Astronomy Beginner

[Jackjack80]

Greeting to all the forum members here....didnt know there is a forum for local astronomy community until i chances upon it when looking for more infos I been fascinated with the infinite universe that is out of our window and having serious thoughts of getting a scope to have a good glance at the deep space for Nebula/milky way and planets too :p

Been reading up on the different types of scopes available but i'm unsure which one should i go for .... refracting/reflecting ? My budget for this new hobby should be around 500-1k max

Hope to gain my input and recommendation from the old birds here

Cheers!

[bornfree]

Welcome! great to know more people are getting into this hobby. instead of wrecking your brains on what scopes to get, why not join in a sidewalk and see the different scopes that is available? and if weather is permitting, we are holding one tomorrow at Bishan park near the MacDonald's.

dont dive so fast into getting your first scope. experience the different type of scopes and find what your interests are. Planets, stars, star clusters, nebulae? different scopes are best used for different things you want to look at.

not necessary getting a telescope, you can even start off with a bino.

take care and clear skies~

[Airconvent]

Welcome to Singastro, Jack!
Do check out our FAQ as well as join in the various outreach sessions that our members here conduct, such as Gary in Toa Payoh, Dave and gang in Bishan park, Galaxy CC in Woodlands, Weixing in Tampines and the Science Centre in Jurong. You will get some practical handson..

[Gary]

Welcome to the forum Jack! Glad you found us!

$500 - $1000 is a decent budget for a first telescope. But before you buy anything, do read up more on the subject matter.

You can find out more about telescopes/binoculars from some of the practical stargazing books available for loan in our public libraries: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=12337

Good luck and hope to see you soon!

[Jackjack80]

Thank you all for the warm welcome! How should i begin ?? I stay at Nee soon side...which group can i join ? Hope to learn more from you guys too

[cloud_cover]

Hello jackjack!
Welcome to the "club"!

Nee Soon is a great place to stargaze as you have reasonably darker skies nearby

Regarding equipment, I'd strongly suggest you drop by one of the public sidewalk sessions to look through the (usually) many scopes deployed to see which one best suits you in terms of size, weight and abilities. Of course while generally the more expensive and bigger the more able the scope, many practical factors apart from cost, such as bulk and ease of use will eventually come together to determine how well used your scope is.

You're welcome to join pretty much any group at all but the most active pair are Gary and Dave who hold their public sessions in Toa Payoh and Bishan park respectively.
In fact i think there's a talk by Gary tonight at the Toa Payoh Library on Andromeda, which appears to be a rather attractive subject so you might be interested in joining the talk



Have fun and see you around!

[Gary]

@cloud_cover - No wonder so many people turned up on a Monday evening.

@jackjack - Since your location is in the North, in addition to attending sidewalk sessions, you may also consider checking out Galaxy Astronomy Club - http://home.galaxyastro.sg, https://www.facebook.com/groups/50543565959/.

[ymalexlee]

Hi to all Singastro members. I am glad to have found this forum and rekindle a hobby I have since very young but never the time, opp and budget to venture into. Joined the first stargazing at Bishan last Saturday and again at Gary's talk at Toa Payoh Library and met some of you Gurus there - Gary, Jason, Dave, Weixin (pardon my spelling). Must say I have learned quite a bit about telescope last few days thanks to your friendly advice. Even has a kind spirit like Gary to lend me your scope for the next few days to "feel" the rather hazy and cloudy sky is more than one can ask for :-). So keep up the good work Singastro!

[Gary]

Hi to all Singastro members. I am glad to have found this forum and rekindle a hobby I have since very young but never the time, opp and budget to venture into. Joined the first stargazing at Bishan last Saturday and again at Gary's talk at Toa Payoh Library and met some of you Gurus there - Gary, Jason, Dave, Weixin (pardon my spelling). Must say I have learned quite a bit about telescope last few days thanks to your friendly advice. Even has a kind spirit like Gary to lend me your scope for the next few days to "feel" the rather hazy and cloudy sky is more than one can ask for :-). So keep up the good work Singastro!

Welcome to the forum! Time to erase some of your childhood regrets!