5 Unrealistic Expectations of Beginning Amateur Astronomers!

[@smalloptics753]

One bit of advice I always give to newbies is "turn expectation into appreciation."

[@XShadowAngel]

Good way to put it.

[@cptpayday2080]

Jup... When I got out my 100$ Telescope to look at Saturn I was blow away to see this tiny spec barely making out the ring. It was so cool for me to see Saturn with my own eyes. My little cousin on the other hand probably expected to see a image of Saturn like in magazines or full scale pictures so he thought it was super lame to only barely see it.

[@hooper365]

Awesome advice totally true

[@hooper365]

Small optics and Ed Ting giving us their knowledge gratitude for y'all

[@gothicm3rcy426]

just the fact youre looking at something millions of miles away.... its amazing

[@unknownstrikex]

I think a video on the best eyepieces at $100, $300, $800, etc would be a great help to a lot of people who are just starting out. I personally found the process of choosing the most suitable eyepieces to be much more challenging than figuring out the right telescope, as there were simply so many offerings.

[@kevchard5214]

I agree completely. The eyepiece makes the telescope not the other way around. I ordered 3 tele vue eyepieces (not cheep) before I ordered my scope. I never looked through the ones that came with my scope yet and I had my scope for 3 years.

[@unknownstrikex]

@@kevchard5214 I'm currently running a Baader Hyperion Zoom with the 2.25x barlow and an Agena 32mm SWA for my 8 inch dobsonian. I plan on getting something in the 7-6mm range for smaller DSO and planets later down the road, but there is too much conflicting information on the 4 main offerings of long ER, 60-70 degree AFOV eyepieces. Delos has difficult eye placement according to some, while for others, the Morpheus and Pentax XW are harder to use, etc. Currently leaning towards the DeLites right now (cheaper, lighter, good for binoviewing), but I'd like to see Ed's take on this.

[@kevchard5214]

@@unknownstrikex I would also. I took Eds advice on eye pieces but bumped up to a 10 inch dobsonian for my first scope. I do agree with Ed it is finicky when trying to reach out far but the light it gathers is for me worth the annoyance. I followed Eds advice and only bought 3 Tele Vue eyepieces and a 3X barlow and they were worth the money. I now understand why Tele Vue eyepieces keep 100% of their value through the years. I went with all wide angle eyepieces and would not change a thing. I am still very new to this hobby and only have 6 to 8 days a year where the sky is viewable here in Oklahoma but this is a great hobby.

[@Mandragara]

1 eyepiece that gives you the largest TFOV your scope will allow. 1 eyepiece that produces about 125-150x power in your scope A 2x barlow. Buy in that order IMO :)

[@unknownstrikex]

Agena 32mm SWA, BHZ, and a 2.25x barlow covers everything for me. Now just gotta figure out what to get as an upgrade later down the road.

[@tjzambonischwartz]

I was lucky enough to sort of bypass all of these misconceptions because of how I got into the hobby. My first views through a telescope were through a 21" cassegrain when I was 10. The views of EVERYTHING were spectacular. I was hooked, immediately did a lot of reading, and started doing binocular observing. I was able to re-observe many objects I saw that night with my grandpa's binoculars, so by mentally averaging the two views I was able to hazard a guess at what a small telescope would show and my expectations were subsequently exceeded time and again by my 60mm refractor and subsequent 6" dobsonian. That was in 1993. I don't do astrophotography. I don't use go-to telescopes. I star-hop with manual dobsonians and big binoculars, and that's the way I like it.

[@brandonlee1181]

You might not know what I mean by this, but you're what we call a chad. Doesn't need all the bells and whistles to enjoy the hobby :) as it should be

[@tjzambonischwartz]

@@brandonlee1181 just because I'm a luddite when it comes to my telescopes doesn't mean I'm not from the internet

[@tjzambonischwartz]

@@brandonlee1181 and I think this is the first time anybody's called my dorky ass a Chad about anything

[@brandonlee1181]

@@tjzambonischwartz my man haha

[@gothicm3rcy426]

however you enjoy the hobby is great.... there are so many ways to appreciate it. I do a little astrophotography but not the super dim stuff... I also love to just view.... I get a thrill when I find something with a chart or planisphere that ive never found before

[@copper12heavy69]

"Giving meaning to the end of lights journey". Bravo.

[@carlstreet7095]

Hubble upped the expectations of so many people. I was thrilled the first time I saw the Orion Nebula, but deep in the back of my mind, I caught myself asking "where are those beautiful colors"?

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

I've seen hints of green and pink in M42--but it was -38 C outside!

[@roboadvisor3598]

I’m still waiting for my first look at Saturn and Jupiter. My wife and I were fighting over who’s turn it was to look at the moon next the first time we used a telescope. We’re looking forward to our journey. Thanks for the content and knowledge!

[@ronmcmartin4513]

My first look(8" Dob) at Saturn was exactly like the old B&W 1950s science fiction rocket movies. About the size of a lima bean on a dinner plate. Jupiter had 4 moons distinctly showing, with a slightly fuzzy band on the planet. I couldn't see the red storm(wrong time of year?).

[@XShadowAngel]

Nice. You have a lot to look forward to. The first time you see Saturn and Jupiter will be memorable. I had a 90 year old neighbor come over to look at Saturn a few years back, and she literally cried tears of joy at seeing it for the first time with her own eyes.

[@cubchristoph]

Now (July 2022), you can see Saturn and Jupiter before/at dawn in the south east. (Those two dots that look like very bright stars.) Seeing Saturn and Jupiter with your own eyes through some glass and mirrors is at the same time less spectacular than the photos and also much more exciting.

[@ingerasulffs]

@@ronmcmartin4513 Hmm, I have a 76mm (3") telescope, sort of inherited, so not sure what it cost but it looks and feels like a stereotypical department store telescope, and the viewfinder is impossible to align at all (infuriating cheap junk) and the mount is made of jelly, but was still able to see Jupiter and Saturn last year in color - small but still fascinating. An 200mm (8") telescope should offer much better views, right?

[@jamiboothe]

Look whenever you can. Whoever looks first is fun, but when you find yourself always wanting that last look, you know you are falling in love with the universe.

[@ianschroth6575]

Mr. Ting, thanks for making these videos. I'm a newbie and have learned so much from your videos. I bought a 4.5" Starblast 2 years ago and then an 8" Dob for Christmas. I've been having a blast learning how to see and find things in the sky in no small part to your videos and other really good channels. Thanks!

