Where to start?

This page contains advice for newcomers to astronomy, and tips to help avoid confusion and frustration which can sometimes occur.

Probably the most common pitfall for beginners is to rush out and buy a telescope and then not be able to find anything, or be disappointed by the fact that most celestial objects do not look like pictures in books and magazines when viewed visually. By taking a step by step approach, these pitfalls can be avoided.

The first step is to learn the constellations. An excellent aid for doing this is a Planisphere, a circular star chart with a horizon mask. By selecting the date and time on the dial on the rim, one can see which constellations are visible at that point in time. When going outside at night to compare the chart with the real sky, it is a good idea to give yourself 5 to 10 minutes to let your eyes dark-adapt. View the planisphere with a red covered flashlight to preserve your night vision. If you live near a city, the sky brightness will not allow your eyes to fully dark-adapt, and wash out the fainter constellations. You will have to limit yourself to finding the bright constellations, such as Orion and Ursa Major. Planispheres are available from Sky Publishing and Orion Telescope Center, and in the Chicago area at the Adler Planetarium bookstore.

Once you are fairly adept at identifying the constellations, you are ready to move up to an optical aid. However, it is not yet time for a telescope, but rather binoculars. Any set of binoculars of size 7 X 35 (the first number is the magnification of the binoculars and the second is the diameter of the front lens in millimeters) or larger are excellent for viewing the Moon and brightest deep sky objects. Binoculars are easy to use hand held devices, and typically provide a wide field of view of 5 to 7 degrees. If you do not already own binoculars, look for full multi-coatings and BAK4 prisms when buying binoculars. At this point you will want to read some basic observing handbooks, and get a set of more detailed star charts. See the your local Astronomy store for observing Guides. Two good charts are the Magnitude 6 Sky Atlas and the Cambridge Atlas 2000.

Star Party Etiquette