Projects Possible

For years I have been intrigued by the stars.  Last summer at the lake house we would have nights that would be so extremely clear and dark that the number of stars you could see were absolutely mesmerizing.   There were a couple of times that you could see the shadows of our arm of the galaxy (not sure what that is called – not pic to left – left image is The Fariy of Eagle nebula).  

At any rate, I decided that this year I was going to buy a telescope.  Now I didn’t want just any telescope but I also didn’t want to spend a ton of money to find out that I ended up so frustrated that I didn’t use it.  After doing some research I finally decided that I was going to purchase a used Meade ETX125.  It should be here any day.

Now for the help and recommendations.

1.  Good books that any beginning backyard atronomer should have in their library?

2.  Eyepieces – It will have a 2x Barlow and the standard 26mm eyepiece.  What else should I get?

3.  What do you think of the Meade CCD Camera?  I’m somewhat of a computer geek remember and thought the astro photography and video could be interesting.

4.  Autostar – tips, tricks and pointers?

5.  Is anyone using Winstars or other computer assistance to control your scope?  What are your thoughts?

Wish me luck.  I’m hoping for some first light this month but with our crappy spring snow and rain I’m guessing I will not have much luck.