[@MSUTri]

Ed, I appreciate the up-to-date list of unrealistic expectations, adding in all of the things that someone just starting in the 2020s might expect. So many things have changed since I was starting in amateur astronomy in the late 1990s/early 2000s. Smartphones, and the wide availability of high quality astrophotos online, have raised expectations by beginners so much. Astrophotography was even more of a niche back then than it is now. There's such a huge amount of cameras, trackers, mounts, software, etc. now, but back then amateur digital astrophotography was really just starting in the transition away from film. Reciprocity failure, hours-long exposures, manual guiding, etc. made film a much less forgiving environment. Go-To scopes existed, and were objects of desire, but not something a teen could afford. On the other hand, it's easier to get quality equipment than ever. Your words that it's more about the idea of what you're seeing, and that it gives meaning to the end of those photons' journeys, is really insightful. That puts the feeling we get when observing into words so eloquently.

[@matiassolomon7198]

first time I tried to use a telescope to see planets, I was expecting to see jupiter a lot bigger, but still ,even though it was smaller than expected, it was breathtaking. Same for saturn.

[@johnsch8634]

was happy to see the moons of jupiter even if I didn't get a voyager flyby quality view.

[@hdemetri]

I am new to the hobby and actually used your content of as a major source of research in deciding what to get. I've had my Orine 6 inch Skyline for about 2 months now. Observations of Saturn, Jupiter, and the moon exceeded expectations. Using my cellphone, stacking videos resulted in detailed photos that were exceptional and match what others have shown on 12 inch dobs with high end cameras. Finding deep sky objects in my Bortle 5 area is a completely different story. Forget about photos as my goal is to just observe and enjoy. M81, M82, and M13 took forever to find until I was able learn what to look for. Now I can find them in minutes. These objects are fuzzy specs that I first thought was smudge on my eyepiece. As I accommodate my vision and stare longer, small details will come through. I'm still absolutely amazed with this initial experience but this is the best way to explain it. Thanks for another great video!

[@officialgood-boy8946]

I came here a few years back and caught the bug. I have two dobs an 8" and a 10", a Newtonian on a motor driven eq mount and now I just got an 80mm optical on a Celestron computerized VX mount. I'm having a blast. I played around with the two dobe for a while and even caught a vague image of that comet we had a while back and realized i didn't just want to observe i wanted to capture... So i bought an Orion observer 134mm motor driven eq and an svbony 305, i fought with that mount for months before i caught m33 (albeit faintly) in an image! That experience was enough to make me put down that scope for a while though and I went back to observing until I could afford a better mount. Now i have that mount with an svbony sv503 80mm and all the bits to track and image objects. So far I've only spent a few hours practicing and playing taking over exposed images of m31 to get a feel for aligning and imaging with this rig. I can't wait to actually spend a night working on a project image. I think I'll aim for m33 again to hopefully get a much better image. Thanks Ed for being a great source of info and inspiration, you really hooked me.

[@jjs3287]

Your closing paragraph was beautiful and sums up perfectly why I used to enjoy Astronomy so much. Everyone should experience this at least once in their lifetime.

[@davidpippin3460]

All excellent points! I am a newbie and as soon as I saw Saturn and Jupiter accidentally and had my WOW moment I immediately wanted to dive into astrophotography. Bought some gear, not a lot and realized I have a steep learning curve ahead. I am going to be content with my Mak-Cass 150mm for visual and using my FF DSLR with a couple lenses to do basic nightscapes for a few years until I really get the hang of it. I do not want (read=my wife doesn't want) to spend a bundle on high end gear until I know I really want to pursue chasing nebulae.

[@rosaluks644]

Very nice review, thanks Ed!

[@Nanu.Padilla]

I got started in this hobby back in 2020. I bought a pair of binoculars (7x50) to try to see comet NEOWISE. I didn't, but the binoculars showed me so much when I looked through them that left me in awe. Not only that, they taught me to navigate the night sky. Next, I found a $10 retractor at a local thrift store (70 mm). It was missing some things, but it wasn't hard (or expensive) to get it to work. That telescope made it for us all in my family. Will never forget the first time I saw Jupiter and Saturn through the eyepiece. Thanks for the great content and advice.

[@JW-uj3we]

Great vids and reviews, thanks.

[@Mike__G]

Worthy of mention is EAA which is somewhere between visual observing and full blown astrophotography. My initial expectations at the eyepiece when I began in the hobby more than 15 years ago were unrealistic. i soon learned to appreciate the more subtle beauty of many deep sky objects and to enjoy hunting for faint fuzzies sans any electronic assistance. Now, having a rare disease of the cornea, I can’t see subtle detail any more. So I’ve turned to EAA to view things on a laptop screen from my driveway. Mastering the many aspects of my setup, and bringing in detail through light polluted skies has proven to be an approachable but sufficiently difficult challenge to keep me interested for a long time to come.

[@lordlucan529]

I was considering EAA for the exact same reasons - how is it working out for you?

[@perry3928]

Totally agree Ed. Have the nexstar 8se with starsense. Many frustrating nights getting it to work. The main attribute to this hobby, other than deep pockets, is patience. When all goes well, it's a site you'll never forget.

[@edting]

I'm curious, does your StarSense work? I've only seen a few of those and have had mixed results. Does yours point? All the time? Does it place the object in the center of the FOV? All the time? The NexStar is an OK mount (not a great one) so that could be contributing to the problem.

[@perry3928]

@@edting I've had the starsense for 2 months now. Here in Rochester NY always dealing with clouds, not to mention street light pollution and a full moon, contributed to not getting enough stars to calibrate. I don't go to dark sites, just my front yard. The 3rd try worked like a charm.Once calibrated caught Jupiter and it tracked just fine. What an amazing site. Looking to get an eq mount. Any thoughts on the zwo am5? Thanks Ed.

[@benbrogaming4069]

2 videos in 10 minutes I am now satisfied

[@edting]

Ha, is that all it takes?

[@bobaloo2012]

The biggest misconception I see is people expecting to do deep sky observing from cities, thinking some magical filter will remove the light pollution. My back yard is far darker than almost anywhere east of the Mississippi, the Milky Way is bright at night, and I never look at DSOs from home after spending a few weeks a year under Bortle 1 skies. Even going from truly dark skies to Bortle 3-4 the loss is enormous, from a urban or suburban area you're only going to see the tiniest hints of what's really out there. "The best filter is a tank of gas".

[@ishanr8697]

I have to travel 90 mins by car to reach bortle 5 so I mostly restrict myself to planetary and lunar. I've never seen the milky way. Enjoy what you have !

