MountainSkies

RikM, Though I prefer Newtonian reflectors, Many people need a telescope that is easy to care for than a Newtonian reflector that can be broken by a person's hands being dirty and then boom, the telescope is broken and needs to be taken apart again. I would fully recommend a Newtonian to a person who has a helping hand, but sometimes a few posts online do not help with collimation. On astrophotography, I feel that people should learn about what they are looking at, see what they think of their views, and then buy an astrophotography camera if they are invested. You can also use a helpful phone or camera to take pictures of your objects, which works perfectly fine as well. I will be changing the name of this guide. Thank you for your opinion MountainSkies

Fully agree with you michealmorris, and I will be renaming this blog post bases off your idea. I also will be adding your view about cheap telescopes into this blog post, and also will be adding a few newtonians to the list of reccomended scopes. Thank you for your opinion and ideas, MountainsSkies (Note: sorry for being off forums for so long, was out of country for a few weeks and was busy doing other things)

I guess its going to be another cloudy night. I feel like I haven't used my telescope in ages! Good to be back though after so long. I got some good images of Uranus, The moon, a few star clusters, and Jupiter, but other than that, wasn't that eventful of a night. Comment what you saw!

Hello! Welcome to the most intuitive guide on beginner astronomy ever! First of all, if you are even the greatest astronomer ever, please show this to beginner astronomers as this may help them get a good start. I will also post in the description a video explaining everything I just said a bit easier. Other than that, enjoy! Getting Started Welcome to the great hobby of astronomy! First off, I would like to say three things about your new hobby! 1st: Don't expect what you see in pictures! This is a picture taken by NASA using the Hubble telescope of the Orion Nebula: Credit: NASA And here is a photo that you will see through your telescope: It is way down in the lower-center part of the image. My point basically is that you aren't going to see those big beautiful pictures you see on NASA's website. So now search your brain, and think if this is what you want to do. If you aren't as interested, still stay, as you may not have to lose hope yet! 2nd: Think if you are ready The biggest problem you hear in astronomy is that someone got a big 1000 dollar telescope and hated it and stuck it back in his/her closet. So this is probably the most important step. You will be donating a lot to this new hobby, and the time, money, and regret can cost you if you are not careful. I will get into this more in the choosing your first telescope section of this post. 3rd: Calm down, and remember... Do not buy a telescope and fancy camera just so you can take pictures! I hear about this, and always think to myself that these people are losing all the fun that you have while stargazing because they're just trying to take the perfect shot! calm down, as you can get into astrophotography later if you like it. Now to the main part of beginner astronomy... Buying Your First Telescope This is something that worries a lot of people. They always think that if they don't get the best they will die.(I did this as well, but calmed down and got a cheaper telescope. It worked for me until I felt it was time to level up) But to tell you the truth, if you don't dig astronomy, then you will only have spent 800-1000 dollars of well-spent money on nothing. I included some great choices for beginners on which telescope to get: (I am assuming a price range of about 200 dollars) Astromaster 70AZ Telescope- $149.95 Travelscope 70mm Portable Telescope-$ 89.95 The Celestron Cometron series-$59.95 to $179.95 60LCM Computerized Telescope-$259.95 (Note: I am not a representative of Celestron, but rather find Celestron a good start-off point for newbies) Now many people want to get a computerized scope, and I find those scopes great AS long as the are not EQ mounts, our equatorial mounts, as these are harder to deal with. I would also not recommend Reflector Telescopes, as these are hard to manage. I would also not recommend Cassegrain Telescopes, as these are hard to manage. Trust me. you will only need two eyepieces, which come with all these telescopes First Observation Night Yay! First observation night has arrived! here are my tips: --since you may not know enough about the constellations, make sure you have something to see what is out with. Celestron's SkyPortal app for Ipad and Iphone is a great place to start, as it is easy to use and free. --Be prepared for average views depending on air pressure, and always be ready for light pollution if you live in a large city. --Note: Always find a spot without streetlights or trees to use, though rooftops are also good if you live in and apartment building --Carefully maneuver the telescope --Never get angry, as this could cause chaos and ruin your experience --As always, have FUN!!! Final Note Have fun with your newfound skills, and recommend this forum to others! Please leave comments about questions! happy stargazing, MountainSkies

It depends on which telescope you are using. If you are using Celestron, I would definitely recommend SkyPortal. If not, then I would recommend Star Rover, as this was the first stargazing app I used and is very informative, as that is the goal of that app. It pretty much depends on what you need. I would recommend Star Rover, as this is probably the best. Loved this one because it gave me a bit of backstory on the thing I was looking at, and was always in the correct location if location is on.

