by Gfamily2 » Fri Jun 26, 2015 2:26 pm
Hi Iain
It's a bit quiet around here I'm afraid. Without wishing to be disloyal, you might also be interested in the cloudynights and astronomyforum sites
Some great books to start with are
Turn Left at Orion - a great guide to learning your way around the night sky
Sky and Telescope's Pocket Sky Atlas - a very detailed atlas that'll help you plan your viewing and locate specific objects
Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders is a constellation by constellation guide to deep sky objects.
These three are all useful for visual observing - if you want to find more about the actual objects themselves, there are many good books available - I'd suggest going to your local library to see what they have in stock.
It is also worth looking out for a 12" Planisphere, as this gives you a quick way of seeing what's visible when.
Scopes: Meade 8" SCT, Skywatcher 127mm Mak, Raffle winner of SW ST80
For imaging: Pentax K5, Asda webcam, Star Adventurer (new toy)
For companionship: Mid Cheshire Astronomical Group.
(Not a moderator)