Hello my fellow explorers!

[TayDeiaco]

Hello everyone, my name is Taylor Deiaco and I've recently delved into telescoping even though I've been fascinated with astronomy my entire life.

I first bought a 4.5" reflector (Tasco...) from my buddy for 60 bucks. Not bad! It was in so so condition and required a bit of hardware to put back in working order. Once I got it working and pointed it at the night sky, one of the first bright stars I aimed at seemed to have a roundness to it and four really bright stars very close. I said to myself, "Could that be some planet with really bright moons?". Turns out my first curiosity was actually Jupiter, and I was seeing the Galilean moons. I was really excited to learn that I had unknowingly stumbled upon this planet.

Since then my appetite has grown and I recently bought a Orion XT 10 incher, which I absolutely LOVE. Jupiter looks amazing and I can actually make out Venus' shape now! I've also been finding some deep space objects when the moon is still down, like M22 and M27, and the double cluster near Andromeda.

I'm excited to join everyone at the star parties, especially at the Gardner site!

[fillerupmac]

Welcome to the forums, Taylor! Hopefully you will also be joining the club soon. You will find folks with all interests within the club, and telescopes from small to huge. Sounds like you have plenty of enthusiasm! Hope to see you at a meeting, or even down in Gardner soon!

Al S.

Hello everyone, my name is Taylor Deiaco and I've recently delved into telescoping even though I've been fascinated with astronomy my entire life.

I first bought a 4.5" reflector (Tasco...) from my buddy for 60 bucks. Not bad! It was in so so condition and required a bit of hardware to put back in working order. Once I got it working and pointed it at the night sky, one of the first bright stars I aimed at seemed to have a roundness to it and four really bright stars very close. I said to myself, "Could that be some planet with really bright moons?". Turns out my first curiosity was actually Jupiter, and I was seeing the Galilean moons. I was really excited to learn that I had unknowingly stumbled upon this planet.

Since then my appetite has grown and I recently bought a Orion XT 10 incher, which I absolutely LOVE. Jupiter looks amazing and I can actually make out Venus' shape now! I've also been finding some deep space objects when the moon is still down, like M22 and M27, and the double cluster near Andromeda.

I'm excited to join everyone at the star parties, especially at the Gardner site!