Skygazing challenges

I wrote the other day about city stargazing and general skygazing. That article got some nice responses from people who sometimes battle light pollution in their night skies. It’s a problem in many places on Earth. However, unless you are stuck in the middle of downtown “Big City”, there’s usually at least something you can observe. Light pollution isn’t the only challenge, as one of my correspondents pointed out.

Safety is also a challenge in some places. Obviously, wherever you gaze from has to offer a safe environment. I’m not just talking about safety from other people, however. Some sites offer physical challenges such as wild animals or terrain. Some years ago, I did some observing at a friend’s house high in the Rockies. Our biggest challenge (after the Denver Nebula) was the chance of stumbling across a foraging bear in the darkness. Of course, the bears are often more afraid of us. However, in the spring, when they’re hungry, they’ll take a chance on anything to get a bite to eat. Not that they eat stargazers, but we get in their way, sometimes.

I remember once going to the Grand Canyon and doing some night-time stargazing from a canyon overlook. There wasn’t a railing or anything to protect someone from going over the edge. Actually, I’m surprised more people don’t get hurt wandering around in the dark there. Then again, many areas along the rim are now “well-lit”. So there’s less chance of falling off a cliff (and, unfortunately, seeing a completely dark sky).

Other Skygazing Challenges

Beyond important issues of safety, sometimes the biggest challenge to effective stargazing isn’t a bright light or a hungry ursinid. For beginners, it’s often a lack of knowledge of what to look at in the sky.

One advantage that city stargazing has: is that it blocks out a lot of dimmer objects. It allows only the brightest to shine through. So, you know before you go out that you’re only going to see the eye-grabbers. Luckily, those appear prominent in most star maps and charts. The planets and Moon are good examples. You can’t miss those bright objects, especially the Moon. And, you can do lunar exploration with good binoculars and a relatively small and inexpensive telescope (on a good mount). I know skygazers who are so taken with the Moon that it is their main “go to” object. And, it’s out in the daytime during part of the month, so that gives you extra time to explore its features.

Planets are much farther away. They also present the same challenge to both city and country stargazers: getting a good-enough view that you can make out features. For Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, that does require a decent telescope. I’ve seen some remarkable views of Saturn, for example, from New York’s Central Park area, even with bright lights nearby. And, I remember seeing Comet Hale-Bopp from a brightly lit pier in Boston in 1997. So, some things are doable, even from the city.

Regardless of what you want to see, it is really helpful to do a little “ground school” before you head out. Learn to read star charts, check out the pages of the astronomy-related magazines for charts and stargazing directions. There’s a wealth of information that pops up if you search on “stargazing” or “what’s up in the sky?” That advance prep pays off under the starry (and often light-polluted) sky in the evenings or early mornings.

Just Do Skygazing

Another key to effective stargazing, no matter where you are, is to figure out what you really want to spend time chasing down. If it’s the Moon, you’ve got a wealth of treasures to check out. Planets provide a bit more of a challenge, and even if you live in a light-pollution jungle, you can still check them out.

Yes, getting equipment is challenging, too. It’s expensive. And, in these days of unemployment and COVID-19-related job losses, getting that telescope or binoculars you dreamed of may be a deferred pleasure. But, maybe a local astronomy club would welcome you as a “guerilla gazer”, by sharing views through their telescopes. It’s worth checking out. And, when planetariums and science centers re-open up, their “public nights” will again provide a nice view of the sky.

Unless you’re facing really awful weather where you live, now’s a great time to take up stargazing. Or, if you’ve stopped, it’s time to resume it. . Skygazing provides perspective. It gets you out of the house and off to another realm. If you share it with someone (a lover, a child, a parent, a friend), that simply doubles the enjoyment. Try it!

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