Education

Given the rapid growth of the Internet it is simply not possible to give an up to date and definitive list of on-line sites and other sources of information of interest to the amateur astronomer. We have therefore opted to list a limited selection of sites under different categories that we have found useful together with details of astronomy related newsgroups and search engines and tips for getting the information you need.

Societies

We highly recommend anyone with more than a passing interest in astronomy to join a local astronomical society. For those in the UK and within striking distance of Stratford-upon-Avon we recommend you to look up The Stratford Astronomical Society; our other local societies are: The Coventry and Warwickshire Astronomical Society, The Abingdon Astronomical Society and The Birmingham Astronomical Society.

For those further afield check out the Federation of Astronomical Societies for finding a UK astronomical society close to you.

Suppliers of astronomical equipment (UK)

There are several suppliers of astronomical equipment in the UK and personal experiences and preferences naturally vary. Most will offer good impartial advice at the cost of a phone call or visit.

Buying a telescope and other astronomical equipment

If you are new to the subject, the best advice is to first look up a local astronomical society and discuss your interests and requirements with them - more often than not they will be only too pleased to help. Also look out for star parties often hosted by these societies, where you can get hands on experience and excellent feedback on a variety of telescopes before spending your monies.

An excellent FAQ on choosing a telescope can be found by pointing your browser to:

http://hotel04.ausys.se/pausch/saafaq/saa_faq_list.html

If you are considering buying a telescope either for yourself or someone else, and are a newcomer to the subject, at least read this one document before doing anything else. It will provide you with a good background of the equipment commonly available, familiarise you with the basic terminology, what to expect for your monies and generally reduce the chance of ending up disappointed.

Also worth looking up are the numerous sites offering professional and amateur reviews of astronomical equipment. The magazine Sky & Telescope is a good source for current equipment reviews, while Todd Gross's astronomical equipment reviews is an excellent example of the latter.

Finally, check out the various Internet astronomy newsgroups and the Deja com archives for information. When you have done your research, then go ahead ...

Newsgroups

There are currently three main on-line astronomy newsgroups that are worth dipping into:

The latter newsgroup is (obviously) UK based, but sci.astro.amateur is perhaps the best in terms of the most visited. If you are after specific information about astronomy, certainly use these newsgroups, but read the group charters and Frequently Asked Questions files (FAQs) first, before posting.

Search engines

Apart from the current information posted to these on-line newsgroups, you can search newsgroups and other archives, or indeed the whole web using the site hosted by Deja com. Here whole threads of topics that have been discussed on-line can be easily accessed. In addition to the many single search engines in current use, e.g. AltaVista, Excite, Google, Yahoo, it is also worth trying meta-search engine Copernic which simultaneously searches the web using several of the more common search engines in parallel.

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Astronomical articles and product reviews

We are currently compiling a set of articles articles and equipment reviews which we hope will be of interest to the amateur astronomer. The article section will cover topics such as, astronomical terminology, common formulae used, equipment talk and general observing tips. In contrast the review section will be devoted specifically to product reviews of astronomical equipment. The aim of this latter section will be targeted not so much toward giving basic advice for the newcomer (for which much already has been written) but for someone who is looking for a bit more specific information on a particular product line, for example specific astronomical telescopes and accessories, and how these actually perform in use.

 

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