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Nick*

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Nick*

Nick*

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Hello,

I began my interest in 'what’s out there' after watching Nasa's greatest missions series on the Discovery channel a while back. Then I recently purchased and watched Brian Cox's wonders collection, then went on to watch Stargazing Live series 1 and 2. At present I haven’t got the funds for a telescope as I’ve got my summer holiday and car to pay for etc. I’m hoping to get a telescope for my birthday in May. But for now I want to know if anyone can recommend any things for beginner astronomers such as books or reasonably priced equipment.

Thank you in advance.

Nick.

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Nick*

Nick*

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Welcome to the forum Nick. Binoculars would be an excellent choice for getting started on a budget. Also, Turn Left at Orion is a very popular book.

Can you recommend any particular binoculars?

Thanks.

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Adrian Condon

Adrian Condon

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Hi Nick,

Welcome to SGL ........... smart start!!!!!

Secondly, Astronomy is all about patience, waiting for skies to clear, so practice in the art is essential. I am glad to hear that you don't intend to race out and purchase a scope immediately.

To start with there is an excellent book called "Stargazing for Beginners" by Will Gater and Anton Vamplew. It costs £14.99 and will help you with how to choose equipment and tons of info on Astronomy, (could cheaper on-line). It is published by Dorling Kindersley.

Then, when you are ready to purchase gear, I would recommend binoculars plus a sturdy tripod with a video head/handle. This is a good way to ease into astronomy.

Also, try to establish if any SGL members live in your area who would be willing to demonstrate their equipment.

The other alternative is to go along to a Star Party. For instance, SGL 7 is being held near Hereford in late March 2012 and there will be a great variety of equipment in use, some costing around £130 to £20,000..... It is a great showcase to be able to see the equipment, to talk to the users, who incidentally on the whole are a friendly bunch and are happy to explain the equipment and what it is ideal for and where it falls down.

If you wanted to buy binoculars then I would recommend the following:

Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 bins costs £65 These came out tops in the Sky @ Night magazine. They will gather plenty of light and give good views of the Moon and wide views of the constellations and Messier Objects. Plus, as an astronomer bins are always useful.

CELESTRON SKYMASTER 15X70 BINOCULARS

Then the next purchase should be a good sturdy tripod, it is difficult (impossible!!) to hold binoculars above 10 mag steady, 15 mag need a tripod.

The Horizon 8115 would I believe fit the bill.

Horizon 8115 2 Way Heavy Duty Tripod

Incidentally, this tripod can be used with a camera or a camcorder as well.

You are lucky to have a good Astronomy shop in Rotherham.

rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/

Hope the above has been helpful.

Cheers

Adrian

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Nick*

Nick*

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Thanks Adrian for taking the time to reply.

I will check that shop out, the "Stargazing for Beginners" book sounds like it will be a good start for me. I will have a shop round on the net for the Celestron SkyMaster 15x70. Im exited to get into astronomy it's always interested me iv'e just never bothered (until now) to get out and have a go myself.

Thanks.

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Spackbackle

Spackbackle

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Hi Nick,

Welcome to SGL. As well as the books mentioned above download Stellarium, It's free and a great way for learning your way around the night sky on cloudy nights. I chanced upon it a couple of years back and its actually what got me back into astronomy!

All the best

Stu

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Nick*

Nick*

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Thanks Stu

Just downloaded the Stellarium program its very good for freeware.

Found the Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 on mybinoculars.co.uk for £53, rang my local optic shop for a price match and I'm waiting for the reply. Maybe I'll get chance to start observing tonight.

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Catweazel

Catweazel

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Hi Nick and welcome to the forum. As Adrian said, you really will need a tripod with 15x70 bins, I have some and they are big and difficult to keep still when hand held. It may be worth going along to Rother Valley Optics and handling some binoculars of different sizes, to see what you feel most comfortable with.

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dark knight

dark knight

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Turn Left At Orion is another excellent book to help you find your way around the sky, very user friendly. I would also recommend avoiding the cheap tripods if possible, they are not sturdy or robust enough, their pan and tilt will most likely be very jerky at best and will only disappoint you in my opinion, go for something like a Slik tripod and pan and tilt head, they may cost slightly more than the bino's but are well worth it. See if you have a local Jessop's as they nearly always have them on display and you could go an test one out before buying.

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Nick*

Nick*

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I was looking at the Silk F153 Lightweight Tripod to go along with the Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 just to get me started. I've purchased 'The Practical Astronomer'. Turn Left At Orion looks like a good book I will have to get it after I've read this one.

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JamesM

JamesM

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HI Nick and welcome to the forum. Some good advice above and certainly star parties will help you set your own bench mark as to what you feel necessary to satisfy your interest. Some local astro clubs do have equipment that you can borrow or hire out for a small charge to help you get started so that another option to explore. UK Astro Buy & Sell is a good site to buy used equipment but of course you might need a little bit of guidance to know what to look for, but is certainly a cheaper route in.

Clear skies

James

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Spackbackle

Spackbackle

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Thanks Stu

Just downloaded the Stellarium program its very good for freeware.

Found the Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 on mybinoculars.co.uk for £53, rang my local optic shop for a price match and I'm waiting for the reply. Maybe I'll get chance to start observing tonight.

Yep its a great programme, it can even be used to control a telescope as well so well worth having.

Hope you get your bino's sorted out soon.

stu

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