Stargazing? Head For The Hills.
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I’m often asked, what’s the best piece of advice for a new telescope user, writes Dave Reneke, astronomy writer from Australasian Science Magazine. My answer is always the same – get away from the city lights!
Unless you've been living a hermit’s life on a remote mountain top for the past decade, you know light pollution is slowly white-washing the stars from view. How many of you can claim your favourite stargazing spot is as dark now as it was five years ago, let alone 10 or 20?
Depending on where you live, as little as 5km can make a big difference in the amount of light pollution. For the ordinary enthusiast like you it won’t really matter if all you want is a quick look at the Moon, but for fainter objects avoid the glare of street lights if you can.
OK, clean the scope, we’re heading outdoors again. There’s a moonless evening sky this weekend and an ideal time to go stargazing. The Moon is a form of natural light pollution. Moon glow can wash out one third of the night sky! Most of us do our viewing when there is no moon or when it’s a crescent or quarter phase. It just works better.
The best thing you can do with your telescope is to join an astronomy club. They know the night sky and will be only too happy to show you how to get the best out of your instrument. Joining a club gives you access to other people's telescopes gaining valuable hands-on experience with a lot of assorted brands and models.
Have you ever heard the saying “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight, red sky in the morning, sailor’s warning”. Is it true or just an old wives’ tale? Well, in reality it works. It’s probably a better indicator than the TV weather guy!
A red sky in the morning really is a sailor’s warning. It means bad news. A red sunrise indicates a storm system may be moving to the east. If the morning sky is a deep fiery red, it means high water content in the atmosphere. So, rain is on its way.
There! Bet you didn’t know that. It just goes to show how much truth there sometimes is in old proverbs and “old wives’ tales”. For a free 323 page e-book called “The Complete Idiots Guide To Astronomy” visit my website www.davidreneke.com