Post by Focused_Naim on Aug 17, 2019 19:23:14 GMT -6
Good evening everyone,
My name is Naim. I am new to DSSG, this forum, and the state of Mississippi. I have temporarily relocated to Hattiesburg to work with Kohler Engines as a safety engineering co-op. I recently graduated from the University of Florida.
I first read through the forums to orient myself to current and past happenings. I'm ecstatic that the star party has moved to White Horse! Currently, I do not own a telescope. (BUT I AM LOOKING!) I possessed a pair of 8 x 50 binoculars, which I returned to a friend's father, before I relocated to Hattiesburg. Those binos served me well on spontaneous trips to the Cedar Key Airport, which produced fairly dark skies and clear skies in winter.
I started visiting the Cedar Key Airport after a class trip to Seahorse Key, an island in the Gulf of Mexico, a short distance by boat from Cedar Key. Seahorse key is a wildlife preservation; we were honored to have this trip permitted. I spent a night atop the lighthouse, which was constructed on the highest point of the island and a relief from the clouds of mosquitoes below. Climbing through the hatch, my eyes not dark adjusted, I saw my old-reliable friend, Orion. Soon after, the Pleiades. The wind swirled swiftly strongly and erratic. The sky cleared of the evening cloud cover. I just laid prone and let my eyes adjust. NEVER HAD I NOTICED TAURUS! Orion the Hunter, Taurus the bull, makes sense. Then Cassiopeia. I had never seen the boastful queen. Then Gemini. Seeing so many constellations in one September (or was it October) night, surely you can't be Sirius?
I was happy to be in this place, falling in love with the sky. Visiting the Cedar Key Airport was my attempt to get as close to Seahorse key as possible. Since that time, I would visit Cedar Key randomly with binoculars, no star maps, and drive home usually between 2:00 and 4:00 AM. Viewing the vast number of stars would cause me to breakout in laughter and smiles from awe for the first time in my life.
From the Labor Day gathering and the official star party, I'm hoping to learn which configuration of telescope I prefer, great sites for viewing in the Southeast, and tips for eventually viewing planetary nebula. I envision myself becoming a proficient visual astronomer before I attempt my goal to resolve M2-9 with astrophotgraphy equipment. I set M2-9 as a goal, because look at it! upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/The_Twin_Jet_Nebula.jpg It will be years before I attain a satisfactory image, but cheers to setting goals.
Naim
My name is Naim. I am new to DSSG, this forum, and the state of Mississippi. I have temporarily relocated to Hattiesburg to work with Kohler Engines as a safety engineering co-op. I recently graduated from the University of Florida.
I first read through the forums to orient myself to current and past happenings. I'm ecstatic that the star party has moved to White Horse! Currently, I do not own a telescope. (BUT I AM LOOKING!) I possessed a pair of 8 x 50 binoculars, which I returned to a friend's father, before I relocated to Hattiesburg. Those binos served me well on spontaneous trips to the Cedar Key Airport, which produced fairly dark skies and clear skies in winter.
I started visiting the Cedar Key Airport after a class trip to Seahorse Key, an island in the Gulf of Mexico, a short distance by boat from Cedar Key. Seahorse key is a wildlife preservation; we were honored to have this trip permitted. I spent a night atop the lighthouse, which was constructed on the highest point of the island and a relief from the clouds of mosquitoes below. Climbing through the hatch, my eyes not dark adjusted, I saw my old-reliable friend, Orion. Soon after, the Pleiades. The wind swirled swiftly strongly and erratic. The sky cleared of the evening cloud cover. I just laid prone and let my eyes adjust. NEVER HAD I NOTICED TAURUS! Orion the Hunter, Taurus the bull, makes sense. Then Cassiopeia. I had never seen the boastful queen. Then Gemini. Seeing so many constellations in one September (or was it October) night, surely you can't be Sirius?
I was happy to be in this place, falling in love with the sky. Visiting the Cedar Key Airport was my attempt to get as close to Seahorse key as possible. Since that time, I would visit Cedar Key randomly with binoculars, no star maps, and drive home usually between 2:00 and 4:00 AM. Viewing the vast number of stars would cause me to breakout in laughter and smiles from awe for the first time in my life.
From the Labor Day gathering and the official star party, I'm hoping to learn which configuration of telescope I prefer, great sites for viewing in the Southeast, and tips for eventually viewing planetary nebula. I envision myself becoming a proficient visual astronomer before I attempt my goal to resolve M2-9 with astrophotgraphy equipment. I set M2-9 as a goal, because look at it! upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/The_Twin_Jet_Nebula.jpg It will be years before I attain a satisfactory image, but cheers to setting goals.
Naim
You'll need a suitable computer (i.e., laptop?) possibly in the field and also for processing, plus software. The learning curve is a cliff, from what I've seen but looks interesting nonetheless. I was starting out and possibly looking to do imaging later, I'd be tempted to get a moderate size Dob for visual / DSO work with the idea of adding a small, reasonably short focus ED refractor (70mm to 90mm, f/5 to f/6) later for imaging. One scope really won't cover the entire gamut of observing and imaging.