So you're interested in space and you're bored of watching documentaries on Nat Geo or the Discovery Channel. And you want something to do during the power cuts. Don't panic, here's our beginner's guide to astronomy.
So, shall we take that telescope?
Not so fast! That's one misconception that many people have. You don't need to have a telescope to begin astronomy. I'm not kidding. The sky is a calendar and there is so much you can learn with just limited tools! Once you're familiar with spotting basics objects like planets, Orion nebula and constellations, you can buy binoculars and telescopes. if you have a good budget, go for buying good quality "reflective" telescopes.
Now what?
There's tons of stuff that you can see with your eyes - satellites, planets like Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn; the ISS (the international space station), the Pleiades star cluster (a...cluster of stars, duh), meteors and even the Orion Nebula (A collection of gas visible to the naked eye) . Stellarium is a good software that will help you find these objects () If you have an android, download Google sky map.
Start out getting familiar with the sky. First try to notice a very prominent constellation like Ursa Major or Orion the Hunter. You'll realize that most constellations barely resemble what they're supposed to represent :/ After that, it should be easy to spot the other objects using relative positions.
www.heavens-above.com will help you to spot satellites and the ISS, just make sure you set the home location to Trichy or Wherever You Live Town. Many 'iridium flares' - bright reflections from a certain type of satellite - would be visible during the evening, it is quite fun to watch them swimming slowly across the sky. Once you have registered and entered your location, you can click the links for iridium flares and the ISS to see when they are visible.
Cool machi! What's next?
Just have an open mind. Remember, we're all amateurs here when it comes to the Universe. Expand your knowledge and try to understand what the stuff really means and absorb all the vastness and beauty. As the astronomer Carl Sagan once said, "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." His book and TV series, Cosmos is also a must watch, along with practically anything by Neil DeGrasse Tyson.The Bad astronomy blog is a good place to check out recent developments in astronomy.
Glossary:
Magnitude: Scale used to measure brightness of celestial objects. It's a log scale, like the pH scale. Bizzarely, the lower the magnitude, the brighter the object is. Venus, the third brightest in the sky has a magnitude of about -4 or thereabouts, whereas a star with mag 5.5 is just visible to the naked eye. Stars with higher magnitudes are dim and can only be seen through telescopes or other devices.
Altitude: Angle of elevation in the sky, with ground level at 0 and zenith at 90 degrees. the Pole Star's alt is about 10 degrees in Trichy.
Azimuth: The direction of the object, with north at zero, east at 90, south-east at 135 degrees and so on.
Have a good journey!
So, shall we take that telescope?
Not so fast! That's one misconception that many people have. You don't need to have a telescope to begin astronomy. I'm not kidding. The sky is a calendar and there is so much you can learn with just limited tools! Once you're familiar with spotting basics objects like planets, Orion nebula and constellations, you can buy binoculars and telescopes. if you have a good budget, go for buying good quality "reflective" telescopes.
Now what?
There's tons of stuff that you can see with your eyes - satellites, planets like Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn; the ISS (the international space station), the Pleiades star cluster (a...cluster of stars, duh), meteors and even the Orion Nebula (A collection of gas visible to the naked eye) . Stellarium is a good software that will help you find these objects () If you have an android, download Google sky map.
Start out getting familiar with the sky. First try to notice a very prominent constellation like Ursa Major or Orion the Hunter. You'll realize that most constellations barely resemble what they're supposed to represent :/ After that, it should be easy to spot the other objects using relative positions.
www.heavens-above.com will help you to spot satellites and the ISS, just make sure you set the home location to Trichy or Wherever You Live Town. Many 'iridium flares' - bright reflections from a certain type of satellite - would be visible during the evening, it is quite fun to watch them swimming slowly across the sky. Once you have registered and entered your location, you can click the links for iridium flares and the ISS to see when they are visible.
Cool machi! What's next?
Just have an open mind. Remember, we're all amateurs here when it comes to the Universe. Expand your knowledge and try to understand what the stuff really means and absorb all the vastness and beauty. As the astronomer Carl Sagan once said, "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." His book and TV series, Cosmos is also a must watch, along with practically anything by Neil DeGrasse Tyson.The Bad astronomy blog is a good place to check out recent developments in astronomy.
Glossary:
Magnitude: Scale used to measure brightness of celestial objects. It's a log scale, like the pH scale. Bizzarely, the lower the magnitude, the brighter the object is. Venus, the third brightest in the sky has a magnitude of about -4 or thereabouts, whereas a star with mag 5.5 is just visible to the naked eye. Stars with higher magnitudes are dim and can only be seen through telescopes or other devices.
Altitude: Angle of elevation in the sky, with ground level at 0 and zenith at 90 degrees. the Pole Star's alt is about 10 degrees in Trichy.
Azimuth: The direction of the object, with north at zero, east at 90, south-east at 135 degrees and so on.
Have a good journey!
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