Bath Astronomers – The observing arm of the William Herschel Society

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Getting to grips with the night sky

Wednesday 16th October 2019 from 7:30pm until 9pm at the Herschel Museum of Astronomy, A talk on the night sky, how to get more involved in stargazing and ideas for enjoying astronomy. All are welcome from beginners upwards. It is intended to show you the simple science of the night skies above your head and...

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Darkness information

Night time

Sunset: 19:13
End twilight: 21:24
Begin twilight: 03:02
Sunrise: 05:11

Third Quarter

Phase: 76.5%
Illumination: 45.4%
Age: 22.58 days
Size: 31.0'
Distance: 385,581km

Click image to visit NASA Scientific Visualization Studio and detailed maps

New Moon	First Quarter	Full Moon	Last Quarter
Thu 1 Aug 03:12	Wed 7 Aug 17:32	Thu 15 Aug 12:31	Fri 23 Aug 14:58
Fri 30 Aug 10:38	Fri 6 Sep 03:11	Sat 14 Sep 04:35	Sun 22 Sep 02:43
Sat 28 Sep 18:27	Sat 5 Oct 16:48	Sun 13 Oct 21:10	Mon 21 Oct 12:41
Mon 28 Oct 03:40	Mon 4 Nov 10:23	Tue 12 Nov 13:37	Tue 19 Nov 21:13

Buying a Telescope

So you're considering buying a telescope and the internet is awash with advice. So what can we add?

The key advice is to not buy immediately. Try to use a variety of telescopes in the field before you buy. You can do this by going to a public stargazing event or joining a local astronomical society and going on an observing night. All you need is a pair of 10x50 binoculars and your curiosity.

You can pick up a cheap pair of 10x50 binoculars from Millets for £15 to £25 - not great quality but they'll help you find objects in the sky.

Small, cheap telescopes (less than £150) tend to be very poor value for money as the view through them is limited, often coloured or distorted, and the view wobbly. The kicker is their resale value is low too.

If you have space to store it and can confortably lift 10kgs then we'd recommend the Skywatcher Skyliner 150P and preferably 200P. These are Newtonian reflecting telescopes on a Dobsonian mount costing between £199 and £275. These push me pull you telescopes are quick to set up and simple to use. You'll need to learn your way around the sky but then that's part of the fun.

If you wish to be more "astro tourist" and SatNav than learning your way around then a small to medium sized computerised telescope is a lighter but pricier option. The most compact versions are Maksutovs and Schmidt Cassegrains comprising both lenses and mirrors.

You can see a map of telescope retailers here

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Third Quarter