Most people think that to start in this hobby they need telescopes. So they want to buy buy the telescopes and thinking that
after they have the telescopes in hand they can start learning their way
around the sky.
Well, in my opinion that's a wrong idea.
Buying a telescope first and then start learning the sky afterward, might work
for some people. But chances are you get bored with your telescope, because
it can become really frustrating trying to locate a sky object with a telescope
if you're not familiar with the sky. It's like trying to find
this sign (*) in this text using a miscroscope.
You'll take out your scope
less and less, and finally you'll never touch it again.
Amateur Astronomy is, somehow, a different hobby than other hobbies you know. For instance, if you have a hobby of collecting paintings (no pun intended to the collectors) as long as you have money you can buy any painting you like, hang it in your room and enjoy the painting. But that's not how it works in Amateur Astronomy.
In this hobby even if you have a deep pocket and can afford any kind of telescope you want, the telescope you buy will be useless until you know your way around the sky.
Now, I'm not trying to scare you here, I just want to warn you about what might happen to you. If it doesn't happen to you, that's great. And if you already own a telescope but still having a difficult time identifying a constellation or finding a certain object, don't give up! Try to go out sometimes without your scope and learn the sky.
So, what should I do?
First of all, you have to remember that to enjoy the wonders of the heavens
you don't need a state-of-the-art equipment, like a computerized telescope that has a capability to go to any object in the sky automatically. You can enjoy the sky with your eyes only.
If you happen to live in a big city, where the sky is usually filled with
light polution at night, whenever you're out of town and have a chance to
get away from city light, try to look up to the sky at night.
Step out of your cabin or the cottage you rent and look up. You'll see
the sky filled with stars. A lot more stars than you've ever seen from your
backyard in the city.
Don't do anything, just look at those stars. And while you're looking, remember that those points of light are so far away from us, that it takes years, thousands of years for the light from those stars to travel before it reaches your eyes. Looking at the stars always makes me feel so small, makes me realized that we're nothing in this universe.
See how one star is brighter than the other and how some stars seem to gather and form a certain pattern. See how the stars vary in color, some are white, some are blue and some are red. Do nothing, just enjoy the view. Sometimes you'll see a bright light streaking across the sky, you're right it's a meteor. When you see one don't forget to make a wish :-)
Now you can start learning the sky, familiarizing yourself with the sky, still with your naked eyes of course.
In your first night out, you may realized that some stars seem to form
certain patterns or form. One of them might looks like a fishing hook and
next to it there's a teapot. Other stars formation looks like a kite. Those are asterism you see, some asterisms are named
and these are called constelations.
To learn your way around the sky you need a map, just like you need one
to learn your way around the city where you live. Without a map, you will lost. Without a map of the sky you will Lost in Space :-) There are many sky maps
available out there, but I think the first one you should get is a
planisphere. Where can you get one? Go to a bookstore or a shop specialized in amateur astronomy.
In some places, like in my country Indonesia, planispheres are only available
at plannetarium. If there's a planetarium nearby, go there. The other thing is planetarium
usually has a public library. You can become a member of the library and
borrow some books on astromnomy.
Now, with a planisphere in hand go out and start learning the sky.
David Levy in his book "The Sky A User's Guide" wrote that it is easier
for a beginner to learn the sky from a city site than from a dark site out of town.
"Hey, that contradicts what you wrote earlier!" you might say. Well, I'm sure it does not.
In my opinion, to really appreciate the night sky a first timer needs a dark sky, therefore he or she needs to go to a dark site away from the city light polution. From this site he can see more stars (and I mean MORE) than if he sees them from his backyard. The view of the sky filled with many stars from a dark site is wonderful. From your backyard in the city, you can only a small number of stars. What so great about looking at few stars from your backyard?
BUT,to learn your way around the sky (identifying constellation, or see the color differences of teach star) what David Levy said is right. Why?
Now imagine this:
Armed with a planisphere you go out of town to a dark site area where you went before.
This time you want to learn the constelation pattern. At the site, you set the
planisphere for the time of that night, you look at the planisphere and memorize
the constelation pattern there. You said to your self "Oh, this one that looks like
a kite with a tail is Orion, okay, I got it." You remember the pattern and look
up to the sky.
"Whoa, where is it? Those stars are not in this planisphere. There are more stars
up there than drawn here." Remeber that a typical planisphere will show you stars down to 5th magnitude.
Chances are you'll get confused because from a dark site you will see stars
down to 6th magnitude. A lot more stars than what can be seen from your backyard
and those "additional" stars are not drawn in the palnisphere.
It happened to me once. During New Year's Eve of 1995 me and the whole family
went to Bali. I didn't bring my telescope but I brought my binnoculars.
One night (it was January the 2nd) I left the cottage where we stayed and
walked to Sanur Beach (the cottage was on this beach) with the binnocs.
When I reached the beach I sat down, take the binnocs out of its case and looked up. What did I see? A sky filled
with stars!
It took me a minute to recognize Orion, and it took me more or less the
same time to recognize other constelations. So, I put my binnoculars back in its
case and laid down there on the beach gazing at the sky. It was a night I'll
never forget.
From my experience, I believe that what David Levy wrote is true. If you live
in a city, learn the constelations from your backyard. Spend as many night as
you can to do this. But remember, you're doing it because you love it. You're
not in a Constelation-Pattern Memorizing Marathon.
Take as much time as you need to learn the sky. It doesn't matter whether you
remember all the patterns in a week, in a month or in a year. As long as you
enjoy it.
© 1997 bob@bahana.co.id
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