1. Getting started
in astronomy
without
breaking the
bank.

2. 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!

3. You never
know what
you might
see
Red lights don't kill
your night vision
Stretch a red
balloon over a
flashlight

4. 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

5. 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/

6. 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

7. 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

8. Digging Deeper
Join 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

9. When you’re ready to
spend some money…

10. Consider binoculars
Pros Cons
Easy to use Limited aperture
Upright images No expansion
Good for other things May still want a tripod
Inexpensive (relative
to a telescope)

11. 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

12. 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

13. Telescopes
Aperture is important
Bigger = brighter
Too big and you'll never use it
Magnification is not
Get a few good eyepieces

14. Telescopes
Try it before you buy it!
Star Parties like Astronomy at the Beach
Local Observatories

15. Other resources
Sky&Tel Starting Right in Astronomy
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/b
asics/3308331.html
Astronomy Magazine website
http://www.astronomy.com/en/News-
Observing/Intro%20Sky.aspx
ASP resources
http://astrosociety.org/resources/linkobserve.html