Not even sure where to start.

[MatthewLee]

It’s been so many years that I’m starting from scratch. It has taken me a bit to catch on, but the train finally arrived at the station. My daughter has been looking for some activity that we can do together. She has tried several different things from chess to microbiology and we seem to have settled on astronomy. I have always been fascinated with the night sky and she got hooked with the perseid meteor shower. At this point all we have is our naked eyes and I downloaded Stellarium. When I was her age I ended up giving up since I was actively discouraged by my parents. Now here I am forty years later with someone who wants me to teach her. I hate to tell her, but this is going to be a joint journey of discovery. I should mention my daughter is 12 and starting 7th grade. Her new slogan is "Nerds rule, cool drools."

I will need advice in all areas from what to do stargazing to a beginner scope, binos and other equipment. Also, what should we expect to see and how much detail? We are fortunate that there is an observatory in Springfield and a planetarium in Peoria. Over the years I have been more involved with theology and philosophy, so this is a refreshing return to a different discipline.

[jimg@sonic.net]

It’s been so many years that I’m starting from scratch. It has taken me a bit to catch on, but the train finally arrived at the station. My daughter has been looking for some activity that we can do together. She has tried several different things from chess to microbiology and we seem to have settled on astronomy. I have always been fascinated with the night sky and she got hooked with the perseid meteor shower. At this point all we have is our naked eyes and I downloaded Stellarium. When I was her age I ended up giving up since I was actively discouraged by my parents. Now here I am forty years later with someone who wants me to teach her. I hate to tell her, but this is going to be a joint journey of discovery. I should mention my daughter is 12 and starting 7th grade. Her new slogan is "Nerds rule, cool drools."

I will need advice in all areas from what to do stargazing to a beginner scope, binos and other equipment. Also, what should we expect to see and how much detail? We are fortunate that there is an observatory in Springfield and a planetarium in Peoria. Over the years I have been more involved with theology and philosophy, so this is a refreshing return to a different discipline.

Welcome to the forum.

See if you can attend a local astronomy club with your daughter

Consider this scope - really good for entry level: Astroscan Plus Telescope - best selling beginner telescope | Edmund Scientific

[sportsmed]

Welcome to the forum!

[Beyond The Wormhole]

Welcome to the little star on the internet. When I was younger my parents discouraged me from becoming a writer, but now that they are older they support it. I checked out some sites giving advice on Telescopes and of course one of those sites was this place (check the stickies). I also checked out:Telescopes for Beginners Review 2012 - TopTenREVIEWS and Advice for New Astronomers I hope this helps. I hope you find what you seek in the night sky!

Live Long & Prosper!
v/Respectfully,
Keven

[mzu]

Welcome to the forum. There is A LOT of info here and it's very nice that you can share the hobby with your daughter. I hope my son will share the hobby too when he gets a little older.

Clear skies

[olddogg60]

Welcome to the forum. This is a good place to start.

[bigjack]

Welcome to the forum. It's nice when the kids want to do stuff with you. My 14 yr old step daughter "hates" anything to do with science so she's looked once. We do other things though so it's not all bad. There are a lot of good starter scopes depending on your budget.
Clear Skies

[scmitchell]

I would recommend going to a star party or local astronomy club with your daughter. The members at a local club is always willing to let you look through the eyepieces of different scopes. Then you can get a good idea of what can be seen with different scopes. Enjoy your new quest with your daughter.I know i sure enjoy the time viewing our sky with my daughters 12,14,22 yrs old.They love astronomy,i wonder who they get that from? HA HA!

[MatthewLee]

UIS in Springfield has Friday night star parties during September and October. I think we may start by taking the computer to help and learn the constellations and attend at least one of the sessions at the college. There is also at least one club somewhat near us. I'm considering the Orion Skyquest 6 as a starter.

[scmitchell]

From what i understand UIS have some of the finest teaching equipment in the state of Illinois.They have 8 &14 inch Schmidt–Cassegrain telescope. 8 inch Newtonian telescope. 3 inch comet telescope.The Henry R Barber Research Observatory has 20 inch Cassegrain (Spectroscopy) ,16 inch Cassegrain (Photometry) I did a lil search for you just to give you a idea of what they have.IMO the orion 6 inch skyquest dob would be a great starter scope.

UIS in Springfield has Friday night star parties during September and October. I think we may start by taking the computer to help and learn the constellations and attend at least one of the sessions at the college. There is also at least one club somewhat near us. I'm considering the Orion Skyquest 6 as a starter.