Are You Ready to Become an Astrophysicist with Your New Telescope?

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    Christmas
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the excitement of new telescope ownership and the aspirations to pursue astrophysics. Participants share their experiences with telescopes, observations of celestial bodies, and the resources available for amateur astronomers.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses excitement about receiving a MEADE ETX-80 Refracting Telescope and shares their experience of observing Jupiter and the Moon.
  • Another participant mentions using a run-down telescope but still managed to view Jupiter, and suggests downloading Stellarium for sky mapping.
  • Multiple participants congratulate the original poster and welcome them to the Physics Forums community, indicating a supportive atmosphere.
  • There is a shared enthusiasm for the field of astrophysics, with personal aspirations mentioned by participants.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the excitement of telescope use and the interest in astrophysics, but there are no competing views or significant disagreements presented in the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Some participants reference specific software and tools for amateur astronomy, but there are no detailed discussions on the technical aspects of astrophysics or telescope operation.

Who May Find This Useful

Amateur astronomers, individuals interested in astrophysics, and those looking for community support in their exploration of astronomy.

NateSprague62
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You should have seen my face when I tore open one of my christmas presents this year. I got a MEADE ETX-80 Refracting Telescope. Last night the sky was a bit cloudy, thus we could not see any stars, or the moon, thus we couldn't use the telescope. But tonight it was a perfect night. Me and my father were able to locate Jupiter, and the Moon (of course). My dad seemed more excited than me, and kept saying that if he was able to have one of these telescopes, he would have wanted to become a AstroPhysicist, not a theoretical physicist. Since tonight, seems as if I'm in the same situation as my father's. I wanna' become an AstroPhysicist! Just as fortunate, there is an Astro Physics page on this very website. I'm very excited! :approve:
 
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Awesome! I actually just took mine out today and I got a decent view of Jupiter but my telescope is kind of run down. You should download Stellarium, it's a small piece of software that has the current sky map in your geographical location. You can move it in the future in the past to find out where the planets and stars will be on other dates.

Good luck!
 
Congratulations!

And welcome to PF, you'll find this site very helpful!
 
micromass said:
Congratulations!

And welcome to PF, you'll find this site very helpful!

Thanks! I've already found it helpful. :biggrin:
 

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