Looking to get into astronomy

Check out the Buy and Sell perhaps to see if anyone is selling one. If you do go down this route, make sure to have a look at it before purchasing it, as there is no guarantee after it has left the seller.

Seanie.

Doesn't look like there is. 4 scopes in the Buy and Sell - two of them are Tasco's :shock: and 1 is a Celestron 114 for €450!!! The other one is put very simply - "Telescope - in case" :lol:

Linky

Nice one Steve!

Daveo could also put a 'Wanted' ad in the Buy and Sell, and on these boards too...

The profile dont indicate any geographic data so i have no idea about location. There were 5 skylux in lidl in coleraine on wednesday - was six but i bought one for a friend. They also have 2 or 3 etx 70 and there were 2 etx 70 in lidl limavady ( co derry) last wednesday, if anybody interested.

nosmo

Thanks for the help everyone, you're very helpful!

I've got a pair of binoculars that I bought years ago in a market in Spain They're not great, but I had a look at Mars today using them, so I guess they'll do for a while. For the record, their make is 'Monex', and it says..

80x25
98m/1000m
Day and Night

..on them.

I had a look to find out what the specifications mean, and the first number is supposed to be the zoom -- but I don't think that they're 80x, so they're obviously just wierd!

Anywho, I might head over to the library tomorrow and see can I find a book for beginners, but failing that I'll wait til I go back to college and I'll pick one up there.

I'm starting to get a bit more excited about this astronomy lark, especially since I saw Mars tonight

Righto, got a few books this morning! 2 from the library and bought another one. They don't seem terribly good, to be honest, but there wasn't much of a selection...

Beginner's guide to astronomy by Patrick Moore
The rought guide to the universe by John Scalzi
Practical astronomy by Storm Dunlop

Anyone familiar with these books? I'll probably start reading the second one at some point today, to help me understand everything before I start looking at it.

hi Daveo,

what part of Ireland are you in? It's more to see if you are near a club that would have a library of books for loan to members.

I know Patrick Moore's books got many of us started on our adventures in astronomy but to be honest, some are terribly hit or miss. An example I'm thinking of is his book Exploring the Night Sky with Binoculars which is particularly erratic.

reading any of those books though will add to the font of knowledge about astronomy. Any book on the subject will reveal new information.

I'd recommend getting the little Collins GEM guide "Stars" (about €7). It's a small pocket star atlas but full of stuff you can see with binoculars. I'd also print out Toshimi Taki's star atlas that I mentioned previously on the forum (it's a free star atlas in pdf form).

the book Skywatching by David Levy, and, Advanced Skywatching by Robert Garfinkle, Robert Burnham, etc., are very good on the whole hobby. They are probably available full price in some shops but you can get them for as little as $1 each on Amazon or another online book service. If you know someone with a credit card, ask them to order them for you (postage from the States will be $9 per book though).

also, Backyard Astronomy by Terence Dickinson and Alan Dyer. The newer edition is $50 but the older one (not out of date by much) is about $8. Again, Amazon.com will have the info. This book is a must have introduction to all aspects of astronomy including equipment, what you'll see, etc.

check out the www.cloudynights.com bulletin board too. Their have a forum called "Stellar Media" which is well worth paging through for advice and reviews on books, etc.

just editting this post to mention the new Dorling-Kindersley book "Universe". The book club here at work have just received a new post-Christmas selection and this book is listed for €16. I'd nearly prioritise this one over the Skywatching and Advanced Skywatching books for the moment as it is very up-to-date. A good overall astronomy reference is well worth having.

atb,

John