Stargazing 101: How to Enjoy the Night Sky

The transition of winter to spring not only warms our bones and give us a boost with the new life springing up around us, but it’s a great time to learn how to stargazer.

With some of the most recognizable constellations like Orion saying goodbye in the west, new ones are replacing them, including Leo the Lion, Bootes the Charioteer and the best appearance of the Big Dipper in the north.

So here are some real life tips on how to survive under the stars while learning about them.  Always remember, you are connecting with every human who has looked up on the celestial night and wondered why…no one owns the original when it comes to a star or the ancient constellations.

The practical necessities for stargazing are:

1. Star maps -- The heart of stargazing are maps of the unchanging stars and the imagined patterns they make.  You’ll need a road map to the night sky that will be a trusted friend.  Whether a wheeled planisphere (available at most nature museums or some bookstores) or charts from a library book, these tools will help you to become familiar with the constellations and bright stars that reappear for months at a time, year after year.  At www.starmaps.com, you can download and print for free a map with notes on plenty of places in the night sky to visit.  The two popular amateur magazines, Sky & Telescope and Astronomy, always have a monthly centerfold of the sky, and highlight what’s visible.  The magazines also have free websites to see their night sky reports, www.skypublishing.com and www.astronomy.com. Other fabulous resources for amateur astronomers are www.spaceweather.com, www.space.com and www.universetoday.com.

2. Red Flashlight – If you’re going to read and keep your night vision, you need a red light.  A red light is used because it doesn’t affect the eye’s sensors like white light, and you maintain a dilated pupil, allowing maximum night vision.  Use red cellophane on a regular flashlight, or paint the bulb red with fingernail polish.  And there are many battery powered lights with red filters available if you look around hardware and sporting goods.

3. Lounge chair – Oh, yeah.  You want to be comfortable.  Lying down in a comfortable lounge chair settles you in to look around the sky, sometimes concentrating on the right sight, other times the left side.  And you are able to look overhead easily and watch for faint satellites—which are more common than you may think!

4. Dress for night – The dip in night temperature creates a dew point when water in the atmosphere condenses as a liquid on everything.   Dew is the enemy of maps, binoculars and telescopes, which can get quite wet around the 2-5 am coldest part of the night. Putting your maps and gear on a table with an umbrella will keep them dry.  And you might need a light jacket, hoodie or a blanket to keep the chill of you.

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5. Computer planetarium program – It’s best to prepare for your night observing by reading your maps and looking at a desk top planetarium show of the night. The best planetarium program out there is the free Stellarium sky program.  Download it in less than 5 minutes at www.stellarium.com.  Play with all the features, in a few sessions of an hour or so you’ll have the program under your control.  You can go to any date in history—like your birthday or 2,000 years ago—and see what the night sky looked like!

6. Binoculars before a Telescope – There is a lot to see with just the naked eyes.  But adding binoculars of any kind will reveal fainter stars that might not be on basic beginner maps.  With binoculars, you can also begin to see some of the faint, fuzzy spots of light that are galaxies and nebula, as well as resolve some of the larger star clusters.  You don’t have to buy a telescope right away to enjoy the night sky, but when you do buy one, you want to get the biggest and best you can afford.

7. Snacks, beverages and the radio – Unless you’re stargazing with a friend, you’re going to get a little lonely—though neighborhood sounds will keep you alert.  A radio for music or late night talk shows will help pass the time.  And you probably will want to sip on a beverage and enjoy some snacks.  Get them on hand early in the observing so you don’t go inside and ruin your night vision.  And take periods of time walking around between lying in the lounge chair to keep you alert and your body awake.

8. Give Time some Time.   Stargazing is like an athletic event in some ways…the longer it goes on the more invigorated you get into what you’re doing. As your eyes adjust to the dark and stay that way after about 30 minutes, you start seeing the sky (as well as your night neighborhood) in ways you never imagined.  After about an hour of continuous looking around the sky, you’ve seen things like airplanes, satellites and maybe some strange lights!  And you’ve gotten used to looking at your star maps, then up at the constellations and bright stars that are your destination to find and remember. If you get two hours under your belt, well, you will find the night sky grip you.  In that amount of time, the stars you began looking at have shifted to the west and in the east there are new constellations and stars to see (maybe a planet or two) in the east.  It’s the continually changing parade of constellations and their treasures that keep you stargazing for hours.

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9. Make Notes and Photos – Keeping an observing log of your own “discoveries” is fun, and duplicates the steps all stargazers—amateur and professional—have taken in their quest for knowledge about the Universe.  And with today’s digital cameras with high sensitivity, it is easy after a little practice to photograph constellations and the Moon among the stars.

10. Read, read, and read – There is always something new being found among the stars above.  The libraries are full of great books that document the history of astronomy as well as how-to observe with and without telescopes.  And the Internet is an amazing resource for everything astronomical—just Google subjects at your heart’s desire.  And, of course, keep up weekly with what’s up in outer space by reading Stargazer MarQ!