Do you know of any resources for beginning astronomy?
I would like to learn anything that has to do with astronomy, space, the universe, etc. Any help you can give will be much appreciated. Thank you.
I recommend that you join your local Astronomical Society or Astronomy Club. Most will let you check out a meeting or two for free first. These clubs have fantastic people who will help you to learn about all the treasures in the night sky. They have presentations at their meetings, star parties that you can attend to share member scopes to look at the skies, They have loaner scopes, they have lending libraries with books and videos but the best thing that they can give you is a wealth of new friends who will be thrilled to teach you everything that they know.
I would highly recommend a book called "Nightwatch " written by T. Dickinson. It is the best source for beginners.
Go to the library and find some books, or, if you’re in the UK, join the Society for Popular Astronomy. There’s a small subscription fee, around £10 if you’re under 16. Even if you don’t want to join, their webpage is full of useful information. NASA have a great website and there are lots of links to picture galleries including the Hubble Space Telescope archive. See if there is an astronomy club near where you live and go along to one of their meetings. You will be warmly welcomed and you will get a chance to have a look through the telescopes that the members bring with them. Good luck in your quest, it’s a wonderful subject to learn, I hope you enjoy it!
Observing.
Get a planetarium program, like kstars, xephem, celestia or stellarium. These are free.
heavens-above.com
registration is free.
Sky and Telescope’s web site.
And sky maps. Lists of what to see each month, ordered by difficulty. Priceless. Unless "free" is a price.
I’d write much more, but they’ve come to take my crayons away. Send me mail if you want more.