How to Start Stargazing

I’ve always avoided stargazing because I didn’t feel like it was for me. I didn’t have an expensive telescope and I didn’t know where to look or what I was looking for.  

I recently learned that stargazing is much more approachable than I ever thought it could be.  

My coworker showed me how she could see and capture amazing images with a very basic telescope.  

Telescope set-up Photo Credit: Amanda Leith 

She borrowed a telescope from the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (but you could borrow one from your local library) and set it up outside. Now, this was not in the darkest area, in fact, it was a busy city so there were streetlights, car lights, and lights coming off homes and businesses that the stars have to compete with.

When that light radiates into the sky it reflects off of the clouds in the atmosphere and makes stars and planets more difficult to see (this is called light pollution).

I was convinced that there were just too many lights and that you could not explore the sky in a major city- but she proved me wrong. 

The moon Photo Credit: Amanda Leith 

She set up the telescope (when you do this you can watch videos on YouTube and use google to get your angles and focus just right) and peered through and was able to see some amazing things!

Now when you’re star-gazing, (with a telescope or just with the naked-eye) there are two main strategies I recommend using: “Where the heck is it?” and “What the heck is it?”.  

The “Where the heck is it?” Strategy

You know what you are looking for. You have heard where this star, planet, or other object should be located in the sky and now you adjust and look, adjust and look, adjust and look, to try to find it.  

Saturn Photo Credit: Amanda Leith 

The “What the heck is it?” Strategy

This strategy I find more fun. You to just point the telescope -or your naked-eye- anywhere in the sky and be surprised by what you see. Then, you use your curiosity (and google search results) to find out what it was you saw.

Jupiter and some of Its Moons Photo Credit: Amanda Leith 

Jupiter and some of Its Moons (Labeled) Photo Credit: Amanda Leith 

My best advice….

Start by learning how to spot a few basics. Look for asterisms (well-known groups of stars) so you can orient yourself in the night’s sky then branch out from there.

PHOTO cREDIT: tHE fARMERS aLMANAC (https://www.farmersalmanac.com/polaris-north-star-27637)

For example, if you can find the big dipper you can follow the two stars on the end of cup upwards and that line will lead you to Polaris (AKA the “North Star”), then you can remember that Polaris is the last star in the handle of the little dipper and TA-DA! You just spotted 3 major cosmic celebrities just by knowing where the big dipper is! And remember, you don’t have to be alone when learning the basics, you can watch YouTube videos on finding constellations, download a star-gazing app onto your phone, or you can always come to our “Tonight’s Sky” planetarium show at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, NH. (https://www.starhop.com/tickets)

Early astronomers didn’t have all the resources that we have today. They had to just look up and ask themselves: “I wonder what that is?”, “I wonder what that means?”, “I wonder if anyone’s ever noticed that before?”. Now, we can now stand on their shoulders (metaphorically speaking- I don’t recommend literally doing this) and explore the sky in a similar way but with more knowledge at our fingertips. 

Stargazing is something that everybody should try. It is a hobby that just requires curiosity and a tiny bit of follow through. So tonight, go outside or go to your window and get started.  

The moon Photo Credit: Amanda Leith 

Little in this world compares to just being utterly stunted by the vastness of the night sky. Looking up at the beautiful stars in New Hampshire has encouraged me to learn a little more about what’s up there. Now, I am far from an expert, but gathering a little bit of knowledge and looking at the sky each night has been a fun and meditative hobby. Take it from someone who used to be intimidated by stargazing: don’t get discouraged by not knowing everything right away. Be ok with not knowing and just exploring. Then, one day, you’ll be familiar enough to recognize and identify all kinds of awe-inspiring things!

*Note: Majority of the photos above were taken through the lens of an Orion SkyQuest XT6 Classic Dobsonian Telescope.