RolandosCY
April 16th, 2012, 08:58 AM
Hi everybody,
My name is Rolandos Constantinides, and I live on the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea.
My interest in astronomy dates back to my childhood, but I became 16 years old before getting a quick glimpse through a small refractor. I was immediately hooked, but 25 years ago Cyprus was pretty much primitive as far as astronomy was concerned. By the time I was 18, I was a subscriber to “Astronomy” magazine, and right away I knew that I wanted to observe deep-sky objects, especially galaxies and planetary nebulae. I got my first telescope, a 4 ½” reflector in October 1999, and around the same time I became a subscriber to S&T. By 2001 I upgraded to an Orion Optics 10” reflector on a GP-DX base, and in 2003 I acquired my first refractor, a Takahashi FS102 on an EM10 base. With this setup I observed for five years. In the meantime, mainly thanks to the internet, we started catching-up astronomy-wise with the rest of the world! In late 2008 I got my first dob, a 12” SkyWatcher Flextube. This telescope really opened up my eyes into the realm of deep sky, but soon enough I recognized that I had a severe case of aperture fever. As a result, I did the bold move, and since February 2012 I am the proud owner of an 18-inch Obsession, a light bucket that forced me to see the deep-space through new eyes!
My quest for new challenges inevitably lead me to this forum, thanks to a suggestion by fellow member Reiner. Finding this forum was like discovering a new deep-sky treasure! A forum dedicated strictly to derp-sky, and whose participants include some of the people that have inspired me in my deep-sky quest: Steve Gottlieb, who through his “Deep-sky notebook” articles in S&T and his “Adventures in Deep Space” site showed the path my deep-sky “career” should follow. Steve Coe, who made me see a lot of the deep sky objects through the eyes of an “Astronomical Tourist”. Dave Kriege, whose #1934 creation is now the extension of my eyes in the deepest depths of the universe! Alvin Huey, whose amazing observing guides provide me with an unlimited supply of challenges in all deep-sky aspects! And I am pretty sure that through the forum I will get to know many other superb deep-sky observers from whom I have a lot to learn. I feel privileged to be part of this forum, and I hope to be able to add a little bit myself to our fascinating hobby!
Dear Dragan and Jimi, thanks for creating this wonderful forum for all of us to play!
My name is Rolandos Constantinides, and I live on the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea.
My interest in astronomy dates back to my childhood, but I became 16 years old before getting a quick glimpse through a small refractor. I was immediately hooked, but 25 years ago Cyprus was pretty much primitive as far as astronomy was concerned. By the time I was 18, I was a subscriber to “Astronomy” magazine, and right away I knew that I wanted to observe deep-sky objects, especially galaxies and planetary nebulae. I got my first telescope, a 4 ½” reflector in October 1999, and around the same time I became a subscriber to S&T. By 2001 I upgraded to an Orion Optics 10” reflector on a GP-DX base, and in 2003 I acquired my first refractor, a Takahashi FS102 on an EM10 base. With this setup I observed for five years. In the meantime, mainly thanks to the internet, we started catching-up astronomy-wise with the rest of the world! In late 2008 I got my first dob, a 12” SkyWatcher Flextube. This telescope really opened up my eyes into the realm of deep sky, but soon enough I recognized that I had a severe case of aperture fever. As a result, I did the bold move, and since February 2012 I am the proud owner of an 18-inch Obsession, a light bucket that forced me to see the deep-space through new eyes!
My quest for new challenges inevitably lead me to this forum, thanks to a suggestion by fellow member Reiner. Finding this forum was like discovering a new deep-sky treasure! A forum dedicated strictly to derp-sky, and whose participants include some of the people that have inspired me in my deep-sky quest: Steve Gottlieb, who through his “Deep-sky notebook” articles in S&T and his “Adventures in Deep Space” site showed the path my deep-sky “career” should follow. Steve Coe, who made me see a lot of the deep sky objects through the eyes of an “Astronomical Tourist”. Dave Kriege, whose #1934 creation is now the extension of my eyes in the deepest depths of the universe! Alvin Huey, whose amazing observing guides provide me with an unlimited supply of challenges in all deep-sky aspects! And I am pretty sure that through the forum I will get to know many other superb deep-sky observers from whom I have a lot to learn. I feel privileged to be part of this forum, and I hope to be able to add a little bit myself to our fascinating hobby!
Dear Dragan and Jimi, thanks for creating this wonderful forum for all of us to play!