Amateur Astronomy for Beginners

Amateur Astronomy for Beginners is a six-week evening course for adults who want to take up astronomy as a hobby. It is run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich and taught by Greg Smye-Rumsby, who has worked there for close to 20 years. The course covers choosing and using telescopes, setting up and aligning them, identifying targets, planning observing sessions, how the night sky changes through the year, amateur contributions to scientific research and a brief introduction to astronomy photography. Sessions take place on Tuesday evenings from 7 to 9 pm, and attendees should ideally have access to a telescope to practise outside the course, though this is not required.