Getting Started With Astronomy

I've had a lot of questions about getting started with astronomy and many people asking me about which telescope I can recommend. Well, although I do have a telescope, I'm not currently using it much and I prefer to use just my long camera lenses instead. So, with that in mind, I can't really (and wouldn't want to) recommend a telescope to anyone, particularly as so many are bought and end up gathering dust when people lose interest.

What I can recommend is starting out with a decent pair of binoculars and an astronomy book. Binoculars give you a wide field of view making it easier to pick out constellations and stars and some planets. For some constellations like the Big Dipper (Plough) and Orion you don't even need binoculars. A phone free phone app like Sky Walk 2 will also help you identify what you're looking at by holding your phone up to the sky - they're quite amazing really.

If you feel you want to take it further then consider visiting a stargazing night at a local astronomy club. Near to us in Leigh there's one in Bolton and one not too far away in Manchester at Heaton Park - both have websites or Facebook pages to see the they meet. Here you can try out telescopes and ask questions to find out what might be best for you.

Finally, there are many excellent sources of information on the internet, including YouTube tutorial videos and web forums like the StarGazers Lounge. Just search for astronomy, astrophotography or something similar.