Where to start?

[Solaire]

Hello!

So, i'm very determined to take on the hobby that is astronomy, so help from you members, is a great help.

It probably sounds daft, but I'm not exactly sure where to begin, what to do first. My impression was to buy a telescope, and i'd be away; looking at the night sky. But discovered there's a lot more to it.

When it comes to 'what do I want to see?'

It's a little hazy because i'd love to see Saturn's rings, Jupitors red spot and moon's, to things like the spiral on other galaxies.

But most of all, i'm most interested in the Sun, i'd love to see it in more detail, with Sun spots and to see flares on the surface. But is it possible without top euipment?

I'd just like some advice on where to start with it all.

Thank you.

[oldpink]

the sun is quite easy with basic equipment but you do need a Sun filter
never look at the sun without one

[avtaram]

I would recommend that you read ' The Backyard Astronomers Guide ' by Terence Dickinson before you buy a telescope.

Avtar

[NGC 1502]

I would make a start by getting some binoculars ( 10 x 50 most often recommended ) plus a planisphere, and learning the main constellations as the seasons progress through the year. Perhaps also a decent star atlas like the Cambridge.

The binos won't show Saturn's rings, but if steadily held will show you Jupiters' moons, or at least 2 or 3 of them, the crescent phase of Venus, Mercury after sunset or at dawn, wide double stars, main features on the moon, the brighter deep sky objects like clusters and nebulae, and a few galaxies, M31, M81/82 spring to mind, but spiral arms in galaxies need a large telescope and dark transparent skies.

In short, you can do a lot of good astronomy at low cost and basic kit.

Later, after you have decided to spend a bit more, a small telescope would show all the binocular objects better. You can add a proper front fitting filter for sunspots but not prominences ( you need a much more expensive dedicated solar telescope for that )

There are other approaches, but see what others say.

HTH, Ed.

[ronin]

It probably sounds daft, but I'm not exactly sure where to begin, what to do first. My impression was to buy a telescope, and i'd be away; looking at the night sky. But discovered there's a lot more to it.

Yes there is a bit more to it.

Couple of questions:

Where do you live?

This makes a lot of difference to what can be see.

Next, what scope have you gone and purchased?

If necessary align the finder to the scope.

Things to see (possibly):

Get out now and get Jupiter ticked off. It is getting lower and lower and will disappear soon, then you will have to wait until next year. You better do the same for Saturn, as it also is getting lower. Forget Mars if you are thinking of a great deal from it. Just get it in the scope, probably as a small red disk and sorry to say that will be about all you can do. Until we know the scope.

For the sun you can make a solar filter for the scope. Take a while and get it right. You need the Baader solar film then cardboard and sellotape basically. There is a guide on SGL somewhere.

Book, try The Monthly Sky Guide by Ridpath and Tirion. I find it hs more in it and presents information easier to me, also it has a nice moon map in it.

Now the truth, there are very few spectacular things up there, planets are good and Orion, M42, is good.

At present try for M57, Ring Nebula in Lyra, also try for the double double in Lyra, you can go look at Vega in Lyra just for the hell of it.

Sort of "left" of Lyra is Cygnus, at the Lyra end is Albereio, very nice coloured double star, go have a look.

In the Plough is Mizer, it is an easy double star.

Try to find Hercules and locate M13 (cluster) along one side of the square.

If the scope and sky are suitable locate Leo and try for the Leo triplet. Faint but worth trying for.

At the rear end of Leo and out and up a bit there is an "empty" patch point the scope there. Should see lots of small dots, not points. That is a galaxy cluster and actually a fair number of Messier objects.

Do not try for M31, Andromeda, reason is it is too big for a scope. All you see is the central core - use binoculars if possible.

Maybe try for M33.

Make a list of constellation like Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Casseiopia, Perseus(?), Cepheus, Draco and Camelopardalis. They are circumpolar so are visible all year. Then make a list of what is in them.

For Messier Objects enter "list of messeier objects" into google and visit the wiki page. You can reorder the list by constellatioj or magnitude. So it give all the ones in Ursa Major or orders them by brightness,

For coloured double stars similar, enter "coloured double stars" and somewhere is a short lidt given by the Dalaware astro group. If feeling like a challenge serach for "carbon stars" and try finding them. You will need a dark sky for these.

However need location and scope.

[Tums]

Hi, Also I would have a look at this first, in may give you an idea of what you will be seeing.

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/196278-what-can-i-expect-to-see/

Just remember, you will NOT see Hubble style pictures.

But you WILL be Amazed.

[Pondus]

Hi, Also I would have a look at this first, in may give you an idea of what you will be seeing.

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/196278-what-can-i-expect-to-see/

Just remember, you will NOT see Hubble style pictures.

But you WILL be Amazed.

+1 for reading "what can I expect to see.."

By reading your O.P I got a bit confused; did you buy a telescope or are you having second thoughts?

[Peter Drew]

A good first step is to join an astronomical club if possible. Not only would you recieve first hand experienced advice but also the chance to try out telescopes to see what would suit your interest/budget.  Welcome to this forum, another good start.        

[AndyWB]

Hello!

So, i'm very determined to take on the hobby that is astronomy, so help from you members, is a great help.

It probably sounds daft, but I'm not exactly sure where to begin, what to do first. My impression was to buy a telescope, and i'd be away; looking at the night sky. But discovered there's a lot more to it.

When it comes to 'what do I want to see?'

It's a little hazy because i'd love to see Saturn's rings, Jupitors red spot and moon's, to things like the spiral on other galaxies.

But most of all, i'm most interested in the Sun, i'd love to see it in more detail, with Sun spots and to see flares on the surface. But is it possible without top euipment?

