Naked Eye Astronomy

One evening back at the end of 1996, my father came to home from work and said to me and my little sister "Let's go outside, I have something to show you." He took me and my sister to one small hill near to our home. From there he pointed towards the west horizon in the sky "That's it! Can you see that? It is a comet!" "A comet!" I had no idea what was comet? But that was my first look at the sky and from then I started looking upward.

I always wondered about the sky. I looked up at the huge number of stars and tried to find a constellation but get lost when I tried to connect the dots. I was eager to know about stars. Then once I found article in newspaper on current month sky with map, from that map I almost identified all major constellations of that month. Then by sky maps and star finder charts I have practiced naked eye astronomy for seven years.

Without any optical aid at all, you can observe a wide range of phenomenon in the sky. You can see the large dark areas on the Moon that are now known as to have resulted from large object crashing into it almost 4 billion years ago. So, easy are they to make out that they have given rise to legends about there being a man, or a hare in the Moon.

You can follow the nightly wondering of five of the planets, and from one place on the Earth or another you can spot the 88 constellations - the traditional star patterns. You can watch certain stars - the variables - alter in brightness over the course of days, week or months. You can see star clusters like the Pleiades in Taurus and gas clouds like Great Nebula in Orion. If the night is quit dark, the vast expanse of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, will be visible winding across the sky.

There are also artificial satellite to be seen, and showers of any meteors, If you go far enough north or south, can enjoy the fabulous fireworks display of the northern and southern lights.

When you start sky watching for the first time, it is best not to rush outdoors to begin learning the constellations as they are plotted on the star finder chart.

For beginner, the sky is a great spur of imagination. On your first night out, try connecting stars to make your own patterns and figures. Let your mind roam. It should be fun and you are unlikely to forget the position of the star in your personal constellations. By doing this, you will start sky watching in an entertaining and memorable way. And you will find the sky is really amazing with your eyes.

Amol Kate