When to buy a telescope?

2. Do I easily locate planets, star clusters and nebulae? Can I discriminate stars with minimal luminosity differences? Have I spent time looking closely at the craters on the Moon?

If your answer is NO: Then it is advisable to continue practicing with binoculars a little more. Practice slowly "scanning" areas of the sky and orienting yourself according to what you see with your eyes. Identify details of star clusters, the morphology of nebulae and the appearance of planets. Try to find faint objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye, using celestial charts. Compare the craters on the Moon with an Atlas.

If your answer is YES: Then you are ready to purchase a Telescope, a visual field instrument smaller than that of binoculars and much larger than that of the eye.

3. Should you target better-known Solar System and deep space objects? Can I move in a small field of vision and come back without getting lost? Do I have experience doing prolonged observations?

If your answer is NO: Then it is advisable that you continue practicing with the telescope, a little more. Make a database with the most interesting objects and learn to locate them. Practice observing variable stars, nebulas, galaxies and faint clusters. Travel through various objects in a constellation following "paths" of visual clues with the stars. Observe asteroids, comets and other objects that require knowing their coordinates.

If your answer is YES: Congratulations! You are on a good footing to decide to purchase a most complex telescope, O well specialized accessories for astronomical purposes, depending on the area you want to delve into.

Do not forget that this guideline is only a suggestion, and it is always up to you to determine the best time to purchase a new instrument. The purpose is that your steps as an amateur are progressive and you can get the most out of your observations. The subsections in the right column explain these and other instruments in detail, some of which may require more or less experience on your part, based on the levels described above.