Welcome to Visual Astronomy
or
Astronomical Observing
Based mainly on observation with binoculars

The way way to proceed in becoming an amateur astronomer consist to start on the right foot and progress gradually as the interest persist.

As any hobby, you will need to equip yourself with a minimum of references.  You already have a Planisphere, very well,  but this tool is used solely to help in orienting yourself in the night sky. 

A Moon map

All beginners should be equipped with a good Moon map of the visible face.  This will help you in exploring the Moon and be able to recognize its reliefs, in its phase evolution.

A sky Atlas or a Planetarium Software

If your interest grow you will need eventually to get a good sky atlas for the epoch 2000, for a cost of about 20$ to 80$.  Or a good software will do.

Skyglobe for DOS
If you have a limited budget, I recommend the book "Peterson Field Guides - Stars
and Planets".  In it there are reduced detailed maps of the sky.  

But because it contains a lot of information on astronomy, i suggest the book: "NORTON 2000.0 Star Atlas and Reference Handbook".  Beside details map of the sky, showing stars to magnitude 6.5, all visible in binoculars, you have a detailed map of the Moon and Mars.  A list of recommendations  for objects to look at is also included.

Graphical Almanac

This leaf is edited annually and his a graphical representation of planets position and certain objects. Time of rise and set of Sun and the total net time for observation each night of the year.

This sheet is available each year in the January issue of Sky & Telescope.

Books on astronomy

Touring the Universe through Binoculars by Philip S. Harrington.

This book contain for each constellation, all objects that are accessible with binoculars.   though many objects need a real dark sky and about a 11 x 80 binoculars.

There is a chapter on the observation of the and the planets.

Atlas of the Moon byAntonin Rukl

This is a nice book which contains hand drawned details maps of the moon.

Specialized Softwares

Today many very good specialized software are available to do astronomy with a computer.  I will only stated a few that are for an IBM compatible computer.

ECU (Windows)       http://www.nova-astro.com/

A very good low price planetarium for all version of Windows.  This is a shareware, and the author has made available a new CD-Rom version that contains the Hubble star catalogues.

This software is very precise to simulate far back in time celestial events.

GUIDE 7 (DOS and Windows)   http://www.projectpluto.com/

There exit a lot of astronomy programs. You have to navigate on the internet to find others.

Next chapter, The Moon, the Sun and the Spring and Summer Constellations

Preceding chapter, Tools for observing Binoculars, Telescope)

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Last update February 2th., 2008.