Prolusion | How it all began.

How it all started?

May be it all began when I used to visit my grandma in the countryside. In India those times there used to be no electricity in the villages. So I was blessed with absolutely dark skies and no work to do as a kid. After finishing dinner for the night I used to lay down on the rooftop staring at the skies. Little knowledge I had about stars and constellations but looking at them was fun and joy. The milky way used to appear so bright. That’s the last memory I have of seeing the milkyway so bright as I never got a chance to visit such suburbs again. After those few days nothing much happened. I used to watch the night sky once in a while from my home. The view was not that good.

Time passed and nothing considerable happened which may be mentioned. It was till the age of 12 that my astronomical instincts lied dormant. And then, it woke up. There was a chapter on optics in my physics book, it had topics like ‘working of a telescope’ and ‘telescope magnification’ 'field of view' etc. After reading those stuff a desire for having a telescope grew in me. The idea of being able to see things not visible by the unaided eye seemed fantastic and very appealing. It grew up to a level when I asked indirectly about the telescope to my strict dad, who in those times never wished to hear anything else except studies. I asked I know how to make a telescope if I could get the convex lenses. He told me I could buy lenses from some shops in my small backward city (those times). On paper I started calculation for (f_objective/f_eyepiece=magnification ) so as imagine how maximum magnification I should get on combining those lenses which my dad will get. Those lenses never came but the seed of desire for the telescope was planted and watered already. Once I had been to a toy shop and asked dad for getting me binoculars. I still have those plastic binoculars, small yet powerful for a kid of that age.

Time passed and I grew up, got busy with lots of things. Stargazing remained a dream. One of my friends in college invited me to a trekking expedition. My first question was “Oh outside the city on mountain top, will I be able to high density of stars in the night sky”. She had told yes. The trek was good, but on the top you could not see stars in night. Guess why. Clouds, they come when you don’t want them.

Time passed,  I got a job and started working. In recent past I had developed a hobby of photography. This hobby as of now is about one year old. So I had already upgraded my knowledge and skill base to a level that I now needed a DSLR. So the search began. While searching for the DSLR I found a telescope column on ebay unintentionally. And there it was, Celestron, Meade, Orion, Zhumell, Bushnell, Skywatcher and what not. I browsed and wondered how good telescopes were now affordable. Plan for DSLR was dropped. Telescope became my first priority. For two months I searched to gather knowledge about telescopes. About what telescope would be good for a starter like me. And now as I wait for my telescope to arrive I write this blog.

This blog is nothing but the preparations I made, things I studied, logs I made as I begin my journey in astronomy. It will contain each and every step I take as I proceed with becoming an astronomer. So if you are beginning like me, it might come useful for you, if not this blog will serve as a journal for my activities. I want to be an astronomer.