Need your advice how to start learning astronomy

[kevlevrone]

Hello everyone, I'm new to astronomy but have always loved space, planets and all. I would like to buy a telescope and start looking at the stars, but I don’t know anything about it. Can anyone recommend any link or other source where I can find any information on how to choose my first telescope, how to find stars, and how to become an astronomer? Thanks a lot in advance.

 

[anorlunda]

Here's an earlier thread with the same question.

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/planning-to-buy-a-first-telescope.391086/

 

[phyzguy]

If you are just getting started, my advice would be to start with a good pair of binoculars. Get out under the night sky somplace where it is dark and there are no obstructions (trees, buildings, etc.). Start learning how to identify the constellations, find the planets, and get familiar with how the stars move during the course of the night. A lounge chair is a good way to look at the sky without you neck getting sore. Practice finding the Messier objects. Many of the Messier objects (M42, M31, M13...) are fine sights in a good pair of binoculars. After you have done these things for a while, you will have a better idea of what kind of telescope you might want.

Edit: In terms of how to find things, Stellarium is a good free piece of software that allows you to enter your location on the Earth and the date and time, and then gives you a view of the sky. It will help you find the planets on a given date, and will display the constellations.

 

[FactChecker]

If there is a branch of the Astronomical Society near you, go to some of their meetings and see if you want to join it. I was in one and found the meetings to be fascinating. The members range from beginning amateurs to research professionals. You can learn a lot from them.

The meetings might only be Zoom meetings during the pandemic. I don't know what those would be like, but I think they might still be very interesting and informative.

 

[sophiecentaur]

I would like to buy a telescope and start looking at the stars

Yes we have all been there. If you have loads of money to spare then go ahead, visit an Astronomy equipment shop and let 'the man' tell you what you 'need'. You will be back in a few months, for sure.

If you are not infinitely rich then get those binoculars. Several tens of GBP will get you something with, perhaps ten times magnification and perhaps 50mm objectives (other members could suggest other values). Go out and start observing. Use Stellarium to help you find and identify objects. If you find that you've been out there regularly, despite the cold and dark, the local light pollution and the confusion then move to square two. Buy Books - A good oldie is "Turn right at Orion", which will tell you what to look for throughouth the year and will tell you how to find them. The enthusiasm of the writing more than makes up for the black and white printing.
Get a tripod and support for your binoculars soon.
When you get round to actually buying a telescope, it will have to be small enough and simple enough to match your situation. Do you need to use it away from your own home? Do not buy anything too big; forget the Nasa images. A giant will soon find itself up in the attic, unused. Buy second hand and trade up when needed. Save loads of money and learn a lot about your purchases as you move upwards.
Join a local club. Probably the first thing you do.

 

[russ_watters]

It's a broad question, with a lot of unknowns. The following is a partial list of significant factors; age, skill level/education, budget, time commitment, goals.

Just for learning, I bought my dad a college astronomy textbook a few years ago.

 

[kevlevrone]

Hi. Thanks a lot to everyone for your replies and suggestions. I haven't known that a simple pair of binoculars can be so helpful for beginners. I will definitely do everything you all suggest. By the way, am I right that using this stellarium, you can tell me in what time and in what dirrection to watch to see something? It is amazing. Many many thanks to all of you.

 

[sophiecentaur]

I haven't known that a simple pair of binoculars can be so helpful for beginners.

Just think of the money we have saved you! Plus you can use binos for looking at all sorts of things. The image is the right way up, for a start, compared with what you see in an astro scope. Upside down wildlife is hard work to observe (but a 500mm scope makes an excellent long lens for a DSLR).

 

[phyzguy]

By the way, am I right that using this stellarium, you can tell me in what time and in what dirrection to watch to see something? It is amazing. Many many thanks to all of you.

Yes. Here's an example screenshot from last week. You tell it where you are and what time it is, and then you can pan around looking in different directions. Planets and birght stars are labeled, and you can get more information on other objects by clicking on them

 

[sophiecentaur]

By the way, am I right that using this stellarium

One important thing about Stellarium is that it doesn't suggest what to look at or when interesting things will happen. It's more of a good tool than an 'instructor'. You need to find and look at local astro society websites and they tend to tell you 'object of the month' etc. Stellarium will then point you at it. (You use the Find facility).
The pop up bar at the bottom gives you several tools - for instance you can advance the time and see things move across the sky as time goes by.

 

[DennisN]

Hello everyone, I'm new to astronomy but have always loved space, planets and all. I would like to buy a telescope and start looking at the stars, but I don’t know anything about it.

If you are just getting started, my advice would be to start with a good pair of binoculars.

If you are not infinitely rich then get those binoculars.

I just wanted to pop in and say there are also cheap monoculars available.

Here is a page with various monoculars in various price classes ($40 and up):

10 best monoculars you can buy in 2021 (Digital Camera World)
(Edit: please ignore the "Night Vision" monoculars here, I don't know if they are only digital or also includes normal "analog" optical vision)
https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/buying-guides/best-monocular

There are even bundles which includes small tripods and smartphone adapters,
like here on this Celestron page: https://www.celestron.com/collections/monoculars

Please note though that I don't vouch for any of these items, I haven't tested any of them.

I bought a cheap monocular from China some years ago, and I actually quite like it.
It can give very nice views of e.g. the Moon.
I used that monocular recently when I photographed the Moon in this post.

 

[phyzguy]

Another thing worth considering are these image stabilized binoculars. We bought a pair of these last year and it's amazing how much more you can see. A pair of binoculars has enough magniification to see Jupiter's moons, but unless you have a tripod you can't hold them steady enough to see them. But with the image stabilization on, you can see Jupiter's moons quite clearly. They are a little expensive, but definitely worth considering.