[@astroblast9352]

Night Vision astronomy does a pretty good job for DSOs in light pollution...but it is fairly expensive. Then again so are a handful of Ethos eyepieces.

[@williamluong7743]

For astrophotography narrowband filters do definitely work for light polluted areas

[@kathymiskell7658]

The last few minutes of what Ed had to say here really rang true for me. I have an Astroscan that I got back in the late 80's i think- love it for just scanning the Milky Way. Last summer I got an 8" Dob which has allowed me to see those elusive deep sky objects (i have fairly dark skies here) which is awesome. But at the end of the night, nothing gives me more peace than laying back in my recliner and just gazing at (with my naked eyes) and scanning thru the milky way (with my 7x50 binoculars) with some space music playing. Oh, and I must mention that thru the years I read up on the things I want to look at so I can really appreciate what I'm seeing.

[@gerardford1116]

Excellent video Ed. I've had many friends ask me for advice on how to enter visual and astrophotography. Their collective expectations are unrealistic, but I believe this is more due to a simple lack of knowledge. You hit on three important points, time (in the form of knowledge-experience), expense, and simplicity. I'm about 22 years into this hobby and have gotten to the point where I can acquire and process targets with a level where I am happy with my product (I hunt the challenging stuff now). This took thousands of hours learning and research, as well as thousands of dollars in iterative upgrade expenses. The learning curve was steep and difficult, and truly never ends. I wholly agree with you on the point of keeping it simple in the beginning, probably the most important point in my estimation. A good binocular kit, learning how the night sky works and understanding its layout and expanse of targets is a great way to start. The wonder and excitement of seeing objects will either capture them or not. If the bug bites, then hopefully they can move on. But many expect their views to be spectacular, or astrophotography to be a simple process, right away, right now. While viewing M51 with a portable 127 refractor one night with my neighbor he commented "that's it"? I then showed him a picture I had taken and processed of the same whereas he commented "that's more like it"! I then told him that picture took about 6 hours of acquisition and processing. His expectations were leveled, and now he enjoys viewing targets with a good set of binoculars and a mono-pod with me in my observatory while I do my thing. That to me is a win.

[@Andrew-bl6ny]

Beautiful commentary Ed - I remember being outside one night totally captured by grey fuzzy blobs and then reaching for the pint I’d left unattended for a while, just to find a thick layer of ice on the top. I’m on the astrophotography journey now but won’t forget those nights under the stars.

[@astralfields1696]

I've been a fan of astronomy my whole life, spent few weeks at an astronomy boot camp back in 1997 with the best astronomers of my country (Macedonia).. I didn't even buy a Telescope until 4 weeks ago because I've lived under Bortle 6+ skies for the last 25 years. But now that I have access to a Bortle 3.5 location I am finally the proud owner of an 8 inch DOB. Maybe it is because I've had a lot of theoretical knowledge before hand (and some exposure to a couple of telescopes at the boot camp/local planetarium) but so far I haven't had any unrealistic expectations. I haven't even considered astrophotography as I consider myself a computer SW/HW expert and of the little I have seen I can just imagine the time/knowledge/effort sink that is needed (on both SW processing and telescope capture) to produce an acceptable (in my eyes) photo of DSO objects. Not to mention, that observing the original photons for me has a metaphysical dimension. It is all about soaking up that energy from a different galaxy that a shining LCD pixel on a screen won't ever provide, no matter how processed and nice looking it is. I've had a couple of people ask me if I recommend the 8 inch DOB. My answer is definitely yes.. but their biggest unrealistic expectation is that buying the telescope is enough.. they ask me if they really need to invest an additional 100$ for some extra equipment. I tell them look, if you are serious about this hobby and you want to 'drive the telescope' at least to its 90% potential, you need to invest ideally the same amount of money as the cost of the telescope in extra equipment.. and here I am talking budget stuff from Aliexpress. I don't even mention to them that a single eyepiece can be more expensive than the whole telescope. I know Ed recommended that no extra eyepieces be bought at the beginning.. but the eyepieces (even the cheap ones from Aliexpress) make everything a whole lot easier at the beginning. In my book, even though I am just few weeks into the hobby.. I see HUGE difference between the stock eyepieces and the budget 68 FOV SVBony red line eyepieces (under the AngelEyes brand) I got for 27$ off Aliexpress. Not to mention also the 2 inch eyepieces I bought at 32mm and 40mm with 72 degree of view (also AngelEyes).. the views are from a different planet than the 25mm Plossl (I've had those once in the telescope and could not bear it) The eye-relief alone was horrible. I can see how a beginner may say, forget it, this is too much pain for little gain. Not to mention that finding things with the wide view 2 inch eyepieces is much much easier (especially for a beginner like me). I also got the SVBony 7-21mm zoom.. and again.. this is like having a completely different telescope. So much flexibility viewing the moon. There are other comfort pieces that make a world of difference and at the end may decide if the person stays with the hobby (mat over the grass under the telescope to protect against wet grass and critters, adjustable height chair, red dot finder, altitude meter (just 11$)). I love astronomy but if you were to force me to use the stock telescope for half a year with no extra equipment (eyepieces/comfort stuff) .. I don't know if I could manage to do it. At the end I did spend 500$ on Aliexpress for a lot of extras.. and it was the right choice (even if I am just 3 weeks in the hobby)

[@ziggyfrnds]

Thanks Mr. Ting, I've been an amateur astronomer for 15+ years now and have gone through and eventually cleared up all these misconceptions :) I do visual observations as well as some astrophotography and can attest to the amount of work and dedication (not to mention expensive equipment) required to take images. You've just summed up things perfectly. Now if I have to explain these issues to anyone I can just direct them to this video! :)

[@briankotak403]

All awesome points Ed. I did not really have any misconceptions about this hobby when I got into it last year because of the excellent advice and videos from you and others. Two other points for someone getting into the hobby - mosquitoes don’t sleep at night (unless it is cold outside), and there is little dark time in the summer if you live in northern latitudes. Winter is beautiful. I can start imaging or do visual observations at 5:30 pm!!

[@starlingblack814]

Hello Ed, thanks for the video. I've been looking now for about 35 years, and yes I love the tabletop photos, but that dim smudge of light at the eyepiece turns my crank more than any photo ever will. Again thank you as I appreciate your perspective on gear and astronomy.

