Learning Stars and Constellations

The great weather continues here in the Chicago area, so I've been spending some nice evenings under the stars. As always, the light pollution, here, limits any attempt at serious deep-sky observing, though it has much less effect on planetary viewing. Still, I am a deep-sky observer at heart, so what's a girl trapped in the big city to do?

I am a person who enjoys the simple things in life and after many years on this glorious planet, I have learned that taking a step back, now and then, and going back to basics is a wonderful way to renew the soul and spirit. There are times when I enjoy nothing more than pulling out a lawn chair and looking up at the stars and constellations. I did this very thing last night and, once again, it worked it's magic. I know well over 50 stars by their names and saying hello to the ones I can see on any given night is like meeting old friends. It gives my astronomy a wonderful, personal touch.

It saddens me greatly that many beginners try to bypass this basic step in their astronomy education by insisting on a computerized telescope. I suppose it is a symptom of our contemporary "drive-up window" mentality, but I do my best to convince them that learning to navigate through the stars and constellations is not a chore, but rather a joy in itself. I tell them to buy that computerized telescope if that's what they want, but I also advise them to use the computer as a teaching tool, rather than a substitute for basic knowledge of the night sky. The goal is to be able to keep observing on that fateful night when the computer does not work Murphy's Law applies on all things electronic).

Anyone can learn celestial navigation, though, on their own. It's fun and relaxing. There are countless books at the local book store devoted to this very subject. We carry a couple here at OpticsPlanet.net. One is the Celestron Sky Maps and the other is the Meade Star Chart Guide.(Don't buy them both - they are nearly identical). If you want to go digital, you can also buy many star maps on CD, such as the Celestron CD-ROM The Sly Level 1. Lastly, every beginner should also visit the Astronomy magazine website and the Sky&Telescope magazine website for current star maps and updates on the latest in astronomy.