[paulj]

Yea Arron what telescope do you have?
I have a Celestron SCT 8 which I have had since early 1980's
Converted it to computer control a few years ago but I haven't used it for awhile.
Used to be a member of the Astronomical Society of NSW for over 20years and I traveled
to the dark skies site up at Sofala every New Moon to do deep sky
astrophotography. Back then we used photographic film which had been soaked in
Nitrogen gas to increase sensitivity. Now they use CCD chips and much smaller exposure times.
Been thinking that I should take the telescope down to McCoy one night and do a bit of casual observing.

[robair]

Gday Paul/ Claudio

I was very active with astronomy when I was at school, used to have a very nice meade reflector until it got stolen.

I have been meaning to get back into it for ages however the choice of equipment is truly bewildering, the cost can be a bit eye watering also.

Do you know of any places where I may be able to pick up good second hand gear to keep the cost down?

Also, on my Iphone I have a top little app called Pocket Universe which I find very handy for ISS sightings etc etc.

Cheers
Rob B

[Claudius]

Gday Paul/ Claudio

Do you know of any places where I may be able to pick up good second hand gear to keep the cost down?

No idea. Did you mean to ask Aaron instead?

[robair]

Yes I did Claudio, sorry, blonde moment there
Rb

[Too Drunk to Fly]

Hi Rob check this place out. http://www.iceinspace.com.au/index.php?home

---

Hi Paul,
Sydney skies suck, I've been living in a unit for 6years, so I can't take it out the back for a look. I got a 12"Meade in storage at the moment(too bloody big), but I use just an 8" on a dobsonian mount, which is a cheap particle board catherine wheel type thing. Really cheap as most of the cost is usually for the tripod. I think I paid around $400 4-5 years ago.
Honestly haven't been that into it last couple of years as my other hobby has sort of taken over, requiring going to bed early waking up nice and fresh for a fly, but recently been feeling the bug again.

Rob,
8" is a decent enough scope to discern colours on Jupiter and Dobsonian mounts make them really cheap.

[SteadyEddy]

Hi all I e-mailed HK and this was their reply about our Sydney HK.

Thanks for contacting the HobbyKing Support Team.

I checked the status of HobbyKing Sydney store is closed from our website. We are sorry that we do not have any more information of the store at present. Please kindly check the store information from website or forum. Thank you for your understanding.


Thanks for emailing support.
If you have any other questions, please let me know.
Regards.
Matthew
HobbyKing Support Team

[Claudius]

Yes I did Claudio, sorry, blonde moment there

No worries. I was struggling to remember what lies I'd told you in the past

[kizza42]

I do all my astronomy up close and personal
http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/
http://en.spaceengine.org/
http://www.shatters.net/celestia/
http://kerbalspaceprogram.com/