[@XShadowAngel]

My first real telescope was a Celestron 9.25" Evolution. I excitedly got it set up in the yard, fought with it for hours to get aligned, and when I finally figured out how to focus and saw my first object, I was.... Massively underwhelmed. Enough I nearly regretted everything and dumped the hobby outright. I'm truly glad I stuck with it though, as i've enjoyed many, many nights under the stars since and I now love them for what they are and what you CAN see. Orion may be a wispy grey blob instead of the brilliant reds and blues you see in pictures, but it's beautiful in its own right. Nevermind astrophotography and the sheer feeling of accomplishment and pleasure when you get it right and take one of those images that just blows your mind.

[@StefanodeAngelis-1300]

That's strange. I started with an old 114mm (roughly 4 inches?) newtonian and Saturn, Jupiter, The Moon and the Pleiades were just amazing. I'm now upgrading to a C8 with an avx mount. I'm sure it's gonna be even better.

[@jjs3287]

Great video! I think its important that all newcomers to Astronomy appreciate that however humble their beginnings, its the memories they make on the start of their journey that they will treasure the most.

[@kevinburke8608]

I started with a Celestron Comet Catcher around 1984 (not sure of the date, I was around 13), then I had a C11 from 1991 until around 2015. I tried to do astrophotography with film a bunch of times in the 90s. Not much luck but I loved it. (this was in a dark room as well) I decided to give it another go in 2015 after I lost the scope (long story). So I bought a C9.25 thinking it would be easier to set up in 2019. It is much easier to set up (but sometimes think I could have gone smaller!!!) I do go out multiple times a month (I even shot last night) I love the scope and shoot at f7, f2.2, and planets at f25. My favorite is galaxies. I bought the scope on sale almost on a whim. I usually research the hell out of stuff like this but since I had previous experience I bought the SCT without much research because I thought I would lose a deal. The first thing that surprised me is that the scope and mount are only about 1/2 the cost. Cameras, filters, reducers, power, software, and other items you truly will want to add up quick. The second thing that surprised me was a " me" issue. I find processing the hardest part by far (I actually dont like it that much, I prefer the capture part). I find it takes most people a year or more to become decent at processing images and I still do not like my processing. The third thing that surprised me. I wish I had done more research on mounts. The mount I have is notorious for the issues that I'm having even though it's seen as a decent mount. I have had these issues plague me for over 3 years now. I most likely would have gone with something else had I read some of the reviews. I just picked up a second mount of a different brand and going to try to fix the first one myself... wish me luck. (not sure what I'll do if I get both going well, I feel like I can't sell it as it is now though) 4th thing is and this is personal preference, I see better images coming from refractors for the most part. At least when looked at by the experience of the user. (there are some awesome pictures out there by SCTs) I would truly think about a refractor if I could do it all over again. (what's going to happen is I will own a refractor sometime in the future and I'll keep the SCT) I can't part with the C9.25, I love it. Oh, bonus surprise... Seeing and the skill of the photographer trumps aperture. I see images coming from the C6 that I wish I could do and I see images from the C14 that do not impress me at all (though you put a C14 in the right hands, OMG)....

[@walteredwards544]

I didn't because I did my homework on KZbin first. I have a Celestron First Scope and the Celestron Accessory kit with two additional lenses and a 2× Below, plus 3 filters. I'm really enjoying what I'm seeing now, because I've never seen anything beyond bright dots in the sky before. I'm seeing Jupiter and it's 4 largest moons and now I can see Saturn and it's rings clearly.Eventually I'll purchase a more capable telescope but for now, I'm quite satisfied with what I'm seeing now and the potential of seeing even more. My next upgrade is getting a 3×Barlow. Thanks again for all the effort you put into educating and tempering expectations. Good deal.

[@daveh7720]

My first unrealistic expectation in astronomy was that I could hand hold a little 10x30 telescope (the kind that collapses like a pirate's scope), focus it, and see anything beside the moon. I finally figured out that the threaded hole in the side fit the screw on my dad's photo tripod, which helped. But I still couldn't find anything but the Moon with it. I was 10, and the nearest library was 12 miles away. Sky charts weren't common where I lived. But it planted a very determined seed that is still growing. I read what I could, spent time outside looking at the sky, and learned how to make a pretty good guess at the identity of a planet when it was visible. Was amazed the first time I saw the Pleiades' nebula in my cheap binoculars, but what finally drove home the wonder was seeing M31 for the first time in those same binoculars. That's when I knew the effort was worth it.

[@AramilLiodon]

I will also add that under dark enough sky something that is still very impressive are eliptical galaxies in Virgo. They look just the same as in photos through the eypiece, like eggs of pure light with halos around. Magnificent!

[@davidstewart3868]

Terrific information Ed. Dark steady skies also make a big improvement. Get away from the urban light polluted skies. My 70mm refractor’s images look great under dark skies.

[@endautrestermes]

Ed, thanks to wise "eMentors" like you, I got into the hobby doing "the right thing" and sticking to visual observation with affordable but good material (8 inch dob for home use, ShortTube 80 for travels). As a father of 2 young kids, I plan to get into astrophotography earliest when the kids will be leaving the house but realistically when I retire. Until then, I'll just be a casual observer, and be amazed by all the feelings that travels from the distant universe to my eyes. Such enjoyment is partially thanks to you, with the right advices on gear, expectations, beginner's guidance and simply your passion translated into simple but well chosen words, topped with great humour. Cheers from Belgium.

[@acem7749]

Funny my wife got me a department store telescope, I used it to see Saturn and Jupiter mainly. That led to my 2nd one a 12 dobsonian, a few lens and filters later have been spotting many deep space objects. Most recently C/2017 K2.

[@saundby]

The biggest issue I run into on Go-To expectations is that the purchasers are unprepared for doing calibration. They don't realize they need to be able to identify some bright stars and tell directions, at least, and then perform other steps to physically align their mount, then to find objects in the sky to train the scope. The advent of plate solving in more recent mounts doesn't eliminate all of this, though it brings the reality a little bit closer to users' expectations. Users are also unaware of how limited the Go-Tos are in that they need to be able to view particular areas of the sky (such as the pole) and that they will be waiting for much darker conditions than those who have mastered the basics of visual guiding before they can see or show objects in the sky.

[@ericemanuelson5128]

Great video my biggest unrealistic expectation when I bought my first telescope was thinking I would enjoy using a powerseeker 127eq. Lol the next would be that Orion wouldn't discontinue the Skyview pro mount before I bought the go to feature for it.

[@YdnarLah37]

A ten inch Dob with a setting circle and angle finder on a level mount. I can usually find almost anything in under a minute or two. I envy all the beautiful pictures but I'm glad I don't have the headaches.