I'd just like some advice on where to start with it all.

Thank you.

Right, lets separate the Solar Astronomy from the night time stuff - it's a bit different...

For night time astronomy, the decision on what scope to get is a compromise of lots of different factors - cost, size, portability, complexity (I.e. tracking/GoTo computer, etc.) - and how important these different factors are depends on your situation. If you're big and strong, maybe a 10" reflector seems pretty portable - but if you're little, maybe not. If you live in a small flat, storage space might be an issue. Do you have to drive out to somewhere properly dark from a town? If you do, and you get a computer controlled scope, how will you power it? 

There aren't any 'right' or 'wrong' answers to all of these questions. There is only what's right for you.

Personally, I decided simply to get a small, portable scope to start with. I kind of knew that if I got into astronomy I'd want something much bigger - but it was a good way for me to try things out, learn, and a small, portable scope is useful even if you've got a much larger/more complex one. Binoculars are also a good idea, too. It's a truism, but the best scope is the one you use. I found this article thought provoking: http://www.deepastronomy.com/what-you-need-to-know-before-buying-a-telescope.html 

Now, on the solar side: With a lot of night-time telescopes you can use them for what's called 'white light' solar astronomy. I've never really done this, but I gather you can see sunspots and granulation on the surface - but not the flares and prominences. To do this, the usual way is to use something called Solar film to cover the end of the telescope. This blocks most - thought not all - of the light at a range of frequencies to dim the image, and avoid frying your eyes. (There are other, better, approaches - such as a device called a Herschel Wedge - but they're much more expensive).

If you want to see flares and prominences, though, you're better off looking at a Hydrogen-Alpha scope. This is a specialist telescope designed to filter out all frequencies of light except for the light emitted Hydrogen when heated to thousands of degrees - just like you see in flares and prominences. You can also see sunspots (though not, I gather, as well as in white light), surface granulation, etc.. Note, however, that these scopes are comparably expensive - and can only be used for viewing the Sun. On the other hand, my solar scope is getting much more use than my night-time ones at the moment...

Hope that helps.

[Owmuchonomy]

Hi, and welcome.  I may be being a bit controversial but I would consider very carefully your immediate desire to do visual observation of the sun.  It can be done as described above but there are inherent dangers to your eyesight and/or scope which may be beyond your comfort zone right now.  I wouldn't advise anyone to set up first for solar observation but to gain experience first in other ways.  I would certainly look for clubs around you where you can gain experience, pick up great advice and maybe use a proper solar filtered scope in a safe environment.  Just see the other new thread recently started 'Blinded by the Sun'.

[jabeoo1]

There is lots to be gained from sitting down with a pair of 10x50 binoculars, a star atlas & red torch (a camera tripod may also be very useful too at this point).  I spent last July's warm nights out learning lots with this setup.  I used the summer triangle as an anchor.  You can educate yourself for a good year like this whilst you save for a telescope.  That way when your telescope arrives you have a list of really interesting places to got with it already planned.  Knowledge and navigational skills of the sky is essential with this hobby as a telescope would feel very unwieldy if you don't know where those small gems are set.  It took me ages to find M13 the first time with 10x50's, I dread to think how I would have felt trying to find it with a 10inch dob with no prior knowledge.  Start at the start & keep it simple !  

[Solaire]

Thanks for all the replies!

As mentioned, I don't have a scope yet, didn't want to rush into it.

And I live in kent, probably not amazing skies due to well lit towns ect. But can move around.

A club seems like an obvious choice, but right now, my hours are awkward so i'll just have to wait a bit.

But thanks for the information, none of its 'disheartening', i'm aware of how realistic I need to be.  

[Astrosurf]

It depends also what you want to do with the scope. If it's just observing and you're happy to keep nudging the scope to keep the object in the field of view, why not go for a Dobsonian? It's on a simple alt/az mount (that's up, down, left, right) rather than on an equatorial mount which can be set up to track. A Dobsonian also takes up less space than an equatorial with a tripod. These are some Dobsonians. For observing, larger aperture is important, although someone might disgree with me! FLO are great with the advice. Do ask them.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/dobsonians.html

Alexxx

[itmo]

1. Download stellarium

2. read everything on the internet.  

3..Start tracking the events of the night (or day! sun,halos, whatnot) sky 

4. maybe buy binoculars or maybe "sunglasses" for solar viewing. They are cheap and give you access to all kinds of events

5. start shopping for a telescope, select an are of interest and select the scope based on that. If you can't decide, get a dobson. 

[Astrosurf]

I wouldn't use normal sunglasses! They won't provide enough protection. Use one specifically for solar viewing e.g. for eclipses. Even then I wouldn't! You can't be sure of the quality.

[Ganymede12]

If your beginning completely from scratch then I'd start just by buying a star chart/book/magazine and begin to familiarise yourself with the constellations. I admit that I skipped the binocular stage and went straight for a neat little refractor (S-W Mercury-707) and bought bin's later. If you do feel you want a telescope then there are plenty of small one that can be bought relatively cheaply and still give outstanding views (especially Sky-Watchers).   

[farunj]

A good beginners telescope is the SW 130p. It is cheap and easy to use, and for a beginner it is very good. Also, a good book to help you along is Turn Left At Orion. It is very useful to learn star hopping.

[cpper]

I would also start with a binocular. Bought a 10x50 last year, and it really "introduced" my in astronomy. I helped me to "learn" the sky. You can also see a lot of the Messiers with it, under good conditions. I currently saw just 16, but this in light polluted skies. This summer I plan to see at least 20 more.