New to Hobby - my amazingly short journey so far..

[Mane.Ganden]

Evening everyone!
I finally got my first scope as on 9th of march (after pestering my folks for 11 years, for them to allow me to own a scope as they thought it was against the law in Singapore to own one personally.) It's a Skywatcher 130p heritage. it comes with a 25mm and a 10mm eye piece (no idea what the number means, all i know is the 10mm gives you greater magnification)

On the first night when i got it. i took it out right away. first place i placed it at was at the field right in-front of my block and just randomly pointing it to the night sky and what i saw was absolutely breath taking. however i wasn't satisfied with that. i ran back home and realised i needed a table for my scope to sit on, so i just grab a fold-able table and left. it was 8.30pm. with scope in both hand and fold-able table on my shoulder i started what you might call a "pilgrimage". i walked to ang mo kio park set it up. gazed a little then moved on to bishan park did the same there. and i just kept moving never really staying in one spot. this "pilgrimage" took me to marymount, then to thomson and finally to lower pierce. nearly getting run over a few times by car as my eyes were glued to the night sky. All this while just randomly pointing to the stars and just viewing it's beauty. with the rising of the sun and the brightening of the sky i left for home. now every night. i'm always out just watching the night sky.

[Gary]

Hi Mane.Ganden. Welcome to the hobby and forum and congrats on getting your first telescope! So exciting!

This is a nice thread about the same telescope. You may find it useful in understanding yours better:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=11589

Do join our Bishan Park free public stargazing sessions outside McDonald's when you are free. Try our eyepieces and other accessories on your telescope and see how they perform. The next session is tonight (23 March) at about 7.30pm in celebration of Earth Hour 2013.

You may also want to participate in other Earth Hour stargazing sessions in Singapore:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11846

Don't look at the sky when crossing the road, no matter how clear the skies! Take your time to learn and enjoy the skies and wishing you more amazing adventures and sights through your telescope!

[depardeuz]

Hi Mane Garden, finally another Heritage owner!! I can understand the awe and why you would stare into the night sky. Cos it is no longer the boring sky you previously know. I carried portable table and chair too!! The Heritage is my 2nd dob. The 1st being the Celestron Firstscope. But do take utmost care of your own safety. The universe will still be there for you after you cross the road. Dun worry too much. Else, you can always view them the next evening. Take your time and join us during sidewalk!

[cloud_cover]

Welcome to the hobby! Its great to hear about your adventures but stay safe, ya?
As Gary and Dave said, there's a group that meets periodically at Bishan Park.
One note though: Its meaningless to move around Singapore as far as the sky is concerned but of course you may want to find a darker spot

[Gary]

The universe will still be there for you after you cross the road.

Hahahaha. This is classic! Must frame it up somewhere.

But the Iridium Flare might be gone by then. Just Kidding! Safety first.

Another beautiful thing about the 130p is its dovetail adapter. Can be mounted on a Vixen PORTA Mount. Wanna try tonight at our Earth Hour celebrations at Bishan Park?

[Mane.Ganden]

i saw the reply a tad late :s
would love to but i'm kinda shy about the size of my scope. you guys have such massive ones. mine looks juvenile.

[cloud_cover]

i saw the reply a tad late :s
would love to but i'm kinda shy about the size of my scope. you guys have such massive ones. mine looks juvenile.

Not at all! A 130mm is a fine scope to start with! It will be able to show you so many targets that you will literally take years to see all that it can show you, even in our light polluted skies!
I personally use mainly a 100mm as my primary scope so 130mm is hardly "small"!

[Avarielle]

i saw the reply a tad late :s
would love to but i'm kinda shy about the size of my scope. you guys have such massive ones. mine looks juvenile.

Hello and welcome to SingAstro.

Please don't feel shy about the size of your scope. One of our sidewalk group has the exact same scope and it is a decent scope. Personally I use an 80mm scope and it serves its purpose very well.

[Gary]

i saw the reply a tad late :s
would love to but i'm kinda shy about the size of my scope. you guys have such massive ones. mine looks juvenile.

There is always a bigger telescope out there or in development. So by the same logic, should all amateur astronomers feel inferior about the size of their existing scopes? LOL

So whether the scope is small or big, premium or mass-produced does not really matter as long as you enjoy what you are doing with it and enjoy the process of making use of it to the fullest, and if you are into public outreach, share the same joys with others too. And in the process, make more like-minded friends who are into public outreach.

In fact, during such public stargazing sessions, people are more fascinated by what a small scope can see and feels less intimidated to ask the owner about the affordability of starting the hobby. Case in point, during our Earth Hour session at Bishan Park last night, I was asked quite a lot of questions about my small 80mm refractor and a friend actually made a decision to get that as his first scope despite comparing views of it with a 6-inch SCT (due to portability being a very high priority).

And thanks to someone who brought his Heritage 130P last night, my 80mm is the scope that looks juvenile. Jupiter, Moon and Saturn looks awesome in that 130p compared to my 80mm.

[cloud_cover]

Also, a big scope takes a big commitment to deploy it. A smaller scope on the other hand is easy to bring out. Personally I feel the 130 is the best compromise between size and convenience, especially since it comes with its own mount!
Also, a well collimated 130mm Newt should hold its own vs a 6" SCT so you've got a good thing going