[@astrodad656]

Great discussion, Mr. Ting. Living in a Bortle 3-1 area would help most newcomers. Most of us live in such light polluted areas that it becomes a waste of effort. I live in a Bortle 6-7 area. As a result I have turned to imaging because I can see a lot more with a CMOS sensor than with my eyes.

[@brandonlee1181]

This made me more appreciative that I live in a fairly rural place. First telescope arrives soon, 6" tabletop dobsonian. I already have learned to identify targets with my naked eye so I'm exited to get a closer look :)

[@stuartriley]

Ed, you hit every topic I get asked at outreach events. Most are astonished by the costs; especially when you point to an eyepiece that costs more than their department store show piece. I always recommend three things: join a local club if there any near them, buy or make a planisphere or a magazine of Astronomy with information about the current month, and finally, learn the night skies by constellation. Not easy, but better than losing thousands on equipment not used.

[@TheDeFibrilator]

This is by far the most inspiring video I’ve seen on KZbin. Thanks. I am very lucky to have come across your channel

[@ADF_Cable]

Thanks Ed, another great video! I'm in the process of building an "onstep" goto system for my 10"dob - fingers crossed!

[@Beaver-be8vk]

That “idea of what you’re looking at” concept doesn’t do anything for my wife. I’ve literally explained it just like you did and she just doesn’t get it. She says “why don’t you just look at pictures online of the stuff?” 😵‍💫

[@cemoguz2786]

That is what my father said. Some people's value are just different. Do not fight it amd do not try to share it. We are happy for you and we do understand you. You are not alone on this.

[@Aditya_tawde]

Really liked your description of observing from 13:45 onwards.

[@napke8571]

My first telescope experience ever was ( I still have it ) a 60mm refractor. Nothing special, slightly better than department store junk but boy oh boy, it still is the most important view I ever experienced to the night sky. It started the hobby for me, the first look to the moon and Saturn that was instant love. Today I am still a smaller equipment user, 127mm/1200 focal length refractor and a Skywatcher 102mm/600 focal length refractor. And boy what a satisfaction when I see Andromeda galaxy ( part of it with my equipment as the field of view must be enormous to catch Andromeda 100% ) , a grey/white fuzzy blob. But the longer you keep focused in the dark the more you see, realizing that I watch to another galaxy, that is insane. Light as we know it and we can observe with our eyes is insane! I am planning to buy myself a nice Dobson 8' or 10', must have that experience as well, but the best telescope is the one that is portable, 'grab and go'. The little Skywatcher 102mm is not bad at all for around 279,00 Euro's OTA of course. Maybe a nice APO-chromat one day, priceyyyyyyyyyyy stuff but must have :)

[@gabrielrobles5288]

Great as always Ed. My most unrealistic expectation was the goto mount.

[@michaelatherton6055]

Sage advice from someone who has clearly mentored many beginners. For me the hook was the first time I used my Celestron Evolution 6 with a Canon T7i. Both I procured with airline miles (yeah, I have a lot of miles). It was summer here in Virginia. I aligned it, then slewed it to Jupiter. Bang, there it was in the middle of the screen. Ok, how about M13? Through the back of the camera in real time there were just a few stars but after a 15 second exposure I was amazed at what I saw. Clearly there was a globular cluster in the image. This small success was the start of the learning curve. Since then, many more successes and failures, but with patience and reasonable expectations it can be truly rewarding. Keep on mentoring us beginners! No matter how long I do this I'll always feal like one. There is just so much to learn.

[@lolathedog3108]

Very effective narration. Easy to listen to. Well chosen words clearly delivered. Oh, and packed with extremely useful information! Thank you.

[@JM-fc9gm]

I really enjoy these videos. Your knowledge sharing is helping me greatly.

[@frankskeen1310]

I enjoyed your video and I must say the thing that bothers me most is the current light pollution caused by city lights and others. I am 65 and when I started in this hobby I was only 10 or 20 and the back yard was fine and when it was dark it was really dark, I never had great expectations but I was thrilled to see what I did through the eyepiece and wondered to my self as I saw whips of clouds go by that were galaxies and globular clusters. After I got good at using averted vision I could see much more detail and that was great. Now I have a large scope or 2 , a C 9.25, a Meade 8 inch SCT and several triplets, and I realize that getting a larger scope want do much to overcome the light pollution so I have to do with what I have. I am happy and do have my own backyard observatory and others are getting rich selling filters that I did not have to even use or think about before. I do plan on taking my son and myself on a long drive to a dark location with our scopes, I know he will be excited when you can see a sky full of actual stars, vs only the brightest few we can see now. It will make me feel young again also!!!!!!!!!!!

[@curronhill2744]

Capturing photons with my eye that has travelled million of light years is the allure of this hobby to me. I stumbled across Saturn in one of those cheap department store scopes that i purchased when i was 8. I could draw a crowd any night the moon was out. It had the worst wobbly alt az mount but despite all this i loved the 60mm refractor. It was the first adventure off this planet. Would i recommend for someone to buy one? No way, but it was all i could afford at the time and it was my starship.

[@tubedude54]

I was 12 in 1966 when I got interested in astronomy because of the space race. An uncle gave me a pair of WW2 6x30 binoculars. My mind was blown by how many stars I could see with them! I started saving my allowance so I could get the Sears 60mm alt/azi refractor in the Xmas WishBook. Gave my money to my dad to order it and when it came in he had matched my money and got me the 60mm equatorial scope instead! Thus my lifetime hobby of amateur astronomy was set in motion! Thanks dad!

[@ayaye1918]

great way to temper expectations for newbies :) have to say overall our hobby on KZbin is very responsible in this

[@fruityteej]

I definitely had the expectation that things would be brighter and more easily viewed. Although after some time considering all the distance and time between my eyeball and the photons... I'm thrilled with anything I see through the eyepiece! Averted vision has been tremendously helpful as well. Thanks Ed! You and your videos rock!

[@MrFlextor]

0:23 sorry to say, but you are wrong! My start into this hobby was a typical cheapo telescope from a department store, to be precise a Newtonian 76/700 on an AZ "mount" ... I will never forget the first glimpse on Saturn with this telescope, first wondering why this "star" has ears on each side, after changing the eyepiece realizing the pure beauty of this. This sets me on fire to put more effort and time into that hobby, after one year of observation with that "cheapo" I bought an 150/750 Newton on a German equatorial mount ( manual of course , because in this time motors or Goto was very expensive )

[@astrospeedcuber]

That's what I love about visual astronomy, the simple idea and concept that light radiated from these amazing objects and groups of objects could travel this far and end in my eye... and that I can still see it...

