Getting started in astronomy

without breaking the bank.

First Things First

Make sure astronomy is really your thing.

Go outside and look up. It’s free, and it’ll give you an idea of whether or not you’re really interested in astronomy enough to spend some real money. If you’re bored after 5 minutes, observational astronomy may not be for you!

You never know what you might

seeRed lights don't kill your night vision

Stretch a red balloon over a flashlight

Start finding your way around

Get a star chart or planisphere

http://kepler.nasa.gov/education/starwheel/

http://www.skymaps.com/

http://www.vcas.org/star-wheels.html

Start finding your way around

Get some planetarium software

Free and good: http://www.stellarium.org/

Free with more features but not as pretty http://www.shatters.net/celestia/

Not free but excellent: Starry Night http://www.starrynight.com/

Digging Deeper

Get a basic book

Timothy Ferris's Seeing in the Dark

Nightwatch by Terence Dickinson

365 Starry Nights by Chet Reymo

HA Rey’s the Stars

Digging Deeper

Subscribe to a magazine or other publication

Astronomy Sky and Telescope http://www.pa.msu.edu/abrams/SkyCalendar/ Guy Ottewell's Astronomical Calendar

An annual publication

Digging DeeperJoin an Astronomy Club

Astronomy Club at Eastern Michigan University

University Lowbrow Astronomers

Student Astronomical Society at the University of Michigan (primarily undergrads)

Ford Amateur Astronomy Club

More at http://astrosociety.org/resources/linkclubs3.html

When you’re ready to spend some money…

Consider binoculars

Pros

Easy to use

Upright images

Good for other things

Inexpensive (relative to a telescope)

Cons

Limited aperture

No expansion

May still want a tripod

About Binoculars

Numbers are Magnification X Aperture

Bigger magnification = bigger image Also magnifies the shakes!

Bigger aperature = BRIGHTER image For astronomy, brighter is important

Consider all uses

Giant binoculars aren't great at the football game

Ready For More?

If you can find the Orion Nebula, binoculars aren't cutting it anymore, and getting up at 4 AM for a meteor shower doesn't sound crazy, you might be ready for a telescope

Telescopes

Aperture is important

Bigger = brighter

Too big and you'll never use it

Magnification is not

Get a few good eyepieces

Telescopes

Try it before you buy it!

Star Parties like Astronomy at the Beach

Local Observatories

Other resourcesSky&Tel Starting Right in Astronomy

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/basics/3308331.html

Astronomy Magazine website

http://www.astronomy.com/en/News-Observing/Intro%20Sky.aspx

ASP resources

http://astrosociety.org/resources/linkobserve.html