What should I look for?

[grahamsutt12]

I've always really been interested with space and the universe ever since the thrid grade when I learned about it, but now, being almost 20, I really wanna take an active interest in it.

I really want to learn the night sky, not just stare at it and see only stars and wonder. So I have a few questions:

First of all, I live in a quieter part of the city and my house borders a golf course which I have axis to at night. I'll just walk out on the fairway as far from the lights as possible and my visuals actually get a little better. First question, is this a good environment to learn easy-to-spot stars and constellations? Obviously, I know there's better places, I just want to know if it's sufficient.

Secondly, what should I try looking for? I printed out a star chart from SkyMaps.com (great website in my opinion by the way) and I thought I would try finding the biggest stars first and learning about each one individually as I study it. I'm starting with binoculars so that I have a wider view of what I'm looking at so I can learn where and how to find stars/constellations, before I buy a telescope.

So just refreshing:

1. Is a golf course a good place to get away from light pollution without having to drive miles?

2. What stars/constellations should I start off trying to find through binoculars?

[brianb]

The golf course sounds like it's ideal ... assuming you're not likely to get descended on by greenskeepers who think you're creating extra bunkers ...

Do you have a local astro society? If so, join it - it's the best money you're likely to spend - you will find people who already know their way around, and, to a beginner, that's a big help.

BTW you don't need binoculars to identify the major constellations; and the ones which have only faint stars aren't worth "learning" anyway .... still binoculars are an excellent introduction to the brighter deep sky objects.

[Breakintheclouds]

You might consider downloading the free program Stellarium, which gives you a realistic-looking planetarium on your computer. This can present you with any level of detail and really helps you learn the constellations, and how the sky 'moves' over the course of a night and over the course of a year. You can also zoom in and out to get closer looks at interesting objects.

You might also visit your local library and see if they have any astronomy books. And most astronomy magazines have monthly guides to the sights that are currently best. Many of these magazines specifically consider people who are viewing with binoculars.

[grahamsutt12]

I checked my area to see if they have any local astronomy clubs of some sort, but I haven't stumbled accross any yet. I should probably keep searching, probably more in the greater part of the city. I'd love to get some real live advice and help from real people, too.

Oh, and I have Stellarium already actually! Downloaded it the other day and I've viewed it frequently and learned to use it properly. What a great program!

[themos]

Some friends with iPhones have been able to put Stellarium-like apps on them with the added bonus that the display "knows" which way you are pointing the device and paints the appropriate part of the sky as you move the iPhone around.

[Robert Watson]

Welcome to SGL

Pick up a pair of bio's and just go out there you'll be very pleased at what you 'll be able to see, I'm just a beginner the only constellation i knew was orion and it's agood start. You will soon pick up a few more . Every month i buy the sky at night mag from my local newsagent a free CD come's with it and it's full of good stuff for beginners so happy viewing.

Rob

[Timm65]

Well first off i don't like you being 20 lol, at 45 i've just helped my mum board her loft out and feel like i've had 10 rounds with Tyson. Oh to be 20 again.

Back to your question.

Don't do what I did would be a good start. I fell into the deep end! (ok dived in, its what i do) I was younger back then, about 17. Any how, always had an interest, always looking up. So I made a trip to the library and got all the BIG books (no inter-web back then) Turned 10 pages and took the books back. It was like Everest, i could never get on top of it! Spent the next ????? years still looking up, but all blank like, not knowing, just wondering.

The desire never left me so last year I checked the internet and got some shallow end books. WOW astronomy is a big subject it really is EVERYTHING so very rewarding.

So my limited advice is, don't get overwhelmed with complex information. Keep ya feet on the bottom till you can doggy paddle, then before you know it, ya getting that brick off the bottom of swimming pool (do they still teach life saving)

Stick with it because

1) It really is the subject of everything, so the most rewarding.

2) The chicks will love it when you can point to the sky and tell the story about whats up there, time and distances. (this is optional, you could just make it up and hope they don't know better, but you will sleep better telling the trueth)

3) The Astro people you meet are going to welcome you with open arms, they are extra strength good people, like friends for life good and not what you would exspect.

4) If you really want to play (PLAY?) It's competetive, who has seen what, who taken the best photo and who's got the bigger/biggest equipement.

5-100) There are lots of reasons, its late. Perhaps someone else can list some reasons.

Last but not least, may not work for you but it is working for me.

Learn about the major! sky sights/objects. What they are, what they do, they're universal function, how far away in time and distance. Before you see them get an understanding of what they are and what role they play, so when you do see them it means something rarher than just an image.

Don't go to far afield to soon, our solar system is something else, full of great things. Go through the post and you will see that saturn is one of the all time greats.

Use this site, don't just ask, but go search, see what others have asked.

So enjoy

Cheers

Tim

Ps. I bet ya got all ya own hair, dam you! 20 indeed!

[pvaz]

As Tim said astronomy can be complex when you try to take it all in. But it can also be simple if you take 1 step at a time.

The simplest way I can think of is to get your binos and download this map every month:

Skymaps.com - Publication Quality Sky Maps & Star Charts

Along with the map you get a list of objects to see through binos. Find them then read a bit about them on the internet. Locate the closest bright starts to the object 1st, then starhop to them. This way you'll get iniciated in a very smooth and practical way.

Browsing this site, seeing other people's questions and the answers is also a smooth way to learn things.

[grahamsutt12]

Well first off i don't like you being 20 lol, at 45 i've just helped my mum board her loft out and feel like i've had 10 rounds with Tyson. Oh to be 20 again.

Back to your question.

