I attended the April star party held by the AAAP in Pittsburgh. The party was held at the Mingo Creek observatory in Washington County, about 25-30 minutes from my house. Beautiful night, calm, clear, and cool.
It was my first party, so I brought my wife and 6 year old along for company :)
I got to see some great images of Saturn (with Cassini seps and moons! WOW!) and a few Messier objects (M3, M42), plus good 'ol Luna as it waned. Even saw Venus in one of its phases. Doesn't hurt that they have amazing scopes to take a few peeks through!
My 6yr old got tired early, but he was loving every minute. When I go to the next one in May, maybe he'll stay home. We'll see. I have decided to dive head-first into the hobby, and that means I do a ton of research. I bought a planisphere and a few books, my favorite of which is called "Astronomy Hacks". I must-read for the beginner, worth every penny.
The books and research led me to my first astro-purchase: a pair of Nikon 10x50 binoculars. I'll start with these (who knew you could see SO much with binocs?) and keep asking about scopes. For now, I'm looking at either an 8-10" Dobsonian or I'll wait and save the pennies for an 8" SCT (Schmidt-Cassegrain) with go-to computer control. I may eventually need a small grab-and-go refractor, but the binocs should do fine for now. Hooked, hooked, hooked.
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1 comment:
Glad to see that you enjoyed the star party enough to join! There are many knowledgeable folks in the club, although it may take a little bit for you to find them, they're there.
I'll be stopping by to read your blog often!
C
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