good luck with the new telescope!

Hi Raymond,
You'll find that there is a severe disease that spreads across the astronomical community like wildfire, its called aperture fever, whatever you do, don't look through a scope that's bigger then yours, otherwise your bank account will go into the red and you're wife will divorce you.

Seriously though, let us know how you get on with your new scope.

purchased a Celestron C6/RGT refractor.

That beautiful scope is so robustly built it will be used by your great-great grandchildren!

Raymond --

Are you still in the Boyne-valley area? I'm up a bit north of Drogheda.

Good luck with the new scope!

Cheers,
-- Jeff.

Hi Raymond,
welcome to IFAS! Some other newbies have already been discussing about Turn Left at Orion -> see it here:

www.irishastronomy.org/boards/viewtopic.php?t=7999

Dave has got a good point re: aperture fever - be careful which scope you look through at your next opportune time.

Seanie.