Categories: Astronomy

How To Be a Frugal Astronomer

These are tough economic times for almost everyone, including those of us interested in doing a little backyard astronomy. Even if you’re a casual astronomer or have never done much observing, gazing at the stars might be just the remedy you need to take your mind off any financial woes. Brian Ventrudo, the editor over at One-Minute Astronomer has put together a list of 25 tips and resources that are almost entirely free to help you enjoy astronomy on a tight budget. It’s a great list (it includes a tip to read Universe Today!), so check out Brian’s article, and while you’re there you should subscribe to his newsletter, too.

More about the One-Minute Astronomer…

I’ve subscribe to the One-Minute Astronomer for awhile now, but didn’t know much about the background of the site. So I emailed Brian, and he told me that he developed the website and newsletter to fill a niche where people interested in astronomy can get short easy-to-read articles that help them learn more about astronomy and get more out of their hobby. “A lot of beginners and near-beginners get frustrated after a while and sometimes get information overload,”Brian said, “So my site helps them through by giving useful (usually!) advice and information.”

The One-Minute Astronomer sends out two emails each week to subscribers, and as the name implies, it only takes a minute to read his great advice. That minute is a great “investment” for your interest in astronomy (to continue the economic thread here…!)

About the 25 tips for being a frugal astronomer article Brian said, “Many of my subscribers ask where they can find good free information, so I thought I’d put it all in one place for them. And it’s timely with all the nastiness going on with the economy and markets.”

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004, and has published over 6,000 articles on space exploration, astronomy, science and technology. She is the author of two books: "Eight Years to the Moon: the History of the Apollo Missions," (2019) which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible; and "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" (2016) tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond. Follow Nancy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Nancy_A and and Instagram at and https://www.instagram.com/nancyatkinson_ut/

Recent Posts

Dinkinesh's Moonlet is Only 2-3 Million Years Old

Last November, NASA's Lucy mission conducted a flyby of the asteroid Dinkinish, one of the…

2 hours ago

The Universe Could Be Filled With Ultralight Black Holes That Can't Die

Steven Hawking famously calculated that black holes should evaporate, converting into particles and energy over…

8 hours ago

Starlink on Mars? NASA Is Paying SpaceX to Look Into the Idea

NASA has given the go-ahead for SpaceX to work out a plan to adapt its…

22 hours ago

Did You Hear Webb Found Life on an Exoplanet? Not so Fast…

The JWST is astronomers' best tool for probing exoplanet atmospheres. Its capable instruments can dissect…

1 day ago

Vera Rubin’s Primary Mirror Gets its First Reflective Coating

First light for the Vera Rubin Observatory (VRO) is quickly approaching and the telescope is…

1 day ago

Two Stars in a Binary System are Very Different. It's Because There Used to be Three

A beautiful nebula in the southern hemisphere with a binary star at it's center seems…

2 days ago