As an amateur astronomer, you understand the importance of having the right equipment to enjoy the beauty of the night sky. However, with so many options available, it can be overwhelming to know what to choose. That’s where telescopic accessories come in – they can enhance your viewing experience and make it easier to observe the planets and galaxies.
One of the most important pieces of astronomy equipment for beginners is a sturdy tripod to hold your telescope. Without a stable base, your telescope will shake and vibrate, making it difficult to focus and causing blurry images. Look for a tripod that is adjustable in height and has a weight capacity that can support your telescope.
Another essential accessory is an eyepiece. Eyepieces come in different sizes and magnifications, and choosing the right one will depend on what you want to observe. A lower magnification eyepiece is better for viewing larger objects like the moon, while a higher magnification eyepiece is ideal for seeing planets and galaxies in greater detail.
Enhance your Viewing Experience
Filters are another important accessory that can enhance your viewing experience. They work by blocking certain wavelengths of light, which can help to reduce glare and improve contrast. For example, a moon filter can help to reduce the brightness of the moon, making it easier to observe details on its surface.
Finally, consider investing in a star chart or astronomy software to help you locate objects in the night sky. These tools can be especially helpful for beginners who are still learning to navigate the sky.
However, with so many options available, it can be overwhelming to know what to choose. That’s where telescopic accessories come in – they can enhance your viewing experience and make it easier to observe the planets and galaxies.
Astronomy equipment
One of the most important pieces of astronomy equipment for beginners is a sturdy tripod to hold your telescope. Without a stable base, your telescope will shake and vibrate, making it difficult to focus and causing blurry images. Look for a tripod that is adjustable in height and has a weight capacity that can support your telescope.
Another essential accessory is an eyepiece. Eyepieces come in different sizes and magnifications, and choosing the right one will depend on what you want to observe. A lower magnification eyepiece is better for viewing larger objects like the moon, while a higher magnification eyepiece is ideal for seeing planets and galaxies in greater detail.
Filters are another important accessory that can enhance your viewing experience. They work by blocking certain wavelengths of light, which can help to reduce glare and improve contrast. For example, a moon filter can help to reduce the brightness of the moon, making it easier to observe details on its surface.
Finally, consider investing in a star chart or astronomy software to help you locate objects in the night sky. These tools can be especially helpful for beginners who are still learning to navigate the sky.
You bought your first telescope; now what?
If you want to experience the best, you should get equipment that works with your telescope. In this article about telescopic accessories, you’ll find tips and ideas to help you begin your astronomy journey.
Even if you’re looking to gift something related to astronomy to your friend, any of these accessories could be the best fit. For the sake of simplicity, I’m breaking down the stargazing tools list into the following categories:
- Furniture
- Books, Charts, and related
- Observing report tools
- Computer/phone/tablet apps
- Optical enhancements
- Containers
- Misc
Furniture
An excellent observing chair will enhance your observing experience. An adjustable height would be best, as your scope will be tipped at various angles as you observe.
There are many good choices of commercially available observing chairs. They typically run in the $100 to $300 range.
A portable table to place beside your telescope can be convenient. It can be small, just a place to put a notebook or to rest your star chart during an observing session. You can use anything, but a fold-up camp table works well for portability. One that goes into a bag is excellent if you frequent remote sites or take things on vacation where packing space is at a premium.
The last one is a stargazing flashlight for the table or other uses. I clip this to the back of my car when I am unpacking at a dark site, directing one beam into the car and one on the ground. The white interior lights are off, so I won’t disturb other astronomers and don’t ruin my developing night vision.
Books, Charts, and Related Guides
Books on astronomy can range from beginner guides to deep dives into various subjects. There are so many; here are a few that are telescope oriented for your consideration. Most will contain some form of sky charts, but these are not focused star charts. I suggest some great beginner books that will teach you about your telescope, observing, and how to find things in the sky.
- Turn Left at Orion
- 50 Things to See with a Small Telescope
The next step from the beginner books is star charts. Some are simple and inexpensive, and some are larger and more comprehensive. When you venture into the deep sky objects beyond what is covered in the beginner books, this is where you go next.
- Planisphere
- Sky & Telescope Pocket Sky Atlas
- The Cambridge Star Atlas
Now that you have your books and charts, you need a red light so you can read the charts at night without destroying your night vision. A white light will mess up your night vision. But red lights do not hurt your night vision nearly as much. Look for one made for astronomy so the light could be brighter. Or one that has an adjustable level. You want to be able to read your star charts on the table next to you, but if the light is too bright, it will affect your eye’s dark adaptation.
Here are a few you can search for.
- Carson RedSight Pro
- Orion 5756 DualBeam LED Astronomy Flashlight
Observing Report Tools
The report can range from a few notes scratched on a pad that lists the targets for the night. Or you can go as far as formal, detailed reports fit for an observatory. You might not think of this initially, but taking notes at the telescope will enhance your observing experience and sharpen your observing skills.
Observing reports are more of the former. I like to use a blank sketch pad as I sometimes quickly sketch what I see. A circle with a few stripes might be Jupiter, with some dots or small circles to indicate where the moons were. I note the excellent red spot too.
I suggest a quick sketch of a star cluster. I am no artist, and you may not be either, but I pay more and more profound attention to what I see and begin to observe the targets.
You can also record what telescope you used, what eyepieces you used, what filters, date, time, temperature, and the general observing conditions. You can go back to these years later and relive the observing session. Or you can use them as a reference to see what you wish to take out for this observing session.
Observing reports are a great way to document your developing journey in astronomy. I highly recommend taking notes on the scope.
The notebook can be a simple blank sketch pad, a lined notebook, or a standard observing log. I list a few of the astronomy observing books/logs here for you to search on. I have also included a link to preformatted pages you can find on the internet for printing.
