Astronomy Hacks

Hacks 11–32

Locating and observing astronomical objects requires developing a special set of skills and practices, most of which are not intuitive. It requires a detailed knowledge of the night sky and of specialized astronomical terminology and conventions. There are things you must know and be able to do if you are to be successful.

Just finding the object you want to view can be difficult. The night sky is huge, and many astronomical objects are tiny, dim things. Even after you have found the object and verified its identity, teasing out the maximum possible amount of visible detail is very challenging.

We’ve watched many beginning observers encounter the same frustrating problems—what we call the “newbie blues”—and we’ve helped more than a few of them over the hump. All of them, particularly those who have go-to scopes, hope there are shortcuts to learning to observe. There are no shortcuts. A go-to scope is no better substitute for learning the night sky than an automatic transmission is for learning how to drive. Learning to observe is a hard-won skill, but one you can be proud of achieving.

In this chapter, we tell you what you need to learn, know, and do to locate, describe, and observe astronomical objects.