Section 1.1. Hacks 110

1.1. Hacks 110

Getting started in amateur astronomy seems simple enough. Buy a telescope, take it out at night, point it at the sky, and you're good to go. Or are you?

Many thousands of people follow just this route every Christmas, and nearly all of them are disappointed. They overpay for an inferior scope at the mall or a big-box store. Once they get it assembled, they discover they can't figure out how to use it properly. They soon find that being outdoors with a telescope in wintertime gets cold fast, and decide they'd really rather watch television instead.

Even those who persist lose interest quickly. After they look at the Moon a time or two, and maybe Jupiter and Saturn, they decide there's really not much else to see. Perhaps they've bought a computerized go-to scope that claims to find objects for them automatically. If that's true, why are the objects invisible, even though the computer swears they're in the eyepiece? Where are all those brightly colored objects pictured on the telescope box? The new scope ends up gathering dust in the closet or for sale on eBay. It can all be very discouraging.

But it doesn't have to be that way. Astronomy can be a wonderful, life-long hobby, one that the entire family can enjoy together. Thousands of devoted amateur astronomers are outdoors on every clear night, observing the wonders of the night sky. You can join them, but you need to get started right. In this chapter, we'll tell you what you need to know to avoid the most common beginner mistakes.