stonezafu
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Essential reading for those who are thinking about getting into Astronomy !
in Getting Started General Help and Advice
Posted
As someone who's recently started star-gazing & looking for sound advice, I found this article very helpful.
My recommended reading for those wanting initial guidance on how to find DSOs is Stargazing with Binoculars by Robin Scagell & David Frydman (published by Phillips, £7.99). Don't be misled by the title. As well as the usual constellation sky maps (created using the excellent Stellarium computer program), it provides advice on how to find 53 Messier objects & 23 NGCs - plenty for a beginner with a modest telescope (and binoculars!) to get their teeth into. It deals with planets, too but I'm more interested in finding DSos at present. Also makes some sensible suggestions about how to hold bins steady while studying the sky.
As with many other books, it's split into months for easy use/digestion - so you get plenty of reinforcement of what's where in the night sky. It has advice for Southern Hemisphere dwellers but there's rather more for the North). It's handy to have a planisphere alongside too - but who am I telling?!
Stonez