The best place I have ever found that addresses the question of yours is at the following link. I know many people who have used this information to get started.

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Posted by Kris, on September 11th, 2008, at 12:58 pm. #.

Telescopes come with instructions; and there are ones that will automatically find whatever you’re looking for.

But, start with binoculars. You can see the moon amazingly well, and even see Venus in it’s current crescent-shape. The rings of Saturn are detectable, but not in much detail. I couldn’t with the ones I had, but some people can even see the 4 Galilean satellites of Jupiter. It’s a good way to start, to see if you really enjoy viewing.

You should go to your local university’s website, and see if their astonomy club ever has “star parties” – they let you look through their scopes for free, and you learn tons about the sky.

Posted by quantumclaustrophobe, on September 13th, 2008, at 11:53 am. #.

What I would do is find a local astronomy club. Unless you live in a very smal town, there’s bound to be one (and maybe even then).

It’s a win-win-win situation. You can learn the basics first, before you start spending money. Probably you can get a chance to see and try the equipment of the other people in the club. And you’ll meet some people who are interested in astronomy as well.

Good luck!

Posted by crabby_blindguy, on September 16th, 2008, at 6:47 pm. #.

Just get a basic primer of astronomy first, and perhaps some star charts. When you have mastered the solar system, you can then buy a telescope and look for the planets and the features of the moon etc. Once you have exhausted that, you can think about a telescope that will allow you to at galaxies and nebulae (pretty expensive, though).
Or you can just enjoy looking at the constellations and reading about the universe wihout setting up a telescope.

Posted by henry d, on September 17th, 2008, at 1:32 am. #.

Hi I’m Starr of AskTheAstronomer

If you email me at :
I can help you get started .And don’t worry about money involved.. I can help you with that bigtime.
Let me know if you know ant constellations ..what are you interested in learning first ?

Anyone else too if you are interested.

Posted by Starr, on September 19th, 2008, at 10:59 am. #.

I’ll second the suggestion of finding a local astronomy club. That was the thing which helped me the most to get started. I’d also recommend an excellent book: NightWatch by Terence Dickinson (Firefly). This is the absolute best beginner’s astronomy book on the market. Well written and beautifully illustrated.

Posted by Geoff G, on September 22nd, 2008, at 1:26 am. #.