Robin Scagell

Good beginners guide to using a telescope in an urban environment. It would be useful to read this before starting with this hobby if you live a built-up area. It covers the basics of the types of telescope available, problems of light pollution, how to counter act it, and the challenges posed by different types of weather. There are also basic introductions to planetary, lunar, solar, and deep sky observing, as well as astro-photography.
Anyone taking up astronomy will also probably later want a star atlas, a lunar map, and possibly a more specialised observing guide for whatever type of object they find most interesting. However increasingly these resources can be replaced by software or phone apps that are widely available.

Probably not worth reading for anyone who has a lot of experience in this field already, but as a beginner it is a well-written and easy to follow guide to getting started.… (more)