Astronomy For Beginners
The human race has always been preoccupied with the night sky, and since ancient been studied in great detail through the use of modern technology. For beginners astronomy can be a rewarding hobby indeed. You can find a lot of advice and information on what to observe, and what equipment to buy, just by searching the Internet. Here is some advice that will get you started.
Choosing between all the different telescopes that are available can be a challenge, but following these simple ground rules should make it pretty straightforward.
Check out your location
Do an area “recon” to see what is going to be visible on your site. The moon is of course one of the easiest objects to spot, as it is near the earth and quite bright. Even a small telescope will be sufficient to also view Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn, however a high-power eyepiece will help you. Venus is the brightest object in our solar system, aside from the sun and moon, and is therefore a favourite object for astronomy for beginners.
Magnification
Do not purchase the first cheap model that claims very high magnification. Magnification is generally not the most important feature, as the image’s sharpness and brightness does not correlate with the magnification factor. You will be able to see most observations under 50 x magnifications, so it is ultimately the optics that determines good results from bad.
Reflector telecopes
It is common for the amateurs to buy a reflector telescope, as these are affordable to most people setting out to embark on astronomy for beginners. With regards to optics, aperture width is important, as the wider the aperture the more the image will be bright and sharp. Purchasing a steady mount is also important, as even an expensive telescope will do you no good with out a tripod of reasonable quality.
Astrophotography
Taking picture of the objects and images seen is also very popular among astronomers. The term for this is Astrophotography, and even the amateur can have a go at this. If you are interested in taking pictures, you need to choose a digital camera and a film. Professionals usually go for film, as the quality is generally superior, as digital cameras can not produce long exposures. Ease of use and price might make digital the ideal choice for a beginner though, and it can easily cope with capturing the bright objects you will be photographing, like the Moon and close planets. It is also very practical to be able to see the image immediately after you have taken them, now that digital cameras sport LCD screens. Same goes for the camera as for the telescope, a quality tripod is essential for stability.
Books about Astronomy
As a final thought, astronomy for beginners is a popular subject for books, often including guides to the constellations and star charts. Check out the reviews on the books below and see if they fit your needs.
Author: Jeff Becan
Turn Left at Orion: A Hundred Night Sky Objects to See in a Small Telescope–and How to Find Them
Authors: Guy Consolmagno and Dan M.Davis.
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Have you ever considered adding additional videos to your webpage to keep the readers more engaged? I just read through the entire post and it was very good but since I learn visually, I find videos to be more helpful. I enjoy what you guys are always up too. Keep up the good work. I will revisit your website on the regular for some of the latest post.
Hi Margarett,
Thank you for the suggestion. Yes, we have considered it, and will probably be adding videos to upcoming articles. I am just like you, I learn better when I can have something to look at. So I agree totally, even though for the astronomy for beginners article there wouldn’t be much to show on a video I guess.