Have you been dreaming of skywatching for years but you don’t actually know what to do and what you need? When I became interested in astronomy, I thought I need a fancy telescope, a one for observing the deep sky. Yes, as good as possible. As soon as I found out the prices, I landed [...]
Have you been dreaming of skywatching for years but you don’t actually know what to do and what you need? When I became interested in astronomy, I thought I need a fancy telescope, a one for observing the deep sky. Yes, as good as possible. As soon as I found out the prices, I landed back on ground..
You don’t need a telescope to start astronomy as a hobby, and actually it is better not to have it in the beginning. Well, if the telescope is not necessary, how to start? Start with books and the Internet. Go to your local library and read books of the basics of astronomy as well as astronomy magazines. Those provide you the “big picture” of the sky above and some theories to explain some phenomena. The Internet is full of information on astronomy. Just type “astronomy” or “astronomy for beginners” in Google and you get a lot of information. Just filter out the most relevant for your needs, don’t just read everything. There are a lot of confusing theories and such, so stick in the basics.
Start by reading and just looking at the night sky. Read about the moon and planets as well as constellations. Try to locate the planets and constellations just by looking at the night sky. You should easily find targets such as Venus (Morningstar) and Orion. Remember to wear warm clothes because it is usually cold out there on night time. Write down what you see for later analysis because it helps you with learning. I prefer having a little notebook (or observation diary, call it what you like) in which I write down my observation results.
As soon as you can locate some constellations and planets in the sky, start using binoculars. This is the first step towards telescopes. With binoculars you can seen thousands of stars and you can learn very much about the universe before you enter the next step, telescopes. If you look at the Moon with good binoculars, you can see a number of interesting details, such as craters, which you are not able to see well without binoculars. At this time it is good to start learning the usage of a planisphere (there will be a separate post of the usage of planisphere). A planisphere is a “map” of the sky that helps you to locate the objects. After configuring the planisphere it shows you the stars of the sky from where you are located. With a planisphere, books and binoculars you get learn very much about astronomy. You can observe the sky with these tools as long as you like, there is enough objects to observe. I recommend that you stay in this phase at least six months before entering the next phase, telescopes.
When watching the sky with binoculars it is good to remember few things. There are very many different types of binoculars. Probably the best binoculars for beginners are those having 50 mm objective and 7x magnification. When using the binoculars, try finding a stable position. If you’re hands shake a lot it is difficult to see the object. I prefer positioning my elbows on top of my knees while my back is against a wall. This gives me pretty stable position. When using bigger binoculars, a tripod gives the best stability.
After watching the night sky six months as described above you are ready to take the next step. Buy a telescope. This is a phase in which you should spend some time. Don’t just rush into a telescope shop and buy any telescope because you may find out that you did not make the best decision. Read about telescopes, find reviews, try them out in a shop, and think. Come up with a decision based on your needs. Because buying a telescope includes many things to remember, I will write another article for it. Stay tuned!
As you see, it is easy to start astronomy as a hobby, but the deeper you get into it the wider the scope gets. Astronomy is a life long hobby and it can provide you interesting things and great moments more than you can handle in your lifetime. Happy skywatching!
4 Responses
[...] Original post by marko [...]
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I always used binoculars to look at the sky, never had much luck with telescopes.
Good point, thanks. It is true that you can see much without a telescope if you have good binoculars. Anyhow, when observing and photographing deep space, a telescope is needed. May I ask, which objects are your favourites with binoculars?