Complete newbie here

[choopyaz]

Hi all. I recently found this site and am considering joining. I hope you don't mind me telling you were I'm coming from. I am a total beginner with nothing but a life long fascination with the sky to guide me. I remember with great nostalgia watching the Gemini launches as a kid and following the Apollo program and that incredible night in July, huddled around a black and white TV with my family and neighbors, as man first walked on the moon. I walked outside and looked up to the moon and thought, "wow, there's a guy walking on the moon right now!" I was 10. Years later, at a friends house, I looked through a telescope for the first time and saw the moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn and thought, "wow, this is the real thing...I'm looking at a planet, not just a picture of a planet." Even though I have been fascinated I have never allowed myself the luxury of getting involved in the study or hobby of astronomy. Life does have its way of prioritizing you and if you're not diligent you miss out on many things. Today I am a bit more settled and have an 8 year old son who has given me reason to believe he might be a sky watcher like me. I think it would be a wise investment of my time to encourage his interests and maybe my own.

I picked up (and when I say picked up I mean it literally...a friend years ago was throwing this away) a Meade 4501 telescope. The stand is in good shape, the telescope is in good shape and the mirrors are good, too. I do not have an eyepiece, however. Can someone suggest where and I can find and what eyepiece I should buy as a beginner? I would of course like to see the moon, the planets and, if possible, some deep space objects. I have been reading this forum and know I need to invest some time reading and learning more about the constellations so I know where to look. I trust I will get plenty of good info here and look forward to meeting many of you some evening at an event. Thank you for indulging me and thank you in advance for your assistance.

[fillerupmac]

choopyaz -

Welcome to the forum! You will find this a great resource for information.

First - name please?
Second - attend one of our Public Star Parties (see the calendar for dates, locations)
Third - join the club

Your telescope is regarded as a pretty good beginner scope - great find! I would check astromart, cloudy nights, for used eyepieces. Art DeBrito, club member, sells eyepieces from time to time, contact him.

For new eyepieces, check out Orion, they sell very good low end equipment.

I believe you'll need 1.25 inch eyepieces? I'd get two to start with. A low power, say around 35-40 mm, and something higher, around 20mm-25mm. Then a 2X barlow, which will effectively double the power.

Start viewing with the low power eyepiece, you'll be able to see more night sky, and find objects easier. Then center the object in your eyepiece, and switch to the higher eyepiece for a closer view.

Above all, enjoy!

Al S.