I’ve wanted to get into astronomy for a long time. Living near Madrid hasn’t helped me much due to the light pollution we suffer in the city, but I hope to take advantage of the trips to the countryside to start with this hobby that has always drawn my attention.
My first instinct, a couple of years ago, was to buy a toy telescope for my eldest daughter and to take advantage of it in the best way possible by trying to observe something. Big mistake. A toy telescope is no good for anything except to get frustrated and discouraged, and to realize that for astronomy, you need to use quality material, and before that, to become informed by people who know.
Therefore, I began to get involved in several astronomy forums. There I have been recommended to begin with looking at the sky with the naked eye, to learn the constellations, the mechanics of the sky and so on. Once I’m confortable with this, then to start making observations with binoculars.
And at this point, I am choosing some good binoculars. Again asking the experts on the subject, they recommend starting with some binoculars on a stand. Note: the measurements of the binoculars are classified by two magnitudes with this notation: 10×50, in which the first number is the magnification, and the second, millimeters of aperture of the objective lens.
In order to choose binoculars for astronomy it is important to take into account the relationship between magnification and objective lens since it is interesting to have a good exit pupil in order to have the greatest possible field of view and the greatest luminosity.
It’s not so important to have a great magnification since the more magnification the bigger the objective lens has to be, and therefore, the heavier the equipment will be (and it will not be possible to make observations by hand, but it will be necessary to use a tripod).
It seems that it is best to pull towards prismatic prisms of Porro, and if possible with BAK-4 prism. My first search was to shoot some binoculars 15×70, the style of these Celestron https://amzn.to/2PShH3V or even 20×80, the style of these Celestron https://amzn.to/2PRfCoK but I backed its high weight that forced me to use tripod. Again to ask the experts, they steered me towards others, measuring 7×35 or 10×50. They say that to begin the best are the 7×35, but that the most all terrain are the 10×50, that all astronomers tend to have some as aid to their telescope. So, in the end, I decided for the 10×50 Nikon Aculon A211 https://amzn.to/2PQDZ5V that has very good Guest reviews.
I have also bought an introductory book, where I am learning different techniques are highly valued by the community. The book is titled “Practical Guide of the Amateur astronomer” https://amzn.to/2PQiVg0. Then they usually recommend a celestial letter, although my idea is to use a mobile application like Stellarium (note: put the lighting of the application to red so your eyes do not lose the adaptation to the darkness of your eyes when in the dark).
And here I am, with my new equipment, waiting for the first time to go to the country side to observe the stars…