 

[sophiecentaur]

I bought a cheap monocular from China some years ago, and I actually quite like it.

How does it compare with your best binos? A B comparison tests are useful before making any choice and that's not always convenient.
A monocular is probably worse value than binoculars because they are low volume market products. They still need to be mounted on a tripod for stability. There are some adverts going around for a magic monocular which defies the laws of diffraction and a few other laws too. I remain to be convinced about it. You cannot do without aperture for faint space objects. And, of course, two eyes are better than one for many subjects.

But with the image stabilization on, you can see Jupiter's moons quite clearly.

10X on a tripod works fine. 20X or 50X unstabilised is fine but, without a tracking mount, you are chasing your subject all the time. A regular scope becomes the better option.
The Canon(?) ones are very expensive and I question whether they achieve more than cheaper (Zeiss?) binoculars with a good tripod. I have heard comments about strange effects for the observer, including motion sickness. At one time I really fancied a pair but £1k put me off. High magnification instruments tend to be heavy and fatigue can soon kick in - even if the stabilisation helps with the shakes..

When you get down to it, it's horses for courses. Binos are with you all the time for grabbing a good view of 'anything'. They would be the last part of my optical collection that I would ever get rid of. But they are not part of a 'system' that you can build up, with different scopes, mounts, eyepieces, filters etc. etc. That way, poverty lies.

 

[DennisN]

How does it compare with your best binos?

You have asked and you shall receive...

I just tried all my binoculars and monoculars on the nearly full Moon tonight:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zephyr 10 x 50 vintage binoculars

Bought: Cheaply at a second hand store (about $30 if I remember correctly).
Result: Good view

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seeadler 8 x 30 vintage binoculars

Bought: By my father, and later given to me.
Result: Good view

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obest 35 x 95 monocular

Bought: Cheap from China.
Result: Good view

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Noname" 30 x 25 monocular (I don't remember the brand)

Bought: Cheap from China.
Result: Ok view

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boshile 15-75 x 25 zoomable monocular

Bought: Cheap from China.
Result: Useless

This is a faulty item; it produces "double images" so it's useless.
It's a pity, since it's a pretty cool little gadget which is zoomable,
i.e. it offers different magnifications. It looks like it could
produce a rather good view, so I may try to fix it someday.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary:

I'd say the Obest monocular gives as good view as the Seeadler binoculars.
The Zephyr binoculars are slightly better. They are thus the best of these.

 

[sophiecentaur]

I just tried all my binoculars and monoculars on the nearly full Moon tonight:

That shows some initiative - well done! The Moon is a very friendly subject as it's not too demanding and 'just looks nice'. I can spend hours just gazing at her.

Result: Ok view

If you are happy then that's the main thing but assessing and comparing optical instruments should really include some specific criteria. For instance, how well can a particular double star be resolved or how badly does the nearby Moon affect what you see? Once you get really fussy, it's contrast that will often let you down and the 'blooming' on the objective will have a big effect. Some cheap binoculars, with claims of good performance, will often have a Red caste on the objective, which means there's a filter which cuts the shorter wavelengths and that will affect the Magnitude of stars that you can actually see.

This is a faulty item; it produces "double images"

Not uncommon and can be caused by multiple reflections in the Prism system and faulty colimation (Colimation can be even worse in binoculars, of course). Zoom devices tend to sacrifice quality for a given price. This is true for camera lenses although top end zooms are pretty damn good. Better results are usually obtained with primary lenses but cropping an image can take you back to the image quality of a zoom lens.Edit: Playing for sympathy here but, as I get older, the limit tends to be my eyesight. It's not the prescription and I keep it regularly up to date. The problem is firstly a hint of cataract in both eyes; that messes with the contrast and then the limited diameter of the pupils (happens to all older people) and that limits the effectiveness of a wide objective lens; 50mm is a bit wasted on me, compared with a fit young whippersnapper. Grrrr.

 

[SpaceJacob]

YouTube and other space forums were my biggest helpers in learning astronomy. What about choosing a telescope? I browsed this forum and found a few threads dedicated to this issue. I suppose that the main thing is not the sources you use, but your desire because if you want to learn something, you'll find information everywhere.

 

[FactChecker]

If there is an astronomy club like the Astronomical Society where you are, then they might have some viewing night-sessions where you can get an idea of what different types of telescopes are capable of. Then they might have sales of used telescopes where you can get one that you want at a good price. Or you might be like me -- the club scopes are so good, expensive, and well set-up, that you will only want to use theirs.

 

[stefan r]

People did astronomy for thousands of years with no telescope.

Find the 5 planets if they are out. You can lookup which ones online. Also Orion plus Sirius or the Summer triangle depending on time of year and Polaris (Ursa Major or Big Dipper). Need to know about the airplanes and satellites. If you cannot find that list then it is likely that you are lost. Or maybe you live in the South.

Recognizing 88 constellations is a big chunk to chew on. There are usually meteor showers several times a year which is not a trivial time commitment. You do not need any gear. Telescopes are in the way for meteor showers.

Astronomy clubs can show you telescope basics. I live in a city so the astronomy club has a herd of 10 and 12 inch telescopes. I have not found using the telescopes to help me much. The photos from space telescopes are available online and you can read a variety of details. You can read about centuries of observation or look at images taken in all spectrums from radio to x-ray. Without context you will look in a telescope and just see a bunch of points of light. That is also what you see if you look up with your eyes.

Some amateur planetarium shows are really good. It helps to have someone pointing at things with a laser pointer. "there is this or that constellation and [information]". At the planetarium they can rotate the sky around and show "here is the sky tonight 9:00" and then "here is the sky at summer solstice".