40 years ago, on a cold winter night in the middle of a dark field. I had been fidgeting with my brand new $90 telescope for over half an hour trying to locate the planet Saturn. I knew approximately where it was from information in the newspaper that day but was getting frustrated trying to aim the telescope. All I had been able to see so far was thousands of unimpressive stars. Numb from the cold, I was ready to give up when during one of my final sweeps of the sky, something different appeared in the eyepiece. The excitement of discovery built as I adjusted the focus to pinpoint sharpness and was looking at a distinct tiny disc with a ring around it. Although the image showed no detail and was pathetic compared to the photos in books, I was in awe. Finding it myself and seeing that eerie ring with my own eyes brought a new reality to science. That along with being alone in the dark, somehow in my mind for a moment, science and science fiction merged. Every hair on my back stood straight up as a feeling came across me so intense, it sent tremors through my body.

In the weeks following, I would go back out looking at stars and the moon but without any understanding of where to look and what I was looking at, I quickly became bored. Nothing came close to the experience of the first night. Like thousands of other people that buy their first telescope, I gave up within a month and the telescope got stored away in the back of the closet.

30 years later I moved to a farm. I still wanted to learn more about the universe and with the dark clear skies at night it was the perfect opportunity to take up astronomy again. I bought new, more expensive equipment. This time I was determined to find a way to keep it more interesting by figuring out what made the first time I saw Saturn was so exciting.

I soon figured out what the keys to making astronomy exciting and interesting were:

• Knowing about what you will be looking at beforehand (what it is, how far away it is, how big it is, etcetera)

• Finding the object yourself

Although you would think after figuring out the keys it would be simple, it wasn’t. Reading up on objects I was going to search for was easy, finding them myself with the telescope wasn’t. At first, like before, aiming the telescope was frustrating enough to make me want to give up again. I tried different techniques and encountered problems not covered in any of the books I read. Eventually, I found a solution. What I learned on my own is vital to anyone new to astronomy that wants to have the best experience and keep from quickly losing interest.

So you know what you are getting into, here’s a complete list of equipment I consider to be essential for someone starting out:

• The Book “Night Watch” by Terence Dickinson $35.00
• A Telescope $400.00+
• An Astronomical Laser Pointer and telescope mount $60.00
• Astronomical Binoculars $100.00
• A star wheel $30.00
• A Red Flashlight $20.00
• A Scrapbook and Pencil $15.00
• Hairdryer $20.00

Step 1: For the most part, the images you will see in the telescope will be nowhere near as impressive as the photos in astronomy books but they can be much more powerful. In order for this to happen, you need to appreciate what you see by understanding what you are looking at. Before buying anything, pick up a copy of the book “Night Watch”. The book has everything you need to know about astronomy including an explanation of the universe and the best objects there are to see, along with star charts showing where to find them. It also has information on buying and using telescopes. This comprehensive book is one of the most, well written, easy to understand books I have ever read. Even if you don’t buy a telescope it makes just reading about astronomy an experience on its own.

After reading the book you will have a vital understanding of the universe, distances, and all the interesting objects there are to see. You will also know from the included star charts, what and where the best objects in each of the constellations are located. The only thing not in the book is the observing method I came up with.

Step 2: The next thing you need to do is buy a telescope. If you can, buy one with a motorized drive that keeps the object you are viewing centered in the eyepiece as the earth rotates. A corded remote control to move the motorized telescope up/down/left/right is also a big help. You can now buy affordable computerized telescopes that have all the features you need as well as the ability to move to any object in the sky with the push of a button. However, if you do buy a computerized scope do not fall into the trap of using the computer for locating objects, you will quickly become bored! Like I keep saying, for the best experience, you need to find objects yourself with charts. Finding it yourself adds excitement and a feeling of being an explorer.

