I have recently (2010) revived a life-long interest in astronomy. I got my first telescope, a Charles Frank 50mm, f/20 refractor, in about 1962. I think I saw Jupiter through it once - it looked like a white blob. A 75mm Tasco follwed, a bit better than the Frank, but on the world's wobbliest tripod. Cheap telescopes and living in a light-polluted city didn't manage to squelch my interest in astronomy, but it did hinder my observational skills.

Finally, after living for a few years in a rural community with reasonably dark skies, I have bought a good telescope that is suitable for both visual observing and astrophotgraphy. I am starting to learn my way around the sky, and am enjoying actually seeing all the neat stuff in the sky that I only read about before.

My main focus is astrophotography. I have wanted to take astronomical photos since back in the 1970s. I started learning the modern (digital) techniques soon after buying the new telescope. It is a steep learning curve, but I am happy with my progress so far. You can judge for yourself above.

The instruction manuals that come with astronomical equipment do not match up to the quality of the equipment itself. If you have ever tried to set up a brand new HEQ5 mount or polar-align it using the instructions provided, you will certainly have become frustrated. It can't be done the way they tell you, assuming you can even figure out what they are trying to tell you!

How to really polar-align the HEQ5 telescope mount

The second most common question (after "Which telescope should I buy?") is "Which eyepieces should I buy?"

Here is the answer.