This post will help you make and decide your first steps as an amateur astronomer.
1. Do not buy a telescope (yet).
Many people become enthusiastic about the night sky and rush into buying a telescope. Your first objective should be how to get into learning the night sky so that you get prepared for the telescope observation.
2. Instead, buy some books.
Some of the best books that anyone can buy for start are:
· The backyard astronomer's guide by Terence Dickinson
· NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe by Terence Dickinson
· Burnham's Celestial Handbook by Robert Burnham, Jr.
3. Watch some videos on youtube.
There are plenty of videos that aim to help people that want to get into astronomy. About telescopes, eyepieces and astrophotography equipment.
4. Buy a pair of binoculars.
A good pair of binoculars will allow you to observe things that are invisible to the naked eye (such as nebula and galaxies). A good pair of binoculars would be a pair of 7x50 or 10x50 (50 stands for mm and is the lens diameter and 7 and 10 are the magnification).
5. Find a local astronomy club and join them.
It costs nothing but some research on the internet to find a local astronomy club close to where you live. Joining them will allow you to ask them about guides and tips, as well as joining them in astronomical explorations, which in turn will allow you to see through various telescopes and different eyepieces.
6. Learn the night sky.
When observing the night sky, try to learn what you see and how to navigate between stars and constellations. This will allow you to locate whatever you want to see through binoculars/telescope much easier. Downloading mobile applications can also help with that.
7. Now you should be ready for a telescope.
I will be making another post about, that explains the procedure I followed.
8. Last thing is to consider astrophotography.
Astrophotography is very impressive and attractive. But consider that if you really want to get into it, you will have to have a decent budget. It costs a lot both in time and money.