Don't do what I did would be a good start. I fell into the deep end! (ok dived in, its what i do) I was younger back then, about 17. Any how, always had an interest, always looking up. So I made a trip to the library and got all the BIG books (no inter-web back then) Turned 10 pages and took the books back. It was like Everest, i could never get on top of it! Spent the next ????? years still looking up, but all blank like, not knowing, just wondering.

The desire never left me so last year I checked the internet and got some shallow end books. WOW astronomy is a big subject it really is EVERYTHING so very rewarding.

So my limited advice is, don't get overwhelmed with complex information. Keep ya feet on the bottom till you can doggy paddle, then before you know it, ya getting that brick off the bottom of swimming pool (do they still teach life saving)

Stick with it because

1) It really is the subject of everything, so the most rewarding.

2) The chicks will love it when you can point to the sky and tell the story about whats up there, time and distances. (this is optional, you could just make it up and hope they don't know better, but you will sleep better telling the trueth)

3) The Astro people you meet are going to welcome you with open arms, they are extra strength good people, like friends for life good and not what you would exspect.

4) If you really want to play (PLAY?) It's competetive, who has seen what, who taken the best photo and who's got the bigger/biggest equipement.

5-100) There are lots of reasons, its late. Perhaps someone else can list some reasons.

Last but not least, may not work for you but it is working for me.

Learn about the major! sky sights/objects. What they are, what they do, they're universal function, how far away in time and distance. Before you see them get an understanding of what they are and what role they play, so when you do see them it means something rarher than just an image.

Don't go to far afield to soon, our solar system is something else, full of great things. Go through the post and you will see that saturn is one of the all time greats.

Use this site, don't just ask, but go search, see what others have asked.

So enjoy

Cheers

Tim

Ps. I bet ya got all ya own hair, dam you! 20 indeed!

Thanks a lot! I laughed through most of this, I found you very funny as well as realistic with your experience. And the 2nd point you made about getting girls made me literally LOL.

Thanks to everyone for the advice in fact, it's coming very handy. I have been going out with checklists every time I observe so that I have an order and objective of things to look for. My first night of observing was a complete success. The binoculars were a bit fuzzy, but that's cause they're old most likely. They still were good enough to get an enhanced visual of things. I learned and found twice as much that night than I had planned to discover! I know all the major stars in the winter night sky and where they are located, all with the help of those star charts I printed and the use of Stellarium, as well as my own eyes and binoculars. I was very interested in the thoughts in my head of Mars and Sirius. The idea that maybe one day I could be looking up from our blue world and seeing Mars and someone looking up from their red world and seeing our planet makes me want to live another 200 years. As well as the closeness of Sirius and our possibility of ever being able to achieve light travel, we'd only be 8 years away. The thoughts fascinate me. I enjoy staring up at the night sky even more now, now that I can spot different stars and constellations and other things in the sky. I want to give it more time to learn and evaluate before I say I think I have found something I would really like to put my future into, just to ensure a decision.

Again, thanks everyone who helped!

[EA2007]

Hey dude,

I'm 24, so good to know there's plenty of younger folks wanting to take an interest.

Erm, two good questions, here's my reply from my own experiences:

1) Golf courses, public parks, fields, hills, backgardens, car parks......all of these are acceptable *providing* you aren't near any light sources. Light pollution is a killer if your wanting a good view of the night sky.

Most people think 'oh astronomy, well you can see a few stars but thats it...where can you see the Milky Way etc?'....if you live in a town or city then thats all you will expect to see. However, if you find yourself a nice quiet spot out of all the lights even if its in your backyard then you'll be amazed at what you can see.

I live in England, so Teesside (20 miles away) is about the most annoying light polluter on a grand scale, however more locally I have two streetlights shining into my garden, but if I look straight up on a clear summer night I can clearly make out the milky way, its all about finding that 'sweet-spot' of darkness in the light. Your golf course sounds pretty good!

Top tips for finding a good place to view is a) somewhere not affected by too much heat dissipation (i.e. houses and buildings give off vast amounts of heat in the winter and in summer after a hot day, so this makes the atmosphere nearby wobble with all the thermal vents) this can be a real pain especially when using a telescope. somewhere away from lights. c) somewhere away from roads. d) somewhere away from airports, And finally e) somewhere away from chavs, charvers, townies or old people (they love lights).

2) Invest in the internet, its a wealth of information, also if like the others have said above, you have a mobile phone or iPhone, download a planetarium suite, most people go for Stellarium, but I quite like Voyager 4.5 from Carina Software. Both should see you right. You can also get quite a lot for your pc, most of its even free!

Like you say, I would start off with the easy stuff like the largest stars, learn their names and their colours (some appear bright white, others more red or even blue) use your naked eye first as using bino's and telescopes isn't the most important thing when your starting off. Once you learn a few stars you'll notice many of them form Constellations, from this you may even learn how the constellations are connected mythologically etc.

The most important thing I can say to you is, learn it at your own pace, take your own edge on it and enjoy it, it will come to you! From the stars you will learn about the stuff further on like all those galaxies, nebulae, clusters etc that make up the depths of a constellation. You might even be able to make a few of them out in a real dark place such as the Andromeda Galaxy, the Beehive Cluster and the Pleiades.

Enjoy.

[BobinKy]

1. Is a golf course a good place to get away from light pollution without having to drive miles?

2. What stars/constellations should I start off trying to find through binoculars?

A golf course is a good place.

Begin with the constellations Taurus and Orion. But be quick, their season will soon be over. Next, study the constellations of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Then scan the Milky Way, north to south, spending lots of time in the summer constellations of Scorpius and Sagittarius. Cygnus, the Swan, directly overhead in the summer months is also a fun place to observe. And you will do flips on the golf course the first time you observe the Andromedia Galaxy (M31).

Enjoy.