When can you call yourself an astronomer? Someone once told
me that I couldn’t call myself a palaeontologist because I wasn’t a research
fellow at a university. It’s this kind of attitude that puts people off. Mary
Anning wasn’t a professional scientist but without her the science of Palaeontology
probably wouldn’t be where it is today.
It’s the same with Astronomy. Think of the most famous
astronomer you can and one person is sure to spring to mind – the late Sir
Patrick Moore. He didn’t even have a degree in the subject and was, his whole
life, basically an amateur. And yet his maps of the moon were used by NASA for
the Apollo missions. That’s how far you can go without being a “Proper”
scientist.
So anyone who takes the time to go and look up at the sky would count, in my book, as an astronomer. This is a blog for anyone looking to get in to the wonderful world of amateur astronomy.
It’s written by an amateur, for other amateurs, and because the vast majority
of the population live in a city, every wonder of the night sky that I’m going
to share with you is visible from London, just about the worst place to be an
amateur astronomer. If you live in the country, like where I grew up, then feel
free to play along – your views will be more stonking without those nasty
sodium lamps.
The idea is you play along at home. Starting from January 1st,
each week I’m going to tell you about a different object in the night sky. Your
challenge is to then go and observe it, and to help you I’ll give you
directions, maps, tips and lots of love and encouragement. It’ll take about a
half hour of your time a week.
You won’t need a telescope to see many of them either – there’s
lots to see with the naked eye, even under the sodium lamps. A pair of
binoculars, no matter how small, will enhance the experience no end. And, of
course, if you want to really get
into the hobby, then you’re going to want a telescope. They’re not essential,
they take practise to use, but they’re also great fun once you get the hang of
it. Oh, and you’re going to have to leave the house for this…
For now though, what equipment do you need to be an
astronomer? Here are a few essentials:
- Eyes – glasses are useful if you need them.
- Binoculars – the next step up, they’ll help magnify things and open up a whole new ball-park of objects.
- Telescope – not actually essential, but once you start delving into the universe you’ll end up wanting several.
- Warm clothing – gloves, hat, scarf, coat etc. The best time of year for astronomy is in the winter. Even in the summer you have to wrap up warm.
- Thermals, thick socks and thick boots – how to stay toasty warm while standing out in the cold – thick boots will stop your heat leaking into the ground.
- Flask – there’s nothing like a cup of coffee on tap to warm up.
- Torch – If you go somewhere dark, a red torch is a boon because the red light doesn’t mess up your night vision. There are lots of reasons why this is the case which I won’t go in to now. A standard torch is fine if you’re in the city because the street lighting will have dazzled you anyway. To make your torch red, secure a sweet wrapper to the front of your torch with an elastic band.
Most of these things you’ll have already but next time, in
the run up to Christmas, I’m going to try to clear up the wonderful world of
telescopes and that all important question, “Which telescope should I buy?”
