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How to Stargaze
How to Stargaze
When in view, planets will look small, but you
might be able to see a bright Venus, cloud
bands on Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, a dusty
red Mars and a blue Uranus and Neptune. The
waxing and waning of Venus should be visible
and many bright deep sky objects will fill the
eyepiece. Craters on the Moon will be clear
and numerous.
Don’t expect to see color as you do in profes-
sional photographs. Our eyes are not sensitive
enough to see color at night except for planets
and some bright stars.
Amazingly, the light you are seeing from the
Andromeda Galaxy, over 2.5 million light years
away, left there 2.5 million years ago. Yet, you
can see this light with your own eyes!
Each session with your telescope will be a
learning experience. It will get easier to use
and stellar objects will become easier to find.
Go to
www.skymaps.com
to download
The
Evening Sky Map
for the current month and
learn the night sky. Page two of the map will
describe the objects you could see with your
eyes with binoculars and other objects where
you need a telescope. Many will be too faint
to see unless you have very dark skies and
conditions are perfect…which is seldom.
Please don’t be disappointed as there are
many wonderful objects you can find without
an observatory and perfect sky conditions.
Observing the Night Sky
