When I want to start a new hobby, where do I start researching?

I did a search for “what should I look for in a telescope for a beginning astrophotographer” and came up with some interesting finds.

https://www.tensixphotography.com/eclipse-blog/best-first-telescope-for-astrophotography-a-complete-buyers-guide-2024 This one appears to be from a guy that teaches it.

https://astrophotons.com/beginner-astrophotography-telescope

https://astrobackyard.com/beginner-astrophotography-telescope/

https://telescopeguides.com/beginner-astrophotography-telescope/

There are tons of options here. Some of the sites seem to go into explanation of what a beginner should consider when looking for equipment. But these might just be starting points on your search. I would recommend finding an astrophotography club in your area. I did a search near me and found a webpage https://www.go-astronomy.com/astro-clubs-state.php?State=NC that lists all the clubs. Find a club near you and reach out to it to ask any questions you might have. They would have done all the leg work, it would be real people you could talk to, they would know the best places to go to shoot the sky, and you might find some friends in a club.

You can start by purchasing a astronomy magazine, or sign out some books and magazines from your local library.

Then you can decide between a reflector or refractor telescope. The one with the mirror is easy on the neck but annoying as the center of the image is the mirror. A refractor is easier on the eyes, but is rough on your neck.

Then you can choose your camera. I can’t help you with that.

Good luck. Keep us updated.

I’d start by looking at FB groups and joining and posting in there. That’s a good way to find out from amateurs what equipment they use, where they bought it and how much they paid, where they go to get good photos, tips, advice, etc.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Astroimagery
https://www.facebook.com/groups/775235275932996
https://www.facebook.com/groups/630922131094037
https://www.facebook.com/groups/781463270365233

Okay. Tropical Willie sent me this question. I am literally an amateur astronomer and astrophotographer. My advice is to find a local club, go to meetings, and spend a few months just learning and not spending anything. Astrophotography is a HUGE field and can be done with nighscapes to deep sky imaging. It depends on what your interests are, how much money you want to spend, and how much time do you have.

Generally for beginning observing (no photography) I recommend one of the classic dobsonian scopes.

If you want to jump into astrophotography directly but don’t want to spend a lot of money, the Seestars are fun. I have an S50 but they recently came out with a cheaper, smaller, shorter focal length S30, which for your budget of about $100 is about right. They may be on backorder now.

https://www.seestar.com/

Here is a link from my favorite astronomy store
https://cloudbreakoptics.com/products/seestar-s30?_pos=1&_sid=5d55e00fa&_ss=r

And here is a blog post from someone at Cloud Break about it
https://cloudbreakoptics.com/blogs/product-review/how-the-seestar-s50-redefines-amateur-astronomy?_pos=2&_sid=5d55e00fa&_ss=r

My advice is to start small and cheap. A Google pixel phone makes surprisingly good astro photos and if you have one, that’s free. A decent pair of 70mm binoculars will set you back ~$100 to see if this is for you. For the beginning, with no photography, this. Awesome scope is what I would get.

@Caravanfan God almighty, that little ZWO seestar looks cool. I’ll have to get one.

@Blackwater_Park I have the Seestar 50. When I get home I’ll upload a processed image of M33 and make it my avator.

Thank you all for the responses!!! Lots to look into and think about. I get so overwhelmed sometimes those simple google searches escape me lol. I appreciate the advice about facebook groups and clubs.

Caravanfan, thank you so much and what a coincidence. I will look into your links a bit more in depth when I have a moment later today. Those seestars look sick, though.

I do have a basic astronomy book by National Geographic. I forgot I had it, school kept me busy I did not have the time to read it.

Thank you all for taking the time to respond, it really helps me start somewhere.

Researching for a few months is smart and I will do that. I do not know enough to have a set budget just yet, I would have to see the averages and go from there. I bought a $100 telescope from amazon and had to return it, so I want to be smarter this time.

Schools done for a month and ai need a new distraction.

@Blackwater_Park Okay, I changed my avatar. This is M33 or the Triangulum Galaxy. Taken with my Seestar 50, approximately one hour of data. I post processed the data in a program called PixInsight to remove gradients and noise and sharpen a bit.

Ok well, I was slowly getting into the hobby but found it too expensive to really go all in. This certainly changes the game.

Here is a presentation by members of my astronomy imaging club that we gave to our general meeting. The astrophotography portion starts at about 25 minutes.

https://youtu.be/C4Tv2rHNE6c?si=BX-mOQ3UYU0_qgzk

Before the internet, I was interested in photography and woodworking.

Subscribing to the leading pertinent magazines for a year or two gave me a grounding. After that I recognized a lot of their content as advertising, but nonetheless they were valuable teachers.

The internet era equivalent would be reading space.com and whatever other jellies recognize as leading amateur astronomy blogs.

Thanks for asking, this brings back memories of when my brother was in college and could borrow 4 or 5 inch reflector telescopes. We looked at the moons of Saturn from our front yard.

@Blackwater_Park The Seestar is a fun little instrument. It has its limitations, obviously. But it is good for what it is. The kids on Halloween loved it.

@Caravanfan

Thanks for the links. I knew they did not come off looking that great right away but damn, I did not know the extent of what has to be done. That is so cool!!!! I am even more excited to get into this now, so thank you for sharing your insight!!!!