To find things yourself you need to be able to aim the telescope to an exact point in the sky roughly shown on a star chart (map of the sky). Here is where the problem began for me. Because of the magnification, you can never really tell where in the sky the telescope is pointed. Most telescopes have a small magnified finder scope mounted on the main tube to help you aim. The problem is because of the optics everything in the finder scope is upside down and backward to what you see with the naked eye and what is shown on star charts. Other methods of aiming the scope are not accurate enough and because of the small field of view in the telescope eyepiece, after aiming they still require you to sweep back and forth, up and down looking for the object. You soon forget where you are in relation to where you started leading to more frustration. After months of trying to solve the problem, I came up with a much better way.

The first part of my method is nothing new. Buy an astronomical laser pointer with a mount that attaches to the main tube of the telescope. This laser pointer differs from the common ones most people are used to in that you don’t just see the dot from the beam but the entire beam itself is visible. When used outside at night, it looks like the beam of light goes from the laser pointer right to whatever celestial thing its aimed at.

After attaching the laser mount to the tube of the telescope you need to calibrate it. To do this find the brightest star you can and aim the telescope so the star is visible in the center of the telescope’s eyepiece. With the laser in the mount and turned on adjust the screws on the mount so that the laser points to the same star. When done, whatever the laser is aimed at is what is seen in the telescope eyepiece.

Step 4: Get ready to go exploring! Use the star wheel to see what constellations will be visible in the next few weeks, they change depending on the time of year and time of night. Pick a target in one of the visible constellations from the star charts in the Night Watch book, say “M51 / Whirlpool Galaxy” In the Canes Venatici constellation. Again, it is vital you do a little reading before you go out so you understand what you will be seeing.

On the next dark, clear night head outside with all the items I listed above. Open the book to the star chart you will be using. Use the red astronomical flashlight to see, red light helps to keep the pupils in your eyes open for better night vision. Look for the target again in the star chart (shown above). You see that the Whirlpool Galaxy is below and to the right of the last star in the big dipper spout. Turn on the laser (mounted and calibrated to the telescope) and aim it to that area of the sky as accurately as you can from the chart. Turn off the laser and have a look through the eyepiece of the telescope (use the lowest power eyepiece you have, it allows you to see the largest area when searching). If you happen to see it, your really lucky, aiming this way, like most, is still not very accurate and most times the telescope will still be off, but you will be in the right area.

Step 5: Here is where my method comes in. Instead of doing the back and forth sweeps that become frustrating because you forget where you started, turn the telescope laser back on. Take out the Astronomical binoculars. Using the binoculars look up in the sky and find the end of the laser. Use the binoculars to search the area around the end of the laser for your target. Because binoculars do not magnify as much as the telescope the object you are searching for will probably be very faint. It may take a while to see, the pupils in your eyes need to really open up. Eventually, you will see something, or maybe even just think you see something. When you do, while still looking through the binoculars use your other hand to move the telescope so the laser is pointing right at it (this is where it’s nice to have a telescope with a motorized drive and wired remote). Put the binoculars down, turn off the laser and look through the telescope. You should be looking at the Whirlpool Galaxy. Congratulations! you will be feeling that exciting sense of exploration and accomplishment that comes from finding it on your own! (If you didn’t see it start over again.) Now center the galaxy in the low power eyepiece than switch to a higher power eyepiece to see more detail.

Step 6: Now that you found it, take the time to really look at what you are seeing. Use the scrapbook and pencil along with the red flashlight and draw it. Try to spend at least 30 min and do as much detail as possible. It doesn’t matter if you have no drawing ability at all, by trying to draw it, you force yourself to really take the time to see the detail and absorb what you see.

One other piece of advice, sometimes in your observations, you will notice the image in the telescope isn’t sharp anymore no matter how you adjust the focus. Have a look at the lens at the end of the telescope and you will find it covered with condensation. A few minutes of using the hot air from a hairdryer will clear it right back up again. You can also stick the hairdryer under your coat to warm yourself up on cold nights.

I spent 3 years exploring the universe with my telescope and had many more incredible experiences. Although I never quite experienced a feeling as intense as the first time I saw Saturn, using this method made every night interesting and exciting.

Our planet is such an insignificant speck, floating in an incomprehensible size universe yet few people take the time to be aware of what’s out there. Taking up astronomy even for a year or two is an enlightening experience that provides an important perspective of life.

Dave Lister

listerlogic.com