Tips for skywatching

If you are thinking of starting or already started your skywatching experience then we can honestly say that it will be full of excitement. Here are few tips for a better skywatching experience.

GET UP HIGH.

If you live in a city where there are bright lights even in the night time then get up as high as you can to really have a great look at the night sky, you want as much of a view of the sky as possible. Most city nowadays uses LED streetlights and those are really bad for skywatching, try avoiding them.

DON’T BUY A TELESCOPE (YET).
New star watchers are often willing to stock up on high-tech tools. After buying a telescope people often get frustrated because it is very difficult to use and the things they are seeing through the telescope does not resemble anything yet. Know the night sky first, identify a few anchor objects like planets or constellations that help you navigate the sky and then buy a telescope.

START WITH BINOCULARS INSTEAD.

They’re a good middle ground between the naked eye and the massive magnification of a telescope, and you’ll be surprised by much detail they can provide. Use your binoculars to get a close-up of the moon and its craters. They don’t have to be expensive, either.

KNOW WHEN TO LOOK.

If you are really good with handling the cold, the sky is at its best on crisp, clear winter nights when there’s no humidity in the air. Summer evenings tend to produce haze and blur the view. Generally, the best time for stargazing is when the moon is in a crescent or gibbous phase—or when it’s not present in the sky at all. When the moon is full, there’s so much light that it washes out everything else. The moon sometimes gets overlooked, but it is a great object for city dwellers who might not be able to see the more distant stars and planets through light pollution.

FIND YOUR LOCAL AMATEUR ASTRONOMER’S CLUB.

A good way to learn the skies is with other people. You likely have an amateur astronomer’s club in your area. They will probably have three things: telescopes, experts who can tell you how to use them, and access to a local observatory.

NOTICE PATTERNS AMONG THE STARS. 

Here’s how most stargazers learn constellations. They find a noticeable pattern, and then they notice another pattern nearby. They build outward, going from stars and patterns they know to new ones. Notice triangles, curves and straight lines of stars. Some of these noticeable patterns are the same ones our ancestors noticed while sitting around a campfire telling stories. Some of their stories ended up being passed down to us. Make up your own stories! Skylar is a form of folklore. It belongs to us: the folk.

BE FAITHFUL TO THE SKY

One of the great things about becoming a stargazer is that you make a lifelong friend: the sky itself. It’s a friend that lives right next door. And like any friend, the sky changes in subtle ways from day to day and year to year. So, once you start watching it, be patient. You can’t learn everything about your friend at once. Be persistent. Watch the sky a lot and watch regularly. You’ll learn by looking! And you’ll make a connection with nature that’ll last your whole life long.

Name a star for yourself or as a gift to make the skywatching experience more exciting. There is nothing more exciting than finding your own star.