Top 20 Astronomy Tips

This video shows our top astronomy tips to help you get the best from your telescope and enhance your enjoyment of the night sky. You can explore any of the tips in more detail in a back catalogue of videos on our channel.

0:39 Love the dark
1:02 Get a red torch - see purchase links below
1:33 Dark-adapted vision
1:46 Smartphones?
2:18 Swedish Chef dress code
2:30 Setting up your telescope
3:09 Take the whole cap off
3:30 Setting up tripods
4:08 Optimising tripods
4:21 Use both eyes (a Cyclops can skip this)
4:41 Toffee apple syndrome
5:28 Temperature acclimatisation
6:05 Observing the Sun safely
7:46 Collimation
8:10 Improve focussing
9:28 Make a focus mask
11:10 The safest solar finder
12:11 Moon filter: less in more - see purchase links below
12:31 The Blue #80A - the Swiss Army knife of filters! See purchase links below
12:58 Hacks for using filters
13.27 Make deep-sky fuzzies pop
14:02 Eyepiece tray upgrade
14:31 Improve your views of the Sun
15:11 Things to do with card when you're board
15:49 Rock your scope!
16:24 Averted vision technique
17:00 Keep an observing log

Warning: Making telescope accessories out of cardboard could seriously damage other peoples wealth (Do they mean me? RJD).

Disclosures: All opinions are our own. If you click on one of the product links below and choose to make a purchase, our channel will receive a commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate/Affiliate, we earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.

RED flashlight or torch: Beware, most are vastly too bright for astronomy. Our favourite red torch, (branded Celestron or SkyWatcher) has switchable red and white light LEDs and has adjustable brightness:

To purchase in the USA
Red and white LED flashlight. https://amzn.to/3sRKSaD

To purchase in the UK
Red and white LED torch. https://amzn.to/39ffNFS

For a Moon or neutral density filter, ideal for telescopes over 100mm aperture, the Celestron and SvBony brands fit all 1.25" eyepeieces, and both have good quality glass filters:

To purchase in the USA
Celestron. https://amzn.to/3ocRsEZ
SvBony. https://amzn.to/2M2Bbpg

To purchase in the UK
Celestron. https://amzn.to/3sSV2rr
SvBony. https://amzn.to/3sVxoL2

For the "Swiss army knife" of filters, a good quality 80A blue filter, ideal for telescopes over 100mm aperture (for over 100mm see 82A filter below):

To purchase in the USA
80A blue filter. https://amzn.to/2Y4y7va

To purchase in the UK
80A blue filter. https://amzn.to/2MlGjV2

For telescopes under 100mm aperture an 82A blue would be better as it's a little less dense:

To purchase in the USA
82A blue filter. https://amzn.to/2MftYlq

To purchase in the UK
82A blue filter. https://amzn.to/2Y6UEYj

For an observing log (an old page per day diary works well - and just date pages as you go) but if you'd prefer something new and bound, we've found a few here:

To purchase in USA
https://amzn.to/2YiIE67

To purchase in UK
https://amzn.to/3omXeUL

A short note on the topic of numerical inexactitudes.
Before some of you start thrashing your keyboards to shrapnel - yes, we know there are over 30 tips not just the 20 of the title! But we thought 20 sounded so much friendlier than 34! 20 is such a flouncy-bouncy sort of number, so much more rounded, less angular and awkward than 34. And we were worried you might not be able to stomach the idea of 34 astronomy tips in one sitting! But this means we gave you 70% more than you were expecting to get in the 18 minute video! Wow, this means you got two astronomy tips per minute -- that's got to be some sort of YouTube record!

Clear skies,

A&NTV

Presented by Robert J Dalby FRAS

Produced by DB Video Services for Astronomy and Nature TV

Видео Top 20 Astronomy Tips канала Astronomy and Nature TV