Comments on: Which telescope shall I buy and what extras will I need?

By: Starrysky

Starrysky — Sat, 08 May 2010 21:03:57 +0000

Besides telescope and a book, get a magazine like Astronomy or Sky & Telescope. Go to star parties by astro clubs. will have search for local ones.
Maps can be bought at same place. Astronomical Calendar 2010 by Guy Ottewell is great for much about the sky. On line is and for charts for anywhere, any time and date.
Red flashlight, warmers for you and equipment, light shields, table, free planetarium programs for computer, another eyepiece for lower power views, later perhaps a good Barlow 2X lens, and for under a large Dobsonian, an equatorial platform. You can buy or build that from Internet plans. Starrysky

By: astronomy 101

astronomy 101 — Sat, 08 May 2010 18:21:13 +0000

would but i dont know euros astronomy 101

By: Geoff G

Geoff G — Fri, 07 May 2010 16:01:46 +0000

Here are a few web pages with good information on beginner’s telescopes:

For more advanced information, read Phil Harrington’s Star Ware, 4th edition (Wiley).

You’ll get the greatest value for your money with a Newtonian reflector on a Dobsonian mount, such as these:

Buy from a store which specializes in telescopes and astronomy, either locally or online; don’t buy from department stores, discount stores or eBay as mostly what they sell is junk. Find your local astronomy club and try out different telescopes at one of their star parties:

I strongly recommend that beginners steer clear of astrophotography until they have learned their way around the sky. Astrophotography is by far the most expensive and difficult area of amateur astronomy.

Many people who buy telescopes have no idea how to find interesting things to observe. A good introduction to finding things is NightWatch by Terence Dickinson (Firefly). A more advanced book is Star Watch by Phil Harrington (Wiley). Geoff G