[@MountainFisher]

I bought a mount for 20 lbs so was happy about my 12 lb scope with accessories. I knew I wasn't getting into photography much and just use a camera adapter to hang off the eyepiece. I use my Cambridge Star Atlas and can usually find my target quickly, especially with 7x50 binoculars if I have difficulties finding a dim object like Hercules and M13 and turn my scope over to it and then use the hand controls. I love globular star clusters, they just look magnificent to me or some of the open clusters. I have some filters for nebulae, but just two a broad and narrow band, plus some light colored filters for planets. My nebula filter works great for Jupiter for some reason, but is crap for nebulae. I filmed Mercury for about 4 minutes and stacked it in Skytracker and it came out nice. Only thing I did extra was have my mirrors re-aluminized to 96% reflectivity because they were scratched up from a previous owner wiping them with a paper towel. I still got good views, but they refigured my scope too and added up to only $128 and it is near perfect focus now. Really nice, especially with Orthos. I check its collimation each time too as I had been grabbing it by the front and knocked the secondary out a little and since I stopped that it stays in collimation.

[@jeremytheimer7443]

M13 is not a dim object lol. It's one of the brightest globular clusters.

[@MountainFisher]

@@jeremytheimer7443 Not in my Bortle 6 back porch it isn't, without binos I cannot even see Hercules. 5.9 magnitude.

[@clayhayes4323]

Excellent job putting everything in perspective!

[@MrGeoffHilton]

I've just discovered your channel and I like it enough to subscribe, great real world content, I'll be bing watching, thanks and best wishes.

[@1492oceanblue2]

Your closing comment is so beautiful and profound! I will be quoting you when I do my outreach! Love your channel!

[@erebus1964]

I know I am quite late responding here, but I didn't discover this channel earlier. First of all I can only agree to what you said in several of your videos I have watched recently. I am someone who is "relatively new" in this hobby. More than twenty years in the past, I went with one of my best friends who owned a quite large dobson (for my understanding, when you have difficulties looking through the eyepiece when the telescope had to be pointed nearly vertical). I enjoyed that time, bought my son a small beginners set with somekind of a 102mm Newton (with a lot of the issues you pointed out in your recommendations). But ... we had a lot of fun with it anyway. Bought some filter material and we could even look at the sun (and we're not blind today). Seems like we didn't do it totally wrong. Then I dreamed a long long time, having my own (bigger) equipment. Today I make some experiences with a 203mm/1000mm Newton, which I got borrowed from my son, since he has not used it for a long time. The first thing my spouse and I looked at was the moon. And we were impressed by its beauty. We both agree that the phases of the moon are far more interesting than the full moon. Next we "discovered" Saturn because it sat on a reachable position in the sky (yes we making the mistake of observing out of our flat). But I need this actually to get in touch with mount, scope and eyepieces. I even corrected a mechanical error of the mount (too much play in the RA, scope was wobbling after each turn on the knob). Jupiter followed next and then Venus and we even got somekind of a glimpse at M31 Andromeda (yes it's somekind of a "milky ellipse", but we could see it).We are planning to get outside in the near future. Hoping for clear nights, but winter is coming which will be a good time to look into the sky. By working with the telescope I made a lot of "discoveries" that you have pointed out in your videos. For example not always taking the eyepiece with the most "power" (magnification?) but going a step back using a 21mm wideangle instead of the 5mm Plössl. I like your videos, you have a nice way to explain all the stuff. Keep up the good work!

[@markdavis4754]

That is a good tip on the mount pay load. So many telescope packages come with mounts that are no where near stable enough for visual astronomy let alone adding the weight of a camera eta.

[@CrpMag]

I was very lucky to have found your channel before making a telescope purchase. Thanks to you Mr. Ting, I’m the proud owner of an Orion XT8 Skyquest. Also just made my first purchase of lenses and went with Tele Vue 27mm panoptic and a Delos 12mm for planetary viewing. My son and I have enjoyed countless hours looking up thanks to your guidance.

[@Derevirn]

"In some ways, you have given meaning to that light's journey, just by looking at it." That is such a beautiful thought. Thank you for making this helpful video.

[@kopi23b]

sitting here with my c9.25 on an avx doing astrophotography :D i'm pretty happy now after a rough start about a year ago. three things that really helped where of course learning how to properly balance the rig, guiding with phd2 and the three point polar alignment plugin in nina. regarding expectations, around here it's definitely about how often i can actually do astrophotography. sometimes i fell cursed. it's either completely cloudy or once there are clear skies, of course it's around full moon :(

[@Naztronomy]

I may have gotten lucky with my AVX. I bought mine almost 10 years ago now and haven't had many issues with it. My hand controller once bricked and another time the Goto just didn't work, but reflashing the HC fixed it for me. I'm still using it, it's my only goto mount. I'm looking to get a heavier duty one (Maybe CEM70) since I'm starting to add more and more stuff to my train and I'm pushing the AVX to its limits. Great video, Ed!

[@jasonpatterson8091]

Expectations for viewing have nothing to do with 4k TV and video games and everything to do with astrophotography. The false color, high levels of processing, and lack of communication about these things from skilled amateurs as well as professional astronomers - they all make deep sky objects visually stunning. The reality with an 8" telescope is that virtually everything in the sky is too pale to see any color and almost everything is too faint to see any detail. When is the last time you saw an image that portrayed a realistic view of a deep sky object through an eyepiece?

[@Rob_1472]

I thought I’d do visual only when I got into the hobby during the beginning of Covid. That quickly changed when winter arrived and realised I didn’t particularly like staying out for too long on a cold night and with most objects being so dim, coupled with light pollution…astrophotography was the only way I could really derive pleasure from my scopes. As Ed says, getting a 9.25 EdgeHD to work “well” just triple the cost of the scope and that’s not counting the mount (camera, filter wheel, filters, OAG, external focuser, mini pc, dew heater, aluminium dew shield, barlow for planetary and lunar, maybe hyperstar for wide field. Then you come to the realisation that you hate changing configurations and need a second scope dedicated to wide field and the numbers start adding up again 😱

[@jasonpatterson8091]

@@Rob_1472 Yeah, it can become consuming. And to be clear, I don't have a problem with astrophotography as a hobby, profession, or scientific endeavour. I just think that it's worth pointing out where the unrealistic viewing expectations come from, and blaming video games seems like more than a bit of a stretch.

