For The Beginning Astronomer

The night sky is huge. When you look up at night, you're peering into the heart of a cosmic washing machine, where particles are constantly getting churned up, stirred up, swirled about and changed on their atomic levels. There are subatomic particles whose behavior we have yet to fully understand zipping about the empty space between the stars and planets. And even the empty space is not entirely empty. It's buzzing and humming with random particles on the quantum level that pop up for an instant and then are gone. And that empty space that isn't so empty? It's expanding and warping. It never stays the same. It always changes and so does the matter in it. There are places in the cosmos where the matter disappears and is never seen again-these are black holes, super-dense and super-dark. There are places where clouds of interstellar gases thousands of light-years wide are colliding and forming new stars and there are extra-solar planets with the capacity to support life, if only on the microbial level. And even in our own solar system, we have giant mysterious ribbons of energy just on the edge of interstellar space that astronomers can't really explain. We have moons that orbit our gas planets that may support life in the oceans beneath their icy surfaces. From the moonless, airless world of Mercury to the gaseous, bubbling, brewing cloud-world of Jupiter our solar system is replete with opportunities to learn and discover. And somewhere, far out there, 14 billion light years or more, are these things called quasars and they are quickly becoming some of the most fascinating phenomena that cosmologists and astronomers have observed. It's a lot to take in, but if you're curious enough about the night sky and what's in it you can start on a journey of cosmic discovery that will change the way you look at the world and the universe around you.

 As an astronomer I know once said, "Half of the universe is observable to you at night. You don't need a telescope. You don't need binoculars. You just have to look up." Overhead you can see half of the entire universe, and the other half is hidden just below the horizon, obstructed by the ground beneath your feet. Lucky for us that we don't live in the middle of a nebula or that our view of the universe isn't obscured by the light of a second sun. (Some planetary systems have what's known as a binary star and it's theorized that they may experience strange lengths of days and nights or may have erratic orbits) We have our own wide-angle view of the universe that is relatively unobstructed. Our planet is bathed in radiation and particles from the most fartherest reaches of our universe and even when you look up at night to watch the stars there are all kinds of weird and quirky little quantum particles that are passing through the atmosphere, through you, down through the ground and out the other side of Earth without so much as a hint that they were even there. Contrastingly, energetic particles from the Sun are passing up through the Earth and through  your feet, shooting up into the sky overhead and out into space. It's enough to give anybody the willies if they think about it too long. Human beings are exposed to the wonders of the cosmos. And it doesn't take a degree in quantum mechanics or theoretical physics to understand it all.

Basic astronomy really only requires two things:

     1. A good pair of eyes
     2. A dedicated mind

All the rest is optional, and in some cases can even get in the way of a budding astronomer. I should also add that number 1 isn't even really necessary, because there have been instances of astronomy students who are visually impaired learning astronomy anyway. So it's all about the mind, in essence. Not a strong mind, not a quick-witted mind or even a necessarily young mind. Just a dedicated one.

Anyone who wants to become a student of astronomy should consider acquiring a star-guide or a star-chart. A star wheel is also a good way to begin, but there is a practice that's even more basic than that. All a person has to do is go outside and look up. Curiosity will, sooner or later, get the best of them. Questions like "What's that bright star shining in the south?" or "Is that a planet or a star that I see moving every night?" The night sky is like a map full of symbols and characters that the casual observer may not know. That's when the star guides come in handy. With a little practice, it won't be that hard at all for an amateur astronomer to gain the necessary sky-navigation skills that will let them locate and spot most naked eye objects in the nighttime sky. All it really takes is a bit of curiosity and a thirst to learn.

After an amateur astronomer learns the language of the stars and has some basic constellations memorized, it might be a good idea to step up to getting a pair of binoculars or maybe even a telescope. The mistake a lot of beginning astronomers make-and every beginning astronomer has been guilty of it at one point or another-is getting the biggest telescope they can afford (Or, in some cases, can't really afford at all). Or, they don't research their telescope types and wind up buying a Schmidt Cassegrain telescope when they would've been happier with another reflector telescope design or even a refractor telescope , which is basically of the same design as those which Galileo used to sketch the four moons of Jupiter (commonly known as the Galilean Moons ). Ease of transport is also another consideration if the astronomer in question must travel to another location away from city lights or other obstructions in order to observe.

It's possible for an amateur astronomer to go at it on their own, but it isn't nearly as fulfilling or as enjoyable that way. There are local astronomy clubs available to beginning astronomers or even seasoned astronomers. These clubs often host star parties and other community events, which will allow astronomers, no matter what their experience, to network and to try out other types of telescopes and learn more about night sky objects that they may not have even known about. These clubs will host monthly meetings and will often provide opportunities for the club members to volunteer locally. It's a good idea to research a club before entering and most astronomy clubs will allow prospecting members to sit on a meeting or two just to get a feel for how the club is run.

It's almost impossible not to feel in awe of just how massive the night sky is overhead and what all it contains.  A lot of literature has been written on the topic of the night sky and a lot of folks have looked up at it in wonderment. While it would be difficult to say for sure what it is exactly that draws our attention to the cosmos overhead, it probably has something to do with the innate curiosity that all of us have, and perhaps-to some extent-to the imagination that resides within us all and tells us that we should strive for the stars.