Getting started in astronomy
without breaking the bank.
First Things First
Make sure astronomy is really your thing.
Go outside and look up. It’s free, and it’ll give you an idea of whether or not you’re really interested in astronomy enough to spend some real money. If you’re bored after 5 minutes, observational astronomy may not be for you!
You never know what you might
seeRed lights don't kill your night vision
Stretch a red balloon over a flashlight
Start finding your way around
Get a star chart or planisphere
http://kepler.nasa.gov/education/starwheel/
http://www.skymaps.com/
http://www.vcas.org/star-wheels.html
Start finding your way around
Get some planetarium software
Free and good: http://www.stellarium.org/
Free with more features but not as pretty http://www.shatters.net/celestia/
Not free but excellent: Starry Night http://www.starrynight.com/
Digging Deeper
Get a basic book
Timothy Ferris's Seeing in the Dark
Nightwatch by Terence Dickinson
365 Starry Nights by Chet Reymo
HA Rey’s the Stars
Digging Deeper
Subscribe to a magazine or other publication
Astronomy Sky and Telescope http://www.pa.msu.edu/abrams/SkyCalendar/ Guy Ottewell's Astronomical Calendar
An annual publication
Digging DeeperJoin an Astronomy Club
Astronomy Club at Eastern Michigan University
University Lowbrow Astronomers
Student Astronomical Society at the University of Michigan (primarily undergrads)
Ford Amateur Astronomy Club
More at http://astrosociety.org/resources/linkclubs3.html
When you’re ready to spend some money…
Consider binoculars
Pros
Easy to use
Upright images
Good for other things
Inexpensive (relative to a telescope)
Cons
Limited aperture
No expansion
May still want a tripod
About Binoculars
Numbers are Magnification X Aperture
Bigger magnification = bigger image Also magnifies the shakes!
Bigger aperature = BRIGHTER image For astronomy, brighter is important
Consider all uses
Giant binoculars aren't great at the football game
Ready For More?
If you can find the Orion Nebula, binoculars aren't cutting it anymore, and getting up at 4 AM for a meteor shower doesn't sound crazy, you might be ready for a telescope
Telescopes
Aperture is important
Bigger = brighter
Too big and you'll never use it
Magnification is not
Get a few good eyepieces
Telescopes
Try it before you buy it!
Star Parties like Astronomy at the Beach
Local Observatories
Other resourcesSky&Tel Starting Right in Astronomy
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/basics/3308331.html
Astronomy Magazine website
http://www.astronomy.com/en/News-Observing/Intro%20Sky.aspx
ASP resources
http://astrosociety.org/resources/linkobserve.html
Top Related