SingAstro

Wednesday Night was great. Finally took my new Telescope down to the pool of my condo and was able to see things I have never seem from my Balcony. Scorpio was so clear and Sagitarius Teapot was aslo very clear. Was astounded by something called M24 Sagittarious star cloud. It was a gaint cluster of stars that went on and on.... Assume this is because its the centre of the Milkyway.

Plus many other constellations and stars I have never seen before. Although I did not agree with my GOTO on the Deneb (Eagle) and Vega (Lyra). I was right the GOTO shurely was wrong!!

I think I need a better viewing scope that is better on my neck for all those vertical stars above.

WOW! very enjoyable!

Congrats on taking the 8SE out to the open! Did any curious neighbours walked by and looked at these wonderful objects through your telescope?

I assume your neck pain is referring to the straight through finder. Try upgrading it to a right-angled powered finder. Or spend some time to learn how to align the 8SE accurately so you need not use the finder that frequently.

Hope you took some photos of your session so you may re-live these nice memories in the future!

I don't know anything about photographing stars yet. What might I need to buy. I have read about a Cannon T ring or something, then I have read about focal reduser but apart from that......?

I was a bit worried that the security guard might wonder if im looking into ppls units!

Was going to go out tonight (Saturday) but the sky looks like a thick fog!

I think Gary meant photographing you with your equipment!
GOTO on such a long focal length scope usually doesn't land you right on the target so some fine tuning is needed but of great importance is your initial alignment. Make sure you align properly so the rest of the session will be that much easier!
Have fun with your new scope!

I don't know if I imagined it be I was sure I saw 2 shooting stars only lasted about a second - so quick I was wondering if I was going crazy....

zymon wrote: I was a bit worried that the security guard might wonder if im looking into ppls units!

You may invite them to take a look through your telescope. This will clear up any potential misunderstanding. Then, he will share his experience with his colleagues. And if residents call them up in the future, they will then have the right "answer" and will most probably not interrupt your future observing sessions.

I love showing astronomical views to security guards and police officers. I treat them just like any other sidewalk public - another opportunity to spread astro awareness.

A few months ago, I invited one security officer at Toa Payoh Central to take a look at Saturn, Moon, M7. Needless to say, he was very impressed with what he saw. We become friends and exchanged numbers. Since he is doing the overnight shift, he told me that I can just call/sms him if I need an update of the sky situation in Toa Payoh Central. My other encounters with police officers in the past few years are equally positive and rewarding, the most recent one during our last sidewalk there few days ago.