Amateur Astronomer
I purchased my first telescope in 2022 to observe the stars and enjoy views of the moon. Then, I wanted to capture images of stars. And I have been on this journey ever since.
My education and profession is in Biomedical Informatics.
Why am I doing this?
I decided to start writing down my thoughts and process on this subject because I wanted to what I have done, and where I’m going. I’ve also found it beneficial for myself to accept failure in this hobby.
My initial pictures were difficult to capture and often frustrating for lack of a good mount, all I had was an EQ mount and a telescope for observation. When I searched online I found tons of resources for more advanced users, and the advice for true beginners was hard to understand at times. It’s ok to fail, and it’s ok to be a beginner. I would like to share my experience as a novice in the hobby.
How did I begin?
My first dive into telescopes was a beginner Newtonian (reflector). At the time I didn’t know much about the difference in telescopes, reflector vs refractor. This reflector gave me the power to view stars from my back yard! Living under Bortle 9 skies I don’t see many stars, so this was an incredible treat that I wanted to share with others.
Targets
At first, I couldn’t find any targets in the night sky. I wasn’t used to looking up because there is barely anything to look at. I was able to use various phone apps to identify stars and find them.
After being able to identify stars, I moved on to star clusters and the moon. At this point I realized I wanted to take pictures so I attempted and failed many times. I slowly acquired equipment and got to a level I felt comfortable saying I was going to look for specific targets.