After you have mastered navigating the night sky

After you have mastered navigating the night sky, you will need to know how to find objects for telescopic observation that are too faint to spot with just your eyes. Your first step will be to find the general location of the object by locating nearby bright stars that you learned to spot in the above mentioned second section. The final acquiring of the object through your telescope and observing of its features can be done using information in the last section of this book titled Observing Tips And Techniques.

I have enjoyed astronomy as a hobby since 1960 (when I was eight years old). Over the years, I have seen objects of awesome beauty of which the general public are not aware. Many of these sights can be seen with (the right) modestly priced telescope or even binoculars!

The subject of the section you are currently reading is the telescope: the instrument which will allow you to enter the exciting field of deep space exploration from your backyard! After you’ve read this section, people will think you know all there is to know about these wonderful instruments. And while you may not really know everything about telescopes, you will know the things which are really important!