[Himanshu Raj]

Recently I had got a chance to view the heavens for the first time through a telescope. There was a function organised by the Indra Gandhi Planetarium for the general public. The fine details of the moons crater just looked terrific. Saturn being very distant looked much smaller though it was an exhilarating experience to see its rings. The details of the storms particularly the great red spot on Jupiter's surface were fabulously visible. Unfortunately I could not see mars because nowadays it rises after midnight and I could not stay for long on the spot, I had a tight schedule the next day. No wonder it was a great experience for me and it has stimulated my interest a lot in Observational Astronomy.

[Astrogirl]

It's such a buzz getting your first view through a scope. Saw Saturn the first time with my scope a few months back, didn't shut up about it for weeks. It was and is a wonderful sight. Got me well and truly hooked.
Got a clear patch tonight and going to try and image Jupiter. Not great position where i am so not expecting much.


Update...Never got that pic, the rotten horrible clouds came rolling in. Also couldn't see the 2 passes from the ISS and one was mag -0.6 Oh well, did get to see it friday night though and what a sight through my binoculars

[sgcullen]

My experience is that people are either truly hooked or completely turned off when they finally get their first peek through a telescope. Some people's expectation are that Hubble-quality images are going to be visible through the eyepiece. It's quite a let down for them when they have to learn how to use averted vision just to see a faint fuzzy object. For others, especially if they are viewing through good equipment, they can't seem to step away from the telescope. If you ever have the chance to look through a top-quality color-free refractor like those from Takahashi with a Televue 41mm Panoptic eyepiece, you'd probably be one of the latter types. The view is just astounding (the 41mm Panoptic delivers the widest 2" field possible)...you have the feeling of floating in space.