#1
|
|||
|
|||
Beginner questions
Hello,
First time poster, and completely clueless about this hobby (astronomy). Electrical engineer by trade, with a background in physics (that was my original major in my undergrad studies, although I never finished out that degree). I've been interested in items celestial for a long time, but haven't had the time or energy to pursue them - what with the "real world," family, kids, job, etc. Anyway, for whatever reason my parents decided to buy me a telescope for my 39th birthday today. It's a Celestron NexStar 80GTL. I've been looking through the manual and while a lot of the supposed features seem interesting, I'm wondering what others thought about this particular instrument and if it's worthwhile using it to kind of "get into" astronomy. I don't have a huge amount of time to devote to any new pursuits or hobbies, but I like the idea of being able to point a telescope at a celestial body and observe it in a fashion that is not just "Wow! Look at that thar thing!" So what's involved in becoming somewhat fluent in astronomy? At least to the point where I can navigate the skies and have a decent understanding of why I'm seeing what and when. Finally, I live in Germantown, MD (USA), and would like to elicit any pointers to clubs, good observation points, etc. TIA, James |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Complete beginner needs binocular purchase suggestions | Jeff Kuehn | Amateur Astronomy | 20 | March 18th 04 04:10 PM |
sci.space.tech and sci.space.science Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | s.s.t moderator | Technology | 0 | August 3rd 03 12:03 PM |
sci.space.tech and sci.space.science Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | s.s.t moderator | Technology | 0 | July 27th 03 12:03 PM |
sci.space.tech and sci.space.science Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | s.s.t moderator | Technology | 0 | July 20th 03 12:03 PM |
sci.space.tech and sci.space.science Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | s.s.t moderator | Technology | 0 | July 13th 03 12:03 PM |