How To Get the Most Out of Your Backyard
In the period from New Moon to the First Quarter phase, the Moon’s light is relatively unobtrusive and allows for constellation finding.
Tonight we’ll offer some tips to get the most out of this time.
Allow at least 5-10 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark. You’ll be amazed at how many more stars you can see in even this short amount of time. To measure the improvement, pick a star when you first go out and count how many stars you can see nearby. Most people will find that even from an urban environment you’ll still see double or more stars in the same area after only 10 minutes of adjusting.
Look higher, away from the horizon. Towards the horizon, you’re looking through more air and the compounding effects of turbulence, pollution and dispersion really start to diminish the intensity of the sky behind it.
Avoid phones, streetlights and other white light. Our eyes are very sensitive to light, and they won’t begin to adjust to the dark in the presence of any white light sources. Even worse, it will almost instantly reverse your night vision if you glance at your phone even after becoming fully adjusted, which can take up to 30 minutes. If you must check your phone, use your non-dominant eye, and set your phone on its lowest brightness, or night vision if it has it. Popular planetarium software will do this for you and tint everything red, which has a drastically less effect on night vision.
You’ll notice we’re not offering a map or chart tonight. One of the best learning experiences is to just go out armed only with curiosity. Not sure what star you’re seeing? Hopefully you’ll want to go figure it out! No chart can represent how the sky ‘feels’, and sometimes it just as important to succumb to the mystery! Let us know how it goes.
Check back each weekday @ 5:00 pm for more observing guides and science news!
Leave comments and questions on our page and feel free to reach us directly at contact@standleylakestargazing.com. As always-
Stay well, and clear skies!