The year in review from a baby hobbyist. Overall, I have learned the following things:
1. Just because it is for sale doesn't mean it is a viable option. I ended up with an 8" Meade SCT OTA and although it gives me better views than my 4" Nexstar, I think I jumped into it too quick and should have saved for a better option.
2. I need to utilize more of you. Out of how many members there are, I hardly come here to ask questions. I have a resource at work that has been very helpful though!
3. Pride in your vision. I now know that it is good to have a vision before you start spending money on substitutes. Patience in this case does prevail.
4. As there is much more out there beyond our solar system, I started combing the skies for Messier objects later in the year. Open clusters and globs were really easy to locate, but I haven't experienced nebulae or galaxies. I think it is going to be very difficult to locate in heavily polluted skies along the Ohio river outside of Pittsburgh so I may have to take a trip. I didn't get a chance to focus in on Neptune or Uranus (which I was told will be small faint blue and greenish dots with my 8" SCT)as of yet either.
5. I am looking forward to Mars as I saw a lot of Venus, Jupiter and Saturn this year. I think I would like to take a look at Mercury as well.
6. I also learned a very important lesson concerning eyepieces. Yes, quality eyepieces make a difference, but not so much in a mediocre Scope. So I need to figure out a happy medium. I have a few different options now with a nice array of vintage Kellner/plossl eyepieces for my 8" Dob (which I need to figure out a weight system - received from a friend and I cleaned the mirror up. Seems to be made of cardboard kit?) and 4" Nextstar. I have a nice 2" eyepiece collection for the 8" Meade SCT and 80mm University Super Finder.
7. All in all, it was a good year of experimenting and hopefully I can learn a little bit more. I should probably read something other than the internet for my information too.
(Picture of setup to follow!)
1. Just because it is for sale doesn't mean it is a viable option. I ended up with an 8" Meade SCT OTA and although it gives me better views than my 4" Nexstar, I think I jumped into it too quick and should have saved for a better option.
2. I need to utilize more of you. Out of how many members there are, I hardly come here to ask questions. I have a resource at work that has been very helpful though!
3. Pride in your vision. I now know that it is good to have a vision before you start spending money on substitutes. Patience in this case does prevail.
4. As there is much more out there beyond our solar system, I started combing the skies for Messier objects later in the year. Open clusters and globs were really easy to locate, but I haven't experienced nebulae or galaxies. I think it is going to be very difficult to locate in heavily polluted skies along the Ohio river outside of Pittsburgh so I may have to take a trip. I didn't get a chance to focus in on Neptune or Uranus (which I was told will be small faint blue and greenish dots with my 8" SCT)as of yet either.
5. I am looking forward to Mars as I saw a lot of Venus, Jupiter and Saturn this year. I think I would like to take a look at Mercury as well.
6. I also learned a very important lesson concerning eyepieces. Yes, quality eyepieces make a difference, but not so much in a mediocre Scope. So I need to figure out a happy medium. I have a few different options now with a nice array of vintage Kellner/plossl eyepieces for my 8" Dob (which I need to figure out a weight system - received from a friend and I cleaned the mirror up. Seems to be made of cardboard kit?) and 4" Nextstar. I have a nice 2" eyepiece collection for the 8" Meade SCT and 80mm University Super Finder.
7. All in all, it was a good year of experimenting and hopefully I can learn a little bit more. I should probably read something other than the internet for my information too.
(Picture of setup to follow!)