Author: admin

So you’ve bought your telescope or binoculars and you know how it works. You’ve done a bit reading on the subject of astronomy. It’s time to get out and do a bit of observing! But where to start? You have read about all those planets and stars out there, but how do know which are visible tonight? Although you may read about the subject it’s hard to get an understanding of the night sky without actually looking at it. And the problem is it’s changing all the time, with each passing hour and day. The sky at 8pm tomorrow will look slightly different from the same time tonight. Most star charts are no more than monthly, which can make it difficult for the astronomer starting out.

Continue reading

When you think of  amateur astronomy or stargazing you automatically think that you will need to buy a telescope. But this isn’t necessarily true. A good quality telescope is expensive and can be hard to use effectively, especially if you’re the type of person who has trouble keeping your hands steady. You can use a stand but that’s more expense.

Kids especially have trouble with large, bulky telescopes. Forget about cheap telescopes, as these tend to produce dim images and false colors.

Continue reading

Amateur astronomy can be an expensive business, especially if you want a really good quality telescope. Some, such as the Ritchey-Chrétien can be cost in the range of $2000-$6000 dollars. Even some refractors can be over $1000.Yet it needn’t cost you that much – you can pick up a new telescope for less than $200 from reputable dealers. But before buying any telescope you need to make sure it will do the job – especially for amateur astronomy, which is much more demanding than any terrestrial observation.

Continue reading