Stargazing is a pastime that can entertain anyone from children to amateur astronomers and everyone in-between. But with so much out there, how do we even begin to find what we’re looking for, and what are we looking for anyway?
Here’s a beginner’s guide to stargazing, the tools you need and the resources you can use to get the most out of the beautiful night sky!
How to go stargazing
Find the right spot
Driving out of the city and into the countryside can make a massive difference in the quality of your stargazing! The further away you are from light pollution, the better, so here are a few places you can expect to find a darker night sky.
State parks and national parks are generally a good rule of thumb when it comes to escaping nearby and immediate light pollution, but there’s still a chance you’ll run into a bright night sky if the parks are close to a city or populated area. Even if your park is near a city, it’s likely that it will have the least light of anywhere around it. Just make sure to check whether you’re allowed to enter the park after dark or if you need to book a campsite.
If you’re able to drive further away from a town or city, then there are far more options to choose from. Most national forests are open to the public, making it easy to find a quiet clearing along a dirt road that will offer more solitude and darkness than most rural areas. If it’s safe to do so, you can also pull over on the side of a country road and watch the stars from the car, but only if you can do it without trespassing or impeding traffic.
You can use tools like this Dark Sky Finder or this Light Pollution Map to find the darkest spots around! If you can connect with any local astronomy clubs, then they are likely to have some good spots to try out, too.
Bring supplies
Stargazing is the type of activity that can draw you in for hours, so make sure to bring the right type of supplies to keep you happy!
Here’s a good list to start with:
- Warm clothes. Make sure to check the weather!
- Sneakers or boots. It makes walking in the dark a little easier.
- Bug spray. The last thing you want is a mosquito ruining your view of the Milky Way.
- Pillows and blankets. You’ll be lying on the ground, so get comfy!
- Binoculars. It doesn’t have to be super fancy, what you already have will be fine!
- Compass (optional). If you have one that’s not on your phone, bring that one!
- A red-light flashlight. (optional). This will help you see where to go without ruining your night vision.
- Star charts (optional). Printed ones are best, as electronic ones can ruin your night vision.
Research the weather
The stars are always there, but a partly-cloudy sky can block your view of all of them in a heartbeat.
The best conditions in which to stargaze are the ones where there is no cloud cover, no moon and, obviously, no lingering sunlight. Winter months will also create a darker night sky, but it’s not necessary.
Check for these four things before you plan your stargazing strip:
- The times for the sunset and sunrise.
- The times for moonrise and moonset.
- The phase of the moon.
- The weather.
A full, bright moon will make it harder to see the stars, so find the sweet spot where the sun has been set for a few hours already and the moon is not in the sky. If this sweet spot is around 1-2 a.m., then you’ll get the best stargazing conditions; the sky is always darkest a few hours before dawn.
Identifying celestial objects
Once you’ve got all your supplies, researched all the conditions and set up your ideal stargazing spot, the fun can really begin!
A truly dark night sky can reveal so much that it’s seemingly impossible to take it all in. And, in reality, that’s true! Some people spend all their lives looking into the vast expanse of space and still have yet to experience all the universe has to offer, but there are a few things we know to look out for that are sure to make each stargazing experience a magnificent one!
Your most valuable tool will be a star map or star chart of some sort. These maps will tell you what constellations will be visible, what planets will be in view and even what meteor showers you can expect to see. Some of these maps are so powerful that they can tell you exactly what the night sky will look like down to the very minute.
Stargazing apps:
Darkness is the key to seeing as much as possible, so avoid screens as much as possible while stargazing. If you can, print out some star charts so that you can use them as a reference, rather than opening an app every time.
Celestial objects to look at
The Milky Way
If the sky is dark enough, you’ll see a distinct band of stars stretching across the sky. This is the Milky Way, our galaxy, seen from within the disk. It’s about one-hundred thousand light years across and contains over 400 billion stars, one of which is our sun. It’s so massive, it’s so extraordinary and it’s so, so much bigger than we can comprehend. And, on a dark night, you can see this edge of our galaxy stretching out into the darkened universe.
You could spend your whole life looking at it and never grow tired of the sight.
The Moon
Yeah, the moon! We see it every night, but have you ever spent a good chunk of time really examining the craters, canyons and crevasses that dot our beloved lunar neighbor?
Planets
You may not be able to see the planets’ surfaces through binoculars, but you can certainly pick them out among the stars! Stars tend to shimmer because their faint, distant light wobbles as it passes through Earth’s atmosphere, whereas planets are bigger and closer in comparison. Venus is usually the first “star” in the sky, appearing around sunset and not too far away from where the sun sets.
Constellations
Humans have been using the stars for navigation, religion and even farming for thousands of years, and constellations are how they did it!
The Big Dipper (known as Ursa Major) points to the North Star, which helped sailors navigate oceans for centuries. The zodiac constellations are an important part of astrological belief systems and served as an ecliptic coordinate system for navigation.
Here are some popular constellations to start with!
- Orion
- Ursa Major
- Cassiopeia
- Draco
- Pegasus
- Andromeda
- Pleiades
Here is a more complete list of major constellations you can find!
Nebulas, galaxies, star clusters and more
Some of the coolest celestial objects to spot are star clusters, other galaxies or nebulae. Thousands of light years away and larger than we can ever hope to comprehend, these massive night-time wonders are truly sights to behold. They are harder to see because they are much, much farther away than most stars, but with the right conditions and a decent set of binoculars (or a small telescope), you may be able to glimpse some of these deep-sky objects!
Look for these next time you’re out:
Have fun!
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Featured photo courtesy Pixabay/Pexels
Second photo courtesy Pixabay/myersalex216
Colleen Ford is a South African who now lives on Oahu in Hawai'i. She loves to travel, camp, spearfish and hike. She's also part of a super cool canoe club and is pretty decent at it. Colleen enjoys Star Wars and also not being cold ever.
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