Learning about the night sky is easier than you think – and you don’t even need a load of fancy kit to get started
Find yourself a clear, dark night and one of the spectacular sights on Earth could be right above your head. Even so, many people can feel a little nervous about starting out in astronomy, mistakenly believing that it’s all rather complex and that you need a huge telescope to see anything worthwhile. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
There are lots of things you can view in the night sky without any equipment or an expert knowledge of celestial navigation. From meteor showers to the Milky Way arching across the sky, from glittering constellations to rarer phenomena such as the aurorae borealis, all you need to do to see many of the most beautiful sights in the night sky is look upwards.
And when it comes to kit, the first things on your shopping list shouldn’t necessarily be fancy optics, but good-quality thermals, a warm coat and a decent pair of boots to keep your feet warm. After all, you’re not going to enjoy the show if you’re feeling cold.
So if you’ve always wanted to get into stargazing but haven’t been sure where to start, let us give you a few pointers.
When to go star gazing
Unlike the vast majority of outdoor activities in the UK, stargazing is often best enjoyed through the winter months. Longer nights mean you don’t have to stay up late for the stars to come out, while cold, crisp evenings often deliver beautiful clear skies. Of course, British winters tend to be synonymous with clouds, so stargazing is not often a hobby you can plan days in advance – it’s more likely to be a case of grabbing clear sky opportunities as and when they arise.
Artificial light is also a problem that every astronomer in the UK must deal with. Light pollution – the wasteful glow that reaches into the sky from our towns and cities – often makes viewing fainter objects tricky, but if you can get away from brighter areas you’ll be able to see much more. The countryside is generally better for stargazing than towns and cities, and if you want a real stargazing treat, you can travel to one of the UK’s dedicated dark sky parks and reserves.
Boundless offer: Explore the night sky from a cosy cottage. With more than 19,000 holiday homes across the UK, you can find one that’s near a Dark Skies Site, from the South Downs to the North York Moors with cottages.com.
Navigating the night sky
Just as we use landmarks on Earth to navigate, there are plenty of characteristic patterns of stars in the sky to help you find your way. There are 88 constellations altogether, though some are more prominent than others and not all are visible from the UK.
“The constellations are really like signposts in the sky and they can help you find other things,” says Steve Warbis, host of Boundless’s online astronomy masterclass. “For example, if you follow the three stars of Orion’s belt down to the left, you come to Sirius, the brightest star visible in the sky. If you go the other way, it’ll take you to a V-shape of stars, which is the head of Taurus (the Bull).”
Other useful stellar signposts include the “W” of Cassiopeia, the giant cross of Cygnus (the Swan), and the famous “Big Dipper” of the Plough, whose two right-hand stars point the way to Polaris, the “Pole Star” that sits more-or-less directly over the north pole.
Developing even a basic head map of the heavens is a great starting point for amateur astronomers, whether you want to locate planets (which move relative to the background stars), meteor showers, nebulae, star clusters, galaxies or any of the other intriguing objects you can see in the night sky throughout the year.
What equipment do you need to star gaze?
As you become more familiar with the night sky, you may want to delve a bit deeper. There’s no need to buy a telescope right away, however.
A pair of binoculars – which you may already own – is enough to reveal the four largest moons of Jupiter, impressive surface detail on the Moon, and stars invisible to the naked eye. But when buying a pair for astronomy, it’s sensible to consider their weight. “Binoculars are heavier than you think after two or three minutes of holding them in position,” points out Charlotte Daniels, reviews editor at BBC Sky at Night Magazine.
If you do decide to make the step up to purchasing a telescope, a well-built, basic one – with good optics – will be able to show you even more of the sky, including the rings of Saturn.
These days you can also buy smart telescopes, clever, compact devices which are roughly the size of a book, connect to your phone, and use GPS to find objects in the sky, making it much easier to take photos of interstellar wonders. “They can make astro photography accessible for everyone – you can use them the minute you know how to use the app,” says Charlotte.
But beyond the optics, you’ll want to think about warm clothes (don’t forget your hat!), a lightweight camping chair or picnic blanket to sit/lie on, and a decent backpack to carry your kit. A head torch is also a wise purchase for finding your way (and checking star charts), but make sure you buy one with a red light setting to help preserve your night vision.
Boundless offer: Whether you’re after telescopes, binoculars, and head torches, or camping chairs and warm outdoor clothing, you can make use of Boundless’ Daily Discounts, offering 5.5% off at Currys, 5% off at Argos, and 4% off at B&Q.
How to get started star gazing
There’s plenty of helpful material across all types of media for new astronomers. Apps, in particular, can be a very useful aid – and many of them are free.
- Clear Outside is a weather app designed for astronomers, which will tell you about potential cloud cover, the phase of the Moon (a full Moon may limit how much you can see), and how dark the sky is likely to be around you.
- Stellarium is effectively a planetarium in your pocket, a handy tool that makes finding your observation targets a little easier.
Both are available on iOS and Android.
Podcasts are also a great place to learn – the Royal Astronomical Society’s regular Supermassive podcast, for example, provides regular updates on cutting-edge astronomical research and the science behind stargazing.
And if you want to go more traditional? There’s no shortage of brilliant books out there and magazines like BBC Sky at Night. A Planisphere – a plastic disc you can rotate to show the stars visible for a specific time and date – is a cheap and easy way to discover what’s visible on any given night.
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