Bgman
May 15th, 2012, 05:33 PM
Hi everyone,
My name is Will and just found this forum yesterday as I was searching for what else, deepsky targets! This forum is right up my alley. I read a lot online and I post occasionally as well when I have time so I recognize many of your names from CN etc. I have been into astronomy since I was a kid and have always had an eye to the sky even when I couldn't get out to observe. A little over 2 years ago I got an opportunity to purchase a 25" Obsession f/5 scope from a guy and I have been a hopeless deepsky addict ever since. Since I live in Ky, I don't have access to wonderful sites that you guys write about. My best local site is only a green zone, but a few times a year I get out to a darker place like the Rainwater observatory in Mississippi for some real darksky time. I am constantly looking for good sites to observe and interesting objects to tackle. I had the good fortune to observe with Dr Bill Keel a few years ago just after I got the 25 and he asked me if he could look at an object in my scope later in the night. I said "yes" to the guy who introduced himself only as Bill. Later that night we looked at IC2497 and he looked at it for a long, long time. I asked him what was so special about it and that is when he told me about it's significance and what he was doing with it. He said he wanted to see it with his own eyes thru an eyepiece instead of on a computer screen remotely from some observatory. He said that it made it real for him. Needless to say, I was blown away because I didn't know about any of this before he told me.
I was a newbie with a big scope at that point. Anyway, observing with this scope and learning about what is out there to see makes it real for me and I can't get enough. The nights under the stars go by way too quickly! Greetings to everyone and I look forward to conversing with you all.
Will Olliges
My name is Will and just found this forum yesterday as I was searching for what else, deepsky targets! This forum is right up my alley. I read a lot online and I post occasionally as well when I have time so I recognize many of your names from CN etc. I have been into astronomy since I was a kid and have always had an eye to the sky even when I couldn't get out to observe. A little over 2 years ago I got an opportunity to purchase a 25" Obsession f/5 scope from a guy and I have been a hopeless deepsky addict ever since. Since I live in Ky, I don't have access to wonderful sites that you guys write about. My best local site is only a green zone, but a few times a year I get out to a darker place like the Rainwater observatory in Mississippi for some real darksky time. I am constantly looking for good sites to observe and interesting objects to tackle. I had the good fortune to observe with Dr Bill Keel a few years ago just after I got the 25 and he asked me if he could look at an object in my scope later in the night. I said "yes" to the guy who introduced himself only as Bill. Later that night we looked at IC2497 and he looked at it for a long, long time. I asked him what was so special about it and that is when he told me about it's significance and what he was doing with it. He said he wanted to see it with his own eyes thru an eyepiece instead of on a computer screen remotely from some observatory. He said that it made it real for him. Needless to say, I was blown away because I didn't know about any of this before he told me.
I was a newbie with a big scope at that point. Anyway, observing with this scope and learning about what is out there to see makes it real for me and I can't get enough. The nights under the stars go by way too quickly! Greetings to everyone and I look forward to conversing with you all.
Will Olliges