Date: October 21, 2011

Title: Stargazing 101: Help Topics for Beginners

Podcaster: Julio Vannini

Link: Personal Blog: http://ungaman.wordpress.com
Southern Gems Team page: http://www.citizensky.org/teams/southern-gems/
ANASA´s web: http://www.anasa.org.ni

Description: Today I’d like to share with you some basic guidelines and advices for those of you willing to learn how to start making your own observations of the starry night.

Bio: Julio Vannini, an amateur astronomer from Nicaragua, serving as secretary for the Nicaraguan Amateur Astronomers Society, ANASA; and member of the Southern Gems team from the Citizen Sky project. His main interest: public outreach, variable stars and the Moon.

Sponsor:This episode of “365 Days of Astronomy” has been sponsored by Chester Chua: ” To Dad, on what would be his 77th Birthday, Thank You.”

Transcript:

Hello!

Welcome to another program of the 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast series. My name is Julio Vannini,
from the Amateur Astronomers Society of Nicaragua, ANASA. Today I’d like to share with you some basic guidelines and advices for those of you willing to learn how to start making your own observations of the starry night.

Amateur astronomy is a wonderful, fantastic and fullfilling experience. Thousands of people from all countries around the World observe the Universe from their backyards or sidewalks, or build their own personal observatories. They gather around with other astronomers and schedules travels to dark sky sites and spend tens, hundreds or thousand of dollars in equipment and documentation. They take pictures and keep talking about and sharing their observations for a lifetime.

Let’s state one pretty obvious fact: the starry night is filled with thousands and thousands of wonderful things. Magazines, books and tv shows fill our minds and imagination with vivid and colorful images of planets, nebulaes and galaxies. And with all of that within our mind, one starts wishing to feel and live such experience.

But before you go to your nearest local store looking for a telescope, stop and pay close attention to the following topics.

Trust me on this: they will help you a lot.

Number 1: You already have a very good instrument to observe the Universe: Your eyes.

Although it is true that a good telescope can help you to observe hidden and remote things, nothing beats that pair of observational tools that nature has provided to you. With your own eyes you can see the whole forest instead of only a set of trees or a single tree alone. With the proper dark adaptation (some 30 to 40 minutes under total darkness), your eyes are able to discern subtles details and colors of stars, bright nebulas and the mist of the Milky Way crossing the sky.

Constellations and the motion of planets, the phases of the Moon, solar and lunar eclipses, bright comets, the passing of man-made satellites and several others events are within the reach of your eyes, which also provide a wide field of view.

Number 2: Know your place under the stars.

The best you can start with is to learn the patterns of the Constellations, wich will help you to locate and to position several hundreds of objects using binoculars and telescopes later without the aid of a computer or robotic control. Learning the sky and how to find the brightest objects will provide you with endless hours of entertainment and the satisfaction to know where things are. The location of objects such as the Orion, Trifid or Lagoon nebula will no longer be a mistery. With a little patience and practice you will be able to keep a mental track of time and when is the best time to observe a particular object.

Number 3: Start investing in your personal library.

In order to completely fulfill your learning of the sky, YOU MUST INVEST in your very own astronomy library. Star charts, catalogues, books, almanacs and multiple other publications are available to almost everyone today for mail or downloaded from the internet. A word of advice on this topic: there is no need to obtain a fancy and expensive publication in the first place. there are plenty of maps, downloadable starwheels and charts from several astronomy clubs and observatories for free from the Internet. Also a research in your public library may result in a satisfactory discovery of hidden treasures on paper. No matter if they look old.

The point here is this: you must start gathering your own material for study.

Number 4: The cheapest pencil and paper are far stronger than the most prodigious memory.

Always keep a record of your observations and findings. Believe me on this: There is no such thing as a twin night of observation. Although most of the objects seems to be fixed on the sky, there will be always tiny, little events that will make your observation night an unique experience. By keeping your own personal log, you will be recording in hard all of your experiences, good and bad that will prove an unvaluable source of first hand reference later.

Number 5: United we stand.

You are not alone. There are thousands of amateur astronomers around the globe. Chances are that at least there is a handful of observers any given night in your town, gazing at the stars. Find out if there is an astronomy club in your town or city. Look inside the schools for science groups or projects that might be open to the public. Surely enough, you will find people that might be interested in finding companions for this adventure. Amateur astronomers are sometimes closer than you think.

In case you don’t find any club, there are a lot of Citizen Science projects available on the Internet for you to enroll and start participating.

There are also observatories providing tools and projects to participate. For example, the Bellatrix Observatory in Italy runs a project known as the Virtual Telescope where you can watch online what the observatory is doing or, for a fee, take control of the telescope. They also run a series of public events in English and Italian (for free!) guided by professional astronomers such as Dr. Gianluca Masi.

Forums and boards are also a nice way to get in touch. Be sure to read the guidelines and restrictions before enrolling. Devoting a little time in searching and pondering the information and quality of the forums is A MUST. Some of them are only for seasoned observers, others for begginers. Be polite, always.

And what about start and create your own astro club? If you can’t find any grup nerby then you may try creating your own. You might be surprised of the response and help from other more seasoned amateurs around the world. Be sure to state the goals and objectives of the club, in order to avoid false expectations from other people. Organizations like Astronomers Without Borders are always in the mood for helping.

Number 6: Get your equipment.

After you have spent a time under the stars, it is time for getting your own gear. A good pair of 7×50 binoculars result a powerful tool in the hands of any astronomer that knows where to look. A telescope in the range of 3″ to 6″ are good enough for any starter. Avoid any model from eBay or any surplus online stores. Also avoid any model that promisses high power (in the order of 250x or more) when such model is a small telescope. (In order to have such magnification power you will need at least a 6″ telescope, wich is not small).

Most of those cheap telescopes are easy to identify: the tripod is weak and unstable, the optics are almost made of plastic and the boxes are full with pictures that may rival those of the Hubble Space Telescope. Avoid them at any cost.

My very own first telescope was a newtonian reflector with a 3″ primary mirror. With excel observing conditions, I’ve been able to spot galaxies within the 9th and 10th magnitudes, a very challenging and difficult achievement. That telescope was selected after a couple of months comparing and asking for information. Such telescope is now in the range of the $100 dollars. Remember that a well informed buyer becomes a smart buyer. And for buying your first telescope, you must dedicate a time for selecting the right tool.

Also, there is the option for you to build your own telescope. And that is a very interesting topic by its own right.

Well, time is up for this program. I hope that the presented ideas would be of any use for you. In the page for this podcast you will find useful links that will help you to learn more about the topics discussed today.

What are you waiting for? Begin you trip to the Universe today!

Clear skies and fair weather for you!
Bye!

Online Projects:
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Astronomers Without Borders: http://www.astronomerswithoutborders.org

Citizen Sky: http://www.citizensky.org/

Galaxy Zoo: http://www.galaxyzoo.org/

The GLOBE at Night: http://www.globe.gov/GaN/

One Star at a Time: http://onestar-awb.org/
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Astronomy tools:
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Free PDF Star Charts: http://www.midnightkite.com/starcharts.html

Free Planisphere: http://www.geocities.jp/toshimi_taki/planisphere/planisphere.htm

End of podcast:

365 Days of Astronomy
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