[@geoffreyallemand4916]

Thanks a lot for your videos Ed. I totally agree about what you say about visual astronomy. Cheers from France

[@michaelakstull]

Great video, when you talked about expectations at the end that hit home for me. At the eyepiece I was thinking I'd see something more impressive like the images on the box. Jupiter appeared like a pea if at all lol.

[@taxninja2519]

I bought an avx mount of marketplace for a killer deal. Guy gave a brief demo and I had no idea. Could never get it to work. Had to replace board and handset. Now it works perfectly.

[@pepeimc]

There is at least one notorious exception to the (bad) 100 $ telescopes: the Orión Skywatcher/ Skywatcher heritage 100p, it’s a really well build and stable telescope, portable and rendering good quality image, even of small DSO like M70. Great beginner - grab and go - travel telescope. A pleasure to see your videos, as usual.

[@ronstewtsaw]

A particularly great video from a provider of great videos. I must say that I have ignored the sort of wisdom imparted here, and suffered for it. But that doesn't mean the wise person's words were wasted - it just took some time for them to become useful.

[@DavidCorkery-ll8dv]

Love your video's. Keep looking up.

[@laynesmetana2268]

My first telescope was a department store variety so a decent pair of binoculars was a step up. Plus I've read several books about astronomy equipment, so no grand expectations here.

[@natejackman6161]

Hi Ed. Great video. I love your channel and the vast endless supply of toys you have. If I may, I don’t think I have seen you cover the ZWO ASIAIR which at $300, it is small, Wifi, plate solving, replaces a laptop, Polemaster, auto focus, filter wheel changes, and runs the camera sessions, even figures out the exposure time for flat frames, self contained and removes the spaghetti nest of wires. All you pretty much need is the wire to power the ASIAIR and connect everything to the small red box. It really is that good. I think your viewers could benefit form a small inexpensive devise that actually does everything on your list that you said was lacking or ran $3-4k. Even the Eagle runs 5x the price of the ZWO ASIAIR. I am sorry if this sounds like a product pitch. I don’t sell these but after so many years of hitting my head on the wall the ASIAIR has made all of the bad stuff fun again. It’s way funner at a star party to pull out an iPad vs having kids grab the scope and twist it out of alignment. 😁 Did I mention it all runs via phone app / cell phone? Remote? I even hard wired mine to my home Wifi so I can run my imaging rig from anywhere in the house. Clear skies everyone!

[@hooper365]

I think this video was great and highly informative I appreciate you

[@garyrosas2009]

Thanks Ed for all your videos, they are so helpful and educational. Have you written any books on amateur astronomy?

[@BlueTrane2028]

Ed, in the end there, you summed up rather eloquently why I love deep sky visual observing. Giving meaning to the end of that million year journey is something I’m always up for.

[@jeremytheimer7443]

I bought an explore scientific exos 2 for my 8 inch newtonian. It claims 40 pounds for visual use and 25 pounds for astrophotography. I have put a 20 pound payload on it. It does seem to work ok, but not great. It did check some boxes like including 2 11 pound counterweights. I find It works best with 1 counterweight close to the edge. Still needs work. I suspect the issues are mostly due to the wind now that I've balanced it properly. One gear was a bit loose so I fixed it myself . I have yet to do a proper test. For visual use it works great.

[@ohwell2790]

Every beginning astronomer and I am 78, this is a must see video. Ed, I just bought a Celestron 120mm Omni XLT 1000mm F/L and am trying to do some imaging of Saturn. Not much joy at the moment. Seems no one is using an achromat for this and now can understand why, that blue halo. The views through the eye piece are great. Using a Svbony 105 camera and have tried about every setting possible. Getting images, but not a lot of detail. I know this is not ideal and using my XL 70 mount with the motors. But, it is the learning experience that is important to me. Nothing to write home about, but some satisfaction from some of the images. Thanks for the videos

[@Astrogator1]

I have an achromat among others and have great time looking at Jupiter, Saturn mars and moon. Could be quality of achromat?? There is some color fringing but not a big deal and can be processed out of any images

[@bohol_netherlands]

Thank you so much for making these video’s. Through a bit of luck bought my family at 16” Dobsonian and we watched the moon. Yes it’s spectacular, kids loved it. I had the expectation to make pictures of planets, the moon and some nebulas and galaxies so bought some adapters to connect my camera but will slow this Astro photography down a bit. Also I planed to buy a system to locate and track objects in the sky but now have a better understanding of what I will get. Thanks, will prevent us from having some expensive disappointments.

[@astronome66]

Bravo Ed! Your message amount appreciating the wonders of the universe through the views afforded by our scopes is fantastic. Thanks to your videos, my family and I have maintained realistic expectations of our astro-adventures and as a result, we’ve enjoyed some of the most amazing evenings together in years. Per your recommendations in other videos, our 8” dobsonian is a joy to use and through it we’re feeling more connected to life, the universe, and everything than ever before. Many thanks and best regards 👍

[@dougtaylor7724]

My favorite, Can I see the flag on the moon? I always wanted to say Not no, but hell no! But we must be nice to the public at the star party. I was lucky. Went to a star party when I was new and the guys there were so nice and helpful. Spent hundreds of hours with them and enjoyed every minute. After spending MANY thousands of dollars, drove hundreds of miles and staying up all night, many people I showed things 10-15 years ago still remember and thank me. That makes it all worth while. Hopefully just one kid that came to a public event will get into an Astro related science. The child I remember the best was a little girl in a bright yellow dress. She came with a large group of little girls. Naturally I forgot my kiddy ladder that night so if they were too short and had no parent you had to tell them what to look for then lift them up. She came through the line a dozen times and was thrilled each time. She said thanks mister, that really something and went to another line. I was dragging after two or so hours and 40 kids. But it was fun!

[@LiquidAudio]

I love your channel, Ed, always entertaining and informative!

[@adriannataliedark4481]

Thankfully I still get excited seeing a faint smudge in the eyepiece, when i know its another galaxy millions of light years away. Awesome!

[@vampolascott36]

I started with a 4" Bausch and Lomb on a picnic table in the back yard. I was able to align the scope and used the setting circles to find the Ring Nebula. I mainly just explored with it. I discovered Sagittarius in the southern sky and all the fuzzies there. I got a lot out of it, but if I had known how to collimate the scope, I would have enjoyed it much more.

