You don’t need a telescope to see many wonderful things in the night sky. For example, five of the planets are usually easily visible to the naked eye. There are many amazing things that you can see and this guide will help you find them.

To maximize what you can see in the night sky, there are a few things you need to do in preparation. Of course, the first thing you need is a clear, cloudless night. And this includes the moon. You should try to make your observation on a moonless night; or at least the smallest sliver of moon possible. Its brightness will wash out many of the faintest and most dramatic objects in the sky. Second, you need to consider your comfort. Be sure to dress appropriately for the weather and bring extra layers of clothing if you’re watching during the cold months. The temperature late at night can be substantially lower than during the day and because watching the sky means not moving around much, you will be even colder. Bring any items that help you feel comfortable, such as a lawn chair or a reclining lawn chair so you can look up without craning your neck.

Find a place to observe that is as dark as possible. This means staying away from street lights, city lights, house lights, or any other type of light source. Ideally, you should move away from any city that is nearby. If this is not possible, try to find the darkest spot you can. Man-made light sources have an effect on the night sky by removing fainter objects and they have an effect on the eyes by causing the pupils to close. This will decrease your ability to see darker objects.

Starting to observe is the most critical time for a big reason and that is why many people don’t realize how rich the night sky really is. Your eyes take up to half an hour to fully adjust to the darkness outside. If you go out and immediately start looking for an object in the sky, you may be disappointed, but this is because your eyes have not adjusted yet! Give it some time and let your eyes fully adjust and you’ll be amazed how much more you’ll see in just half an hour.

Equipment and things to take

Get some star charts, planet maps, and reference materials and bring them outside. They will help you find various objects. But it will be dark outside, so you won’t be able to read them! And if you turn on any kind of light or flashlight, your night vision will be ruined. But there is a way to read your charts and materials without ruining your night vision. Cover your flashlight with some kind of red cellophane or tape so it only gives off a faint red glow. The reduced light will have less of an effect on your vision and your eyes are very insensitive to red light so your pupils will not dilate. You can buy flashlights with red covers online, at astronomy and optics stores, or even military surplus stores.
Suggested Materials List:

• Garden chair or reclining chair
• constellation chart
• planetary chart
• moon chart
• Lots of warm clothes
• Lantern covered with red cellophane
• Snacks and hot drinks

things to see

The first place you can start with is the moon (if it’s outside). And the best viewing will be when it’s just a half moon. This is because when it is, the sun casts light on it at a very sharp angle, and the surface features cast long shadows that make them easier to see. At full or nearly full moon, the light falls directly on the moon’s surface and casts no shadows.

The Milky Way Galaxy – Our solar system is part of a tremendous spiral galaxy called the Milky Way galaxy. You can see this galaxy as a band of diffuse light stretching across the sky. Dark skies and well-adjusted night vision are needed to see it, but it’s quite a remarkable sight. Each star and constellation map will show you where the milky way stretches across the sky.

Constellations: Finding and identifying various constellations can be a lot of fun. Each constellation represents an object, animal or historical figure; and learning the history behind them can also be a lot of fun. Identifying constellations is also the only way to go deeper and find other objects like planets and comets. They form the background in which everything moves and give you a frame of reference to find these objects. Constellation identification should be a part of every stargazing event you do.

The Planets – The planets move around quite a bit in the sky and sometimes they are too close to the position of the sun, which means they are not visible at night, but five of the planets, when in the correct position, are easily visible to the naked eye. eye. These are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. And many times these planets are the brightest objects in the sky. Check your planet charts to find their current locations. A general rule of thumb to find out if something is a star or a planet is whether it blinks or not. The stars shine and the planets don’t. So if you spot an object you think is a planet, you can watch it for several minutes to see if it flickers like other stars. If not, it is very likely that you have found a planet.

Colorful Stars: Stars aren’t all white. This is a common misunderstanding that people have. Stars come in a wide variety of bright colors and some of the most notable are bright red Betelgeuse in Orion, bright light blue Rigel in Orion, yellowish-white Altair in Aquila, and bright red Antares in Scorpio. Finding and identifying these colored stars can be a lot of fun. It can also be quite easy because some of the brightest stars in the sky are also very colorful, from white to blue to red.

Some objects of particular interest

There are two very unique objects that are very easily seen with the naked eye on a dark night in the Northern Hemisphere. These are the Andromeda Galaxy and the Hercules Nebula. They appear as tiny wisps of white smoke that look like little cotton balls. Once you start getting familiar with the constellations, you should look for these two objects. The Andromeda Galaxy is in the Andromeda constellation and the Hercules Nebula is in the Hercules constellation.

Periodic and occasional objects

The night sky is filled with many objects that come and go in different patterns. Some of them, like meteor showers, occur around the same time every year. This is when the Earth passes through clouds of space debris. You can check a meteor shower chart and plan a night or several nights to observe them. Some meteor showers can give up to 120 shooting stars every hour.

kites – These can be difficult to see because they are often very faint, but occasionally a comet will become very bright and easily visible to the naked eye.
The night sky is more than the moon and stars. It is an environment extraordinarily rich in objects of all kinds. And with a little time and dark skies, you will discover and explore many of the beautiful secrets it holds; and you can do it without a telescope. All you need is dark skies, some graphics, and a little time.