Stargazing Tips
Joshua Roth, Ph.
D. www.jrothastro.com
The telescope
that will show you the most is the one you'll use most often!
· Size matters, but so do
ergonomics, mechanical stability, and portability.
· If a telescope is very expensive,
you may hesitate to use it or to share it with others.
Don't forget
dew!
· In the field, keep your eyepieces
in a case or your pockets when not in use.
· Refractors and catadioptrics (scopes
with large glass surfaces near the front end of the tube) are likely
to dew up on humid nights: buy/build a dew shield, or use a battery-powered
hair dryer.
· Laminate star charts, or put them
in see-through plastic slipcases.
Stargazing
is cool - very cool!
· If it's summer, dress for fall;
if it's fall (or spring), dress for winter.
· In spring, fall, and winter, dress
in layers and wear insulated boots, thick socks, and a good hat.
· Wool gloves without fingertips
are handy; wear polypro gloves under them if it's really cold.
Computerized
"Go To" telescopes really work!
They can save you precious time finding faint, tiny targets like galaxies;
they can track targets as the Earth rotates; and some have educational
preprogrammed sky tours. BUT ...
·Inexpensive "GoTo" units
skimp on optics and mechanics to pay for the electronics.
·Lightweight "GoTo" scopes
are easily bumped out of alignment, wasting precious time.
·Some "GoTo" scopes are
slow; some are noisy; and some drain batteries quickly.
When it comes
to telescopes ... small is beautiful!
· Portability (drive a small car? live in a third-floor apartment?
have a bad back?)
· Quick cool-down time (views are poor until your scope has matched
the outdoor temperature).
· A short focal length (less than about 750 mm) is needed to
give you a wide field of view.
Can't afford
a telescope, or don't have anywhere to store one?
· Stargaze with binoculars (two
little telescopes for less than the price of one)!
· Best specs: 7´35, 7´50,
8´40, 10´50 (magnification ´ lens aperture in millimeters)
Great resources:
· telescope.com -- reliable vendor
of good, cheap scopes & binos; educational website
· skymaps.com -- great free PDF
star charts & skywatching calendar; poster/book vendor
· www.skyviewcafe.com -- interactive
Java-based star chart - great planning tool!
· skytonight.com - cluttered but
resource-rich site of Cambridge-based Sky & Telescope
· www.cleardarksky.com -- Web site
that predicts stargazing weather and sky conditions!
· atmob.com -- Web site of greater
Boston's main astronomy club (meets monthly in Cambridge)
· NightWatch, by Terence Dickinson
-- best all-around book on the hobby and science of astronomy
· Astronomy Picture of the Day (Google
it) - beautiful and educational daily astronomy lesson!
· International Dark-Sky Association
(darksky.org) -- join now and help save the night!
