Astronomy Beginners’ Tips
- Filed under: Application Tips, Astronomy
- Date: May 5,2008
To most people, the telescope is synonymous with astronomy. Beginners almost immediately jump into buying a telescope before they have even started education themselves on the topic.
However, after you have read some books and guides, your first instrument should probably be a good binocular. You could spend hundreds of dollars on a telescope that might not be the right one, but a good binocular is a ’sure’ thing for a beginner. In any case, some lunar eclipses and bright comets look better with binoculars than with a high-powered telescope. Hell, the moon itself is a fantastic viewing subject! And its quite close…
So, before you jump in and buy that scope with all the bells and whistles, use a binocular to look around the sky with a star map and learn about the stars and other objects in space. Once you learn about the stars themselves, you will have a better understanding of what you are looking at and how far away it really is.
After you learn about the sky above you are ready to look for a telescope. Before rushing out and buying a telescope, you should find some astronomers who will share their experiences and maybe even their telescopes with a group. Trying out a telescope before you buy it is something that will help you decide on what telescope will be best for you. See our article: “Choosing a Telescope” as a good start…
Some things to consider are what you plan to do with the telescope, how much you have to spend and are you going to take photographs of your sightings. Never obsess about power or you’ll become a marketers dream target. Rather be concerned about aperture and optics.
Most seasoned amateurs use a reflector type of telescope. This is where the light path is diverted to the concave lens or eyepiece. With the refractor telescopes, the light passes through the telescope by way of a lens to the eyepiece. In some of the opinions from astronomers, the refractor is the best type of telescope for looking at the solar system. However, reflectors are cheaper than the refractors. Reflector telescopes are recommended for beginning astronomers.
Lastly, plan trips to areas that are almost completely dark. Make a night of it. Take a friend along. Whatever it takes to make it through the night. You will have your best viewing on those trips…
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