Astronomy Main

Astronomy and space flight have been strong interests since I was old enough to know what they were. I vividly remember watching the Mercury and Gemini missions on television when I was a kid. I've always owned a telescope, and since 1988 I have been teaching part-time at the College of Charleston.

One of my favorite pastimes is to take my telescope out to a public area, aim it at something interesting, and let people look. This practice has deep roots. I have a reprint of a magazine article from the 1890s that describes someone doing exactly that, and I'm sure he wasn't the first. I wrote a short essay about my own experiences which was published in Sky and Telescope in February, 2003. Click here to read it.

People frequently ask me for advice when it comes to buying optics. The good news is that there's many good, inexpensive options available. The bad news is that telescopes rank with treadmills as the most common accidental laundry racks. Using a telescope can be a lifetime interest, but only if you have an interest in astronomy! A comment I hear frequently is, "I have a scope like that at home, but I don't see stuff like that". It's all about where you aim it.

So what would I recommend? First, stay away from the "department store" scope, You'll often see these in the newspsper as "300x scope sees 500 million miles!". While the optics might be adequate, the mounting hardware is usually not up to the task. Remember, if you magnify things by 200x, you're also magnifying everything else by the same amount, including vibration and optical flaws. A good scope on a bad mount is nearly useless.

There's several reputable manufacturers that sell a good product and back it up. These include Meade, Celestron, and Orion. I've used all three and its hard to go wrong with any of them. In particular, Orion products are a great value for the dollar.

Spend some time considering available options before you buy. A clock drive (a motor that follows the sky) will track objects and makes life much easier. Some scopes have built-in computers (GOTO scopes) that will find any object at the push of a button. I think this is cheating, since it means that you never have to learn the sky!

Sky and Telescope Magazine - A very good popular level astronomy publication. It's been around since the 1940's.

Getting Started in Astronomy - A 900KB PDF (translation: it'll take a minute or two to download over a slow connection) from the editors of Sky and Telescope. Recommended. And it's free! Use this one if you're in the Southern Hemisphere. Get the Adobe Reader if you don't already have it.

Astronomy Magazine - Another good monthly publication. Like Sky and Telescope, it has material for readers at all levels.

Astronomical Calendar (and other publications) by Guy Ottewell - Very good explanations of astronomical phenomena; superb drawings. See his home page here.

Spaceflight Now - A British website devoted to space travel. It's free, but you can buy a subscription and get some fancier content.