Hello everyone

[AlexB]

Hi all, I'm Alex. I've always liked looking at the night sky, especially by a campfire, but only bought a 'serious' telescope and started to learn about astronomy soon after the first lockdown in April 2020.

I'm afraid to say my Dobsonian (Skywatcher Classic 200p) has been gathering dust for several months as I can't seem to collimate it correctly, so hoping for some advice on this at the next observing evening.

In the meantime I have enjoyed the surprise of how much you can see with binoculars, after purchasing a pair of Opticron Adventurer T WP 10 x 50s, and getting reasonable views of Jupiter and Saturn through a cheap and cheerful 70mm Celestron Travel Scope.

I'm hoping to learn more about the most interesting objects to see and how to find them. I have a copy of Turn Left at Orion but when I look through the eyepiece I find it hard to correlate the stars I am seeing with those on the diagrams, so often end up failing to find what I am looking for - whether through poor navigation or the light pollution of Sundridge Park.

My time for astronomy and my budget for new equipment are tight (partly thanks to two young children!) but I am hoping to enjoy observing with you, learning from you and helping out where I can.

I look forward to meeting you or hearing from you, and seeing more of your amazing images!

[Carole]

Hi Alex and Welcome.  Many years of experience on here with various equipment.

Lots of people use this as the Best guide to Collimation, I hope this helps:
https://www.astro-baby.com/astrobaby/help/collimation-guide-newtonian-reflector/

Carole

[ApophisAstros]

Welcome Alex , i wish you clear skies and enjoyment.
Roger.

[doug]

Hi Alex.Observing evenings at the OVMH Otford are a good place to learn about telescope problems, so I would suggest that you come to one of the Observing evenings one of the members would be sure to assist you with any problems you have. The next Observing evening is on the Thursday, 16th September at the Otford Village Memorial Hall, starting at 20.00 hrs.

Welcome, and hope to see you there.

Doug.