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Here’s the good news: You can take pictures of astronomical objects. Photography is rewarding but time-consuming Many amateurs use adjustable chairs sold specifically for observing. I find that when I am seated comfortably at the eyepiece, I spend more time observing (and see a great deal more) than I do while standing. The one my late observing buddy Jeff Medkeff labeled the “monkey squat” is pretty hard on the back and requires keeping all kinds of muscles tense to hold your eye at the eyepiece. In particular, I see many observers who use various gyrations while looking through an eyepiece. It will also drop the brightness of the Sun to a viewable level.Ĭomfort means a lot more than just staying warm during the winter.
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A good solar filter - many retailers sell such accessories - will not transmit harmful ultraviolet or infrared radiation. Be sure to get a filter that fits correctly over the front end of your telescope. Put safety first by using a filter, and even a small scope will deliver high-quality views.Īfter several years of quiescence, when few sunspots appeared across its face, our nearby star has begun offering observers lots to see again.
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The Sun beckons beginning observers because it’s big, bright, and full of features that change daily. Night isn’t the only time you can sky watch. The last point includes how generally clear the sky is and how steady the air is.ĥ.
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Some things to consider are how light-polluted the location is, the driving distance, how portable your telescope is, safety (do you get cell phone service?), and weather factors. To see faint, diffuse objects like nebulae and galaxies, however, you’ll need a dark site. If you’ll be content with the Sun, the Moon, planets, and double stars, pretty much any location will do. Except for where you’ll find the planets, such texts don’t go out of date. Your public library and bookshops offer many observing guides. “ The Sky this Month” is an up-to-date guide to the current sky. In each issue, Astronomy magazine features a combination of science- and hobby-related articles. If you haven’t heard of them - for example, Lacerta and Serpens - there’s probably a good reason why. Start with just a couple per season: Taurus the Bull and Orion the Hunter in winter Scorpius the Scorpion and Cygnus the Swan in summer and so on. You’ll want to know the Moon’s phase because its light can prevent you from seeing faint objects.įinally, become familiar with bright seasonal constellations. When you again spot the thin crescent low in the west, roughly 30 days have passed.
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Each night thereafter, it appears to grow and move eastward until Full Moon, after which its lit part shrinks to invisibility. The Moon first becomes visible as a thin crescent low in the western evening sky. Two sky coordinates exist: Right ascension is like earthly longitude, and declination mimics latitude. It has a north pole, an equator, and a south pole. Next, learn why the sky is the celestial sphere. The first motion causes sky objects to move from east to west, and the second causes different constellations to appear in each season’s sky. And I mean general: Earth rotates once a day and orbits the Sun once each year.
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