[@jons2447]

Thank you, Mr. Ting! My realization was seeing some Messier objects & DSOs (faint fuzzies). Star clusters are amazing via 'scope but many DSOs are disappointing. The ones I've observed (vs seen) are often mere dim blurs. My main 'scope is an Orion 6"/150mm StarBlast. I have a cheap 70mm refractor (Tasco SpaceStation) optical tube on an old GEM/wooden tripod that I hardly use except for solar. The Orion Nebula, Messier 43, & the Trapezium Cluster are pretty amazing, too. Have a GREAT day, Neighbor!

[@stefanschneider3681]

Very well done! I do astrophotography, very basic, with my daily dslr-camera, made many mistakes, but when it works out its mindblowing 🤩! My Celestron 6‘‘ first had a wrong time and date somewhere deep inside it‘s memory, factory reset wouldn‘t help, so I had to read through dozens of discussions in cloudynights to find a way to REALLY reset it - and I am having fun with it ever since!

[@MickyMouseLimited]

The biggest problem with big reflectors are simply how big they actually are. It makes them expensive really big and difficult to use. I do feel that refractor are easier to use and generally speaking more of hobby astronomer . If you need a crane to take telescope out or build a separate shack just to keep it safe this is not really a hobby it becomes more of a job. I feel the future will be in the high quality refractors that produce sharp image smaller simpler and a lot more manageable.

[@jamesnoland3445]

Ed (can I call you Ed?) you are the best! I will listen to you talk about telescopes that I will never be able to afford nor do I even want them. I just have a star chart and binoculars now but I’m saving up for a Dobsonian. Thanks for steering the newbs in the right direction.

[@MarkRosengarten]

The best observing I have done with any telescope is with a Televue-76 I had a while back. Lovely wide-field made it easy to see anything, you could really push the optical limits and zoom in on the moon and planets. I've never owned a tracking mount, my view of the night sky from my yard puts Polaris out of reach due to trees and any locations I might drive to are either too far away late at night or are behind lock and key after dark. Mostly what I do is pull out my Televue-85 with a Lunt H-a filter on it and spend time looking at the ever-changing sun. I have a Meade LX90 8" that I deforked and put on an alt-az mount, it doesn't get much use but it is amazing to look at the moon and planets with. My first scope was a Jason refractor department store telescope with a wobbly wooden legged mount with a horrifyingly unstable fork mount, but I did see many things through it. The XT8 didn't exist back then. :D But my favorite combo is the TV-85 with the Nagler 3-6 and13 or Panoptic 22 . Just a joy to use.

[@songokugogu5734]

my first telescope arrives tomorrow and , because of what i learned from you, it's the Dobson SkyWatcher Heritage 150/750 Flextube :D

[@starsnstuff842]

4:56 I have a Skywatcher goto dob and I find that after the initial star align the scope locates objects fairly well in a 20mm eyepiece. However after a long observing session I find myself making up to three re -aligns. No big deal but a bit annoying. I do have a 40mm wide field plossl which I use as a 'finder' eyepiece to prolong the realignment intervals. Although the duel encoders on my Dob is supposed to deal with moving the scope manually I never do this as it immediately adversely effects the GOTO accuracy despite what the manufactures say. One wonderful thing about GOTO Dobsonians is their tracking ability even when they are misaligned they (or mine at least) tracks very well even with high powers.

[@KevinRudd-w8s]

Great advice Ed. Although I do have a fully computerised imaging set up, I still enjoy finding deep sky objects and comets with a pair of binoculars and a star atlas even though though they look like fuzzy blobs. I guese its the sense of achievement. Love watching meteor showers (weather permitting) too

[@Morpheus197]

I agree with you Ed. For me as well it's about the idea of what I am seeing.

[@winterpatriot1429]

As someone just getting into the hobby, I, too, had a little bit different idea about the reality of what I’d see through a telescope. However, I have yet to invest in my first telescope. I’ve been binge-watching a lot of videos and reading articles about telescope basics, physical characteristics and capabilities of the different types and sizes of scopes, etc. This has helped tremendously, and I am confident that when I finally choose the telescope I’m going to use, it won’t be a disappointment. I know what to expect. Videos such as yours have been very educational, sir! I’m leaning toward an 8” Celestron or Orion DOB, but haven’t ruled out the 5-6 inch realm just yet (considering Celestron Starsense Explorer DX-130 as well, and the Orion XT6 DOB .. although, I’ve heard your opinion on the plastic focusing knobs.). 👍 So, still doing my research! Oh yeah, have listened to your videos on eye pieces and was some good learning there, too! Really been helpful, thanks!

[@beenaplumber8379]

Astrophotography - I have a new camera with kit lenses - kinda cheap - and I've been taking the best images I can of deep sky stuff, and I'm enjoying the hobby. I'm already into that side of things, and I've never had a telescope. It's rare that anyone considers that perspective. Yes, I want to see the universe through an 8" Dobs, but I want to take the pictures too. (Even my cheap Sony alpha 6100 can do ISO 36,000.) I don't need museum-quality stuff. I get a thrill out of capturing what I can with such basic gear, and I'd like to expand what I can do in small increments. I spent my disposable income on the camera kit (for the April 2024 eclipse). I could maybe afford an 8" Dobs, and I'm ok with sub-par pics. I'm poor! I live on ~$20k per year. A nice scope and mount ain't gonna happen. Am I so unusual that no one considers my particular angle on astrophotography? That's my entry point, and I don't see anyone else here coming from the same POV. I've imaged things I didn't think were possible because people keep telling me I need to spend way more money than I have on super-precise tracking mounts and fancy scopes. I can't afford all that fancy stuff. I spent what little I had on my cheap camera. Am I alone? Anyone else finding joy in making a lot from a little? Anyone else know where to go next, one inexpensive step at a time?

[@BR-uz9nj]

Ed, I have been watching your videos so I can avoid these mistakes or at least curb my expectations. I bought a small 4" Dob for general viewing and a pair of good Celestron binoculars. My main interest is landscape photography incorporating the stars as a subject element. DSO astrophotography looks like a money pit that I don't have much interest in pursuing. To my surprise, I love using the binoculars the most for viewing the night sky. A quick modification allows me to mount them to my tripod, increasing the enjoyment. I have you to thank for suggesting that first you need to get used to the night sky and a pair of binoculars is a great way to do that! Thank you for the videos you produce!

[@nicholasjohnson1295]

Got a celestron 114az for Christmas from my wife. Set it up during the day I sighted it in on a tree like miles away saw the birds perfectly. Then that night the first object we pointed it at turned out to be Jupiter, it's been a fun start to a hobby that it turns out we both enjoy!