Grass Valley has a good dark night sky so I’ve been learning
about backyard astronomy. I’ve found a few things that seem good,
maybe some of these make a good gift idea for a friend of yours. I’m
a rank beginner; these gifts are probably not appropriate for someone
who already knows what they’re doing. Many of my choices came from
recommendations from the Heretic’s
Guide.
- Binoculars
- Most guides recommend beginners start
with binoculars. They’re cheap, easy to use, and reveal a lot
of detail for the moon, the planets, even deep sky objects like the
Pleiades. 10x50
binoculars are the usual recommendation, something like these
Celestron binoculars for $33. I
bought the zoom version
myself and regret it; should have stayed simple. Add a tripod mount and you can see four of
Jupiter’s moons.
- Telescope
- #1 rule: never buy a telescope
from a department store or on Christmas sale. There’s
a lot of junk in the market. After a lot of research I just ordered an 8”
Dobsonian from Orion, $360 with shipping included. It’s a very
simple scope, you’re mostly paying for good optics. See the Heretic’s Guide if you want to
learn a lot more about buying scopes. He has good things to say about
this $35 scope which could make a nice
small gift.
- Books
- I’ve loved reading Nightwatch; it’s a great and inspiring
introduction for backyard stargazing. Turn
Left at Orion is also a popular recommendation.
- Mobile Software
- There’s several
amazing augmented reality iOS apps that act like
mini-planetariums. You just point the phone at the sky and
the screen shows you what’s there. I’ve been using GoSkyWatch
which at $4 was a great purchase. Star
Walk and SkySafari
are also popular.
- Desktop Software
- It’s not as fun as being
outside and looking at stars, but desktop apps are a helpful
learning tool. Stellarium
is an excellent planetarium for simulating what the sky
will look like at a particular place and time on Earth. And Celestia is a fun app that
lets you move anywhere in the universe; not so good for stargazing from
Earth, but is pretty and instructive. Both programs are free.
