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Interested in becoming an amateur astronomer?
Common questions I often get asked...
1. Where do I begin?
Answer: You don't need any expensive telescope to be an amateur. I good pair of binoculars will work just fine to begin. There are a lot of great YouTube sites to help you get started learning the sky. Probably the best one is ‘Eyes on the sky’ which teaches you how to find things. Start out with the “Getting Oriented Stargazing Basics 1 of 3” video.
The websites that I like to visit to see what is in the sky tonight are.
telescopius.com
in-the-sky.org
Once you familiarize yourself with the basics and go out at night to stargaze, I always recommend starting with trying to identify any of the naked eye visible planets that may be visible. (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter or Saturn). After that try to identify the North Star, and then a couple of the major constellations or brighter stars. As you get more familiar with the sky, use binoculars or a small telescope to find the most easily identifiable deep sky objects.
Winter
Locate the constellations: Orion, Leo, Taurus
Locate the stars: Rigel, Betelgeuse, Aldebaran
Deep Sky objects: M42 Orion Nebula, M45 Pleiades Cluster
Spring
Locate the constellations: Ursa Major, Virgo, Gemini
Locate the stars: Procyon, Mizar, Arcturus, Pollux, Castor
Deep Sky object: M13 Hercules Globular Cluster
Summer
Locate the constellations: Cygnus, Hercules, Scorpius
Locate the stars: Vega, Deneb, Altair, Sadr
Deep Sky object: M27 Dumbell Nebula
Fall
Locate the constellations: Cassiopeia, Pegasus, Perseus
Locate the stars: Alpheratz , Mirfak, Navi
Deep Sky objects: M31 Andromeda Galaxy, The Double Cluster
2. What telescope should I buy?
Answer: It depends…
If you are planning to primarily just be a visual observer and want to spend a year or two learning how to find the various objects on your own using the “star hopping method” then the largest Dobsonian telescope you can afford is the way to go.
Here are a couple of recommendations. – I would strongly suggest a 5” aperture minimum.
Sky-Watcher 200p
Explore Scientific FirstLight 8"
If you want to get going right away and allow your cell phone to assist you in finding objects then the STARSENSE EXPLORE DX 130AZ is the way to go. This is my top pick for most beginners with less patience and time and want to get observing right away!
If you are planning to also take pictures of what you see and get into astrophotography, then you’re going to need to jump to a much higher level in cost for your telescope. The scopes themselves are not that expensive, but the mount. You will need a ‘goto’ mount that is able to find and track the objects for you.
This 3 part video series is aimed toward beginning astrophotographers.
He especially does a good job explaining things like focal length, the difference between telescope types and the different mounts and coordinate systems. AltAz vs. Equatorial.
Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d0292TBMHo&t=1018s
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQB6UnrTEEM
Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sW8NyT3r2LU
The answer to what type of mount and telescope should I buy for astrophotogray really depends on what you want to take pictures of. There are many categories of astrophotography. The common ones are Deep sky, Planetary, Lunar, Soloar, Wide field. You will need to get the gear that matches with the type of photography you plan to do.
3. Where can I learn more about astrophotography?
Answer: Visit these popular YouTube Channels and Resources about astropotography.