Stars, the moon, asteroids, comets and up to five of the nine planets may be seen in the night sky, depending on the time of the month and location of viewing. Astronomy and stargazing around the world is very popular and it is easy to view the night sky with a telescope or binoculars.
Binoculars for Stargazing
Viewing the night sky with a good pair of binoculars is a good starting point. They are very easy to use for sweeping the night sky. Binoculars are available in a variety of sizes and types. They are described by a numerical rating. The first number is the optical magnification and the second number is the aperture (diameter) of the light-collecting lenses.
What Size Binoculars for Observing the Night Sky
A Binocular size of 7 x 35 means an object will appear 7 times larger than with the naked eye. The 35 relates to the size of the larger lenses. A pair of 7 x 35 or 7 x 50 will both have the same magnifying power. Although, the 7 x 50 will collect more light and therefore fainter stars may be viewed. Higher magnification binoculars show objects with greater clarity but with the smaller viewing field it may be more difficult to isolate smaller targets.
Telescopes for Stargazing
To view other aspects of the night sky, including craters on the moon, a telescope will be required. There are many varieties and sizes available. The eyepiece is the lens that magnifies the image for viewing. Most telescopes have interchangeable eyepieces, allowing for different magnification. The lower the power of the eyepiece, the higher the field of view will be.
What Size Telescope for Exploring the Night Sky
A lens of 25x means objects can be viewed 25 times larger than with the naked eye. 25x and 50x eyepieces are great places to start viewing the night sky. The whole universe is moving, therefore pinpointing an object in the whole night sky with a 200x eyepiece can be difficult to begin with.
Using a Telescope
Telescopes are usually mounted on a stand or tripod to keep them steady and allow easy adjustment to track objects. There are generally two ways which a telescope is mounted. An alt-azimuth mount can swivel up and down and side to side; adjustment of both axes is required to compensate for rotation of the earth. An equatorial mount moves on a polar axis only, but firstly needs to be aligned with the Celestial North or Celestial South pole before each viewing session.
What to See While Stargazing
Computer software is sometimes supplied with a telescope, helping with locating and identifying objects in the sky. The night sky is alive with activity and many objects can be closely viewed with inexpensive equipment. Exploring astronomy and the night sky is done by hundreds of people around the world. Just step outside and look up to get started.
Related Article:
- Astronomy, Viewing the Night Sky and Stargazing
- The Earths Moon Lights the Night Sky
- The Planet of Saturn
- Jupiter is a Giant Planet in the Night Sky
Sources:
- Maran, Stephen P, PhD, Astronomy for Dummies, Wiley Publishing, inc., 2005
- Birch, Robin, The Australian Skies, MacMillan Education Australia Pty Ltd, 1999
Toni Walters - I am a Day Trader and like to trade the forex markets around the world. I enjoy reading, sewing and writing short articles for local ...
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