The Best Thing to Do First Is Not Buying a Telescope

When the thought occurred to me that astronomy might be an interesting hobby to get into, my first inclination was to start shopping for telescopes. But the more I investigated the amateur astronomy market, the more I found myself chasing my tail. It quickly became clear to me that I needed a bit more information before I was ready to purchase my first telescope.

Before rushing to buy any kind of astronomy gear, I strongly suggest you do three simple things.

Look Up

First, simply step outside at night and look up! The simple act of using the naked eye to observe the night sky can itself be a surprisingly instructive first thing to do. I remember the time when I started to pay attention to the sky at night and realized that what I thought was a bright star was in fact the planet Saturn. This epiphany fed my desire to learn more. You’ll get a feel for the rhythms of the lunar phases, and you’ll begin to identify various bright stars and some constellations.

Constellations — Mouseover or tap images for constellation outlines. The constellations that will appear are Cepheus (left), Lacerta (lower left), Cygnus (middle), Lyra (upper right), Vulpecula (middle right on the end of Cygnus), Sagitta (middle right below Vulpecula), part of Aquila (right edge), and Delphinus (lower right). My telescope is at the bottom left.

Use the excellent star charts available for free at Skymaps.com to begin your visual naked eye journey.

Read

Second, get your hands on a quality introductory book on astronomy. Perhaps it’s ironic of me to point this out on a website, but don’t depend exclusively on what you read on the internet. There is no substitute for a well-written and vetted piece of writing by an experienced amateur astronomer.

Terence Dickinson and Ken Hewitt-White’s NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe stands out as the very best introduction to the hobby. Be sure to get the latest edition, which at the time of this writing is the fifth edition and has content that is current until 2035. This book offers valuable advice on gear, information on what you can see with that gear, basic star maps, and other practical and highly useful information. There is an especially helpful and straightforward chapter on telescopes. A prior edition of this work was my first astronomy book, and I still reach for it after all these years. It was the best money I ever spent on the hobby.

An excellent supplement to NightWatch is Dickinson and Alan Dyer’s Backyard Astronomer’s Guide, which is jam-packed with useful insight and is also very much worth the money.

Your local library may have copies of both these books. Seek them out.

Try Before You Buy

At a star party on the evening of February 15, 2015.

Third, attend a star party put on by a local astronomy club or organization. Most will have some kind of ongoing public outreach effort. These events are great opportunities to have a first peak through different types of telescopes and to get a first-hand feel for them.

You’ll encounter many individuals who are eager to share the view through their scopes, and they are typically just as eager to share their opinions about them. They say that the problem is not getting amateur astronomers to talk about their telescopes, it’s getting them to shut up.

After seeing the night sky with the naked eye, learning more about the hobby by reading a good book or two, and interacting with experienced amateur astronomers and their telescopes, you’ll be in a far better position to make a selection that’s right for you.

Next: Critical Questions