Hello again! So, you just got the newest phone, and as an astronomer/astrophotographer/stargazer/sketch artist, want to have an app that shows you what's up that night. But the problem is that there is thousands of apps that show you everything in the night sky. Here are my top ten picks in order, and than after that some honorable mentions: 1. Celestron SkyPortal-ease of use, hooks up to Celestron Telescope 2. Star Walk- ease of use, makes life very easy for me 3. Star Rover- Great app, well made, and has great interface options 4. Star Tracker Lite- Free, large pictures and fun to look at 5. Skyview Free- Fun app, very informative, but apps are annoying 6. StarMap 3d-Great if you have kids, but also shows satellites and the ISS 7. Skyview Satellite Guide- Best app for finding satellites 8. Star Chart- Very good for bad eyes 9. Star and Planet Finder- Good for bad eyes as well, also good for finding planets 10. Sky map- Very good for smaller stars Honorable Mentions All Nasa apps Stellarium SkyX First Light Edition Thanks for reading and recommend this to others! Happy stargazing, MountainSkies

Hello again! You may have read my other blog posts for beginners on stuff like this as well, and I will soon be taking all my blog posts for beginners and compressing them into a super guide! Other than that, let us begin! So, you just got the newest phone, and as an astronomer/astrophotographer/stargazer/sketch artist, want to have an app that shows you what's up that night. But the problem is that there is thousands of apps that show you everything in the night sky. Here are my top ten picks in order, and than after that some honorable mentions: 1. Celestron SkyPortal-ease of use, hooks up to Celestron Telescope 2. Star Walk- ease of use, makes life very easy for me 3. Star Rover- Great app, well made, and has great interface options 4. Star Tracker Lite- Free, large pictures and fun to look at 5. Skyview Free- Fun app, very informative, but apps are annoying 6. StarMap 3d-Great if you have kids, but also shows satellites and the ISS 7. Skyview Satellite Guide- Best app for finding satellites 8. Star Chart- Very good for bad eyes 9. Star and Planet Finder- Good for bad eyes as well, also good for finding planets 10. Sky map- Very good for smaller stars Honorable Mentions All Nasa apps Stellarium SkyX First Light Edition Thanks for reading and recommend this to others! Happy stargazing, MountainSkies

Hello! Welcome to the most intuitive guide on beginner astronomy ever! First of all, if you are even the greatest astronomer ever, please show this to beginner astronomers as this may help them get a good start. I will also post in the description a video explaining everything I just said a bit easier. Other than that, enjoy! Getting Started Welcome to the great hobby of astronomy! First off, I would like to say three things about your new hobby! 1st: Don't expect what you see in pictures! This is a picture taken by NASA using the Hubble telescope of the Orion Nebula: Credit: NASA And here is a photo that you will see through your telescope: It is way down in the lower-center part of the image. My point basically is that you aren't going to see those big beautiful pictures you see on NASA's website. So now search your brain, and think if this is what you want to do. If you aren't as interested, still stay, as you may not have to lose hope yet! 2nd: Think if you are ready The biggest problem you hear in astronomy is that someone got a big 1000 dollar telescope and hated it and stuck it back in his/her closet. So this is probably the most important step. You will be donating a lot to this new hobby, and the time, money, and regret can cost you if you are not careful. I will get into this more in the choosing your first telescope section of this post. 3rd: Calm down, and remember... Do not buy a telescope and fancy camera just so you can take pictures! I hear about this, and always think to myself that these people are losing all the fun that you have while stargazing because they're just trying to take the perfect shot! calm down, as you can get into astrophotography later if you like it. Now to the main part of beginner astronomy... Buying Your First Telescope This is something that worries a lot of people. They always think that if they don't get the best they will die.(I did this as well, but calmed down and got a cheaper telescope. It worked for me until I felt it was time to level up) But to tell you the truth, if you don't dig astronomy, then you will only have spent 800-1000 dollars of well-spent money on nothing. I included some great choices for beginners on which telescope to get: (I am assuming a price range of about 200 dollars) Astromaster 70AZ Telescope- $149.95 Travelscope 70mm Portable Telescope-$ 89.95 The Celestron Cometron series-$59.95 to $179.95 60LCM Computerized Telescope-$259.95 (Note: I am not a representative of Celestron, but rather find Celestron a good start-off point for newbies) Now many people want to get a computerized scope, and I find those scopes great AS long as the are not EQ mounts, our equatorial mounts, as these are harder to deal with. I would also not recommend Reflector Telescopes, as these are hard to manage. I would also not recommend Cassegrain Telescopes, as these are hard to manage. Trust me. you will only need two eyepieces, which come with all these telescopes First Observation Night Yay! First observation night has arrived! here are my tips: --since you may not know enough about the constellations, make sure you have something to see what is out with. Celestron's SkyPortal app for Ipad and Iphone is a great place to start, as it is easy to use and free. --Be prepared for average views depending on air pressure, and always be ready for light pollution if you live in a large city. --Note: Always find a spot without streetlights or trees to use, though rooftops are also good if you live in and apartment building --Carefully maneuver the telescope --Never get angry, as this could cause chaos and ruin your experience --As always, have FUN!!! Final Note Have fun with your newfound skills, and recommend this forum to others! Please leave comments about questions! happy stargazing, MountainSkies