Astronomy On A Cheap Budget
Cost can be a prohibitive factor in many interests but not astronomy for kids when in the beginning it doesn’t have to cost you a cent – so if you are interested, read on. Now that the thought of a free hobby has peaked your interest further, just what do you need to start it? Fortunately not much but it is very good to have a star chart at hand which can be found in books that show you Star Charts or something referring to the Zodiac. Some charts are simple and easy to follow but you can easily get much more complex versions that illustrate far more. You can find them at any Planetarium or Observatory and the cheaper the better as you only need one to show you the brightest stars because the rest you can fill in yourself.
If you intend to spend any money on a telescope, do not buy a cheap one – it really will be waste of money and won’t help you enjoy your new interest at all. Imagining you buy one of these, the revolution of the earth could make the star vanish from your screen in such high speed that you could completely lose track of it and start your search from where you started. There is no need to be disappointed by this, the star will back the following night so instead of putting the scope away, focus it on another. If you’re ready to buy, a Meade telescope is very good.
My second tip is a far cheaper option but one that will bring many nights of star gazing and all you need to do here is lend, borrow or buy a normal 10×50 set of binoculars. With this sort of power you will be able to see the moon much more clearly than ever before but you will also find it easy to see whole constellations in their entirety. As for information, other than the internet of course just about every library will have a number of books on star gazing but so will your local school so you will not be short of help.
Books that contain good start charts should be the preferred target and don’t worry too much if you cannot get the latest edition because as far as you are concerned, the stars will not have moved or changed. Before you go into too much depth, locate the Southern Cross or Scorpio in the book and then see if you can find it in the night sky. As it’s name suggests, the Southern Cross is situated in the south while Orion can be found moving from East to West as the night progresses. Note that it may not be conspicuous as you look for it since it may rise towards the later part or early in the morning.
Do you need to read a lot I hear you ask? Not really, but the moment you start to explore the stars, you will want to know more about them, where they come from and probably where they are going. This you can get in books written for children as this will give you the most elementary information. So in reality all you need to start start gazing is a star chart in the early days which should present you with enough to peak your interest. And then you get yourself a pair of binoculars and once you have grasped the basics, invest in a good telescope. Again, I recommend to buy a Meade telescope.