Newbie Skywatcher here - Hello All

[Mr Spock]

Hi, welcome to SGL If you are out in the back looking at the stars, perhaps a pair of binoculars would be a good place to start. There is a lot up there and it can be overwhelming at first until you get used to where everything is.

[Charon]

Welcome aboard.

[xtreemchaos]

hi mate and welcome from charl in south wales.

[obsessednewbie]

Evening all  - i have been looking at binoculars this evening - i wear glasses, will this be a problem???

[happy-kat]

You might not need your glasses when using binoculars it depend on your perscription. If you do need to keep glasses on them look for long eye relief. Binocularsky.com great site loads of information to read on choosing binoculars.

[popeye85]

Hi there and welcome to SGL.

For a great intro book I highly recommend 'Patrick Moore's Astronomy-a complete introduction' by the great man himself-lots of great info about everything from the sun to nebulas but at the same time it's not to overwhelming and aimed specificly for the layman-also getting a star map would be of great use to you to get to grips with what you are seeing above you.

I will also second the suggestion of binoculars rather than a scope-if you can get a really high quality of 10X50 (10 being the magnification. 50 being the field of view(how wide narrow your view will be)) binoculars it will be of much better quality than what the majority of scopes for the same price will give you, indeed many people (including sir Patrick Moore) believe  that this is the best way to go when starting of and will give you better satisfaction.

hope this helps!

 

 

[Linda]

12 hours ago, obsessednewbie said:

Evening all  - i have been looking at binoculars this evening - i wear glasses, will this be a problem???

Yes, it can be. I bought my binoculars from a person who wears glasses and couldn't use them together with these binoculars. So it is best to try it out in praktice. It will differ between different models.

[Deano666]

Hi and welcome

i class myself as a newbie, i probably didnt do the research i should of. I went an got a celestron astromaster 130eq, and soon found the limitations. 7 months later and an empty wallet i upgraded. Its a very nice way to spend your evenings but you will become hooked (i have) and need very deep pockets.

Good luck

[baggywrinkle]

Welcome to SGL...ask away, its a friendly site.

[triton1]

Hi there and welcome to SGL 

[des anderson]

Welcome to the forum,get in touch with a local club,and use their scopes and compare and ask as many questions as possible......Des

[cloudsweeper]

If you want to start on a tight budget but get results, try a refractor like a Meade Infinity 70 AZ.  I had one.  The alt-az mount makes it very easy to use and aim.  It's also light and portable.  Cost - £70 or £80.  Comes with a couple of lenses and a Barlow.  (I personally wouldn't recommend starting with an equatorial mount - they're trickier to use, aim, and balance.)

I saw Jupiter and its moons, Venus, clusters, etc., and split some double stars.  Plus of course great views of the Moon (especially when it's not too bright.)

(Only problem was once I was fired up I wanted something bigger and better.  So it might be worth saving for a while longer!)

Whatever you do, you'll have fun!