- Stargazing Notebook – Includes Constellation Maps and Astrolabe
- The Stargazer’s Journal
- Online Observing Forms
- Glowseen LED Pen with Light
The last one is a lighted pen. It may be all you need if you need a work light. You click on the pen, and a light comes to light the pad as you take notes, then click it off. You can also use it as a quick light to check which eyepiece you will select next. It is beneficial.
Computer, Tablet, and Phone Apps
If you like to use applications on your home computer, laptop, tablet, or phone, there is an abundance available, and many are free or very low. A quick search will find these and others. I will only go into a bit of detail on each one as that would be an article all by itself.
The first ones are weather apps. These provide information about cloud cover, transparency, and “seeing,” which relates to the atmosphere’s turbulence. These are available on your computer and your phone/tablet.
- Astrospheric
- ClearOutside
Next are electronic star charts or planetarium applications. Unlike paper charts, you can set these for date and time, and they will show you the sky and highlight things to see. Some will let you point your phone/tablet at the sky and tell you what is up there. Very cool!
Some are available for a particular operating system, and some, like Stellarium, are available across multiple operating systems. These will get you started in your investigation.
A quick search will find them.
- Stellarium
- SkEye
- Phases of the Moon
- Jupiter Simulator
The last group is tools to help you plan your observing session by telling you what is in the sky tonight. These can classify things by target type, brightness, and other parameters. Some include places to take notes so you can file and organize your observing reports and observing history electronically.
Here I have provided links.
- Tonight’s Sky
- DSO Browser
- Sky Safari
Optical Enhancements
Your scope likely came with one or two eyepieces, a Barlow lens, and a filter. But you will want more as the initial items won’t be enough to take full advantage of your telescope’s capabilities.
Eyepieces
The telescope gathers light. The eyepieces provide the magnification. The limiter to magnification is the aperture of your scope and the atmospheric conditions. Some things look better at low magnification, some at medium, and some at high. Others, like planets, will take all the magnification you can get.
You can’t control atmospheric conditions. Humidity, air pollution, dust, and turbulence in the air will scatter the light as it comes from space to reach your scope. As a result, you can apply more magnification some days less. A selection of magnifications, either by eyepieces or a Barlow lens to be used with your eyepieces, will give you the option to choose the best magnification for that target on that day.
What is a reasonable maximum expectation for your telescope? The typical rule of thumb for maximum practical magnification for a particular telescope is 2X the aperture in mm. So if you have a 90 mm scope, it will max out around 180X under excellent atmospheric conditions. Many days you will not be able to go that high, but on some rare days, you can go higher.
Here are some examples of eyepiece series I often recommend that address a broad range of budgets. Make sure you select one that is the correct size as they are available in 1.25″ barrel, which will fit almost any scope, and 2″ barrels which will fit scopes that can take 2″. Check what your scope uses before you buy.
You can find our buying guide here if you are still getting familiar with buying eyepieces and Barlow lenses.
- Plossl eyepieces – Celestron, Meade, Orion, GSO, and Skywatcher are all good.
- Agena Astro Starguider ED
- Meade 5000 Ultra-Wide Angle
- Explore Scientific 68 degree
- Explore scientific 82 degree.
Barlow Lens
A Barlow Lens is a multiplier. You place it into the telescope where the eyepiece would usually go. Then you put the eyepiece into the Barlow. If you have three eyepieces that are correctly spaced and have a Barlow lens, you can have six magnifications for less money than buying three more eyepieces.
Filters
Filters are usually disks that are screwed onto the bottom of the eyepiece. A Moon filter is usually the first filter people buy. The Moon is very bright, especially when it is nearly complete, and can be challenging to observe because it is so bright. A filter reduces the amount of light transmitted to the eye like sunglasses. I recommend a 25% filter which would pass 25% of the captured light. Moon filters are typically found as 13%, 25%, 40%, and variable transmission.
Moon filters can also be helpful when viewing the very bright planet Venus. Venus is covered in clouds, so it is highly reflective and will appear as a bright blur. But with a Moon filter to cut down on that glare, you will be able to see Venus’s changing phases, which are similar to the phases of the Moon.
Colored Filters are most useful on planets. They can be a starting point for you to learn how to use colors. How to select the right colors is a topic unto itself. But you can pick up inexpensive four to eight-color filters for less than $50. Naturally, the better ones cost more.
Light Pollution Filters
Light Pollution Filters are becoming less and less valuable. These were designed back when most communities used Mercury vapor and Sodium vapor streetlights. The filters were tuned to these wavelengths and provided some limited benefit. But many communities have moved to white LED street and parking lot lights. Light pollution filters offer no help in filtering out these sources of light pollution. Before buying a soft pollution filter, find out what kind of lights you have in your area.
Nebula filters and Oxygen III, OIII filters are used on Nebula. A nebula often transmits light in particular wavelengths. These filters allow a minimal range of wavelengths to pass. It darkens the surrounding sky, which can bring out the Nebula. Consider these last as these can be expensive.
Also, because they limit the light, they work best with larger aperture scopes, say 120 mm, and more significant, but if you have the money and the interest, feel free to try one on smaller scopes. Which nebula or OIII filter works best on which Nebula is a discussion all its own and is often a matter of trial and error.
Do a little research before you buy.
When choosing astronomy equipment for beginners, it’s important to look for telescopic accessories that works with your telescope. Different telescopes have different mounting systems and accessories, so be sure to choose items that are compatible with your specific model.
By investing in high-quality telescopic accessories, you can take your viewing experience to the next level. With the right equipment, you can observe the beauty of the night sky in greater detail and with greater ease. So, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned astronomer, be sure to add these essential accessories to your astronomy equipment list.
