Stargazing
Nov. 22, 2023 - Written by Kevin Jie
Stargazing is the act of observing the stars with nothing else but your eyes. However, there are correct and incorrect ways to do it, regardless of whether they’re enforced or not. Things such as when, where, and how stand as important factors of stargazing. Throughout this article will also be my own personal images of stargazing and what it brought. The factors mentioned before can significantly affect how well and how much you will be able to see.
While stargazing, it’s important to know that light pollution is a real thing and has visible effects on your experience. In continuation, observation should be done away from city lights and without unnecessary light sources. If you were to travel outside of the city to observe the stars, for comfortability, traveling to a flat land to lay down and observe is often a preferred option. Furthermore, there are places that you should absolutely not go to for stargazing unless you are authorized or physically capable of going to and back from that place. These places include: mountains, sides of roads or trails (especially busy ones), and other places that do not guarantee security while in a visibly dormant state.
Aside from where to stargaze, there are also many times to do it too. Stargazing at night is self-explanatory and most likely the only option you would have in order to stargaze. However, how long you would want to stay stargazing is your own choice. Often the most exciting events in eye-visible space that happen are meteor showers. Every shower will have its own designated time and date, but it's very possible to see one without preparation if you were to blankly stare into the sky for an extended period of time. The average meteor shower rate is around 15 per hour, however this rate does vary, extending to 120 an hour in some cases. With this being said, the chance of not seeing a single meteor for your stargazing time period is very low. It's recommended to stargaze for at least 1-2 hours before leaving in order to give the sky a chance and who knows what you might
Above are two photos displaying low percentage meteor showers and high percentage meteor showers in long-exposure photos.
It should be noted that objects such as binoculars and telescopes can be used to observe specific celestial structures in the sky. However use of these sight magnifying objects should be limited to 20 seconds every 1 minute at maximum in order to prevent eye damage (this effect has happened to me after overuse so don’t make the same mistakes!). Telescopes are one of the most used objects for observation of specific structures due to their accuracy and varying magnification. They waver in complexity, as more complex ones are not for the faint of heart. If you are a beginner or more casual stargazer, you might not even want a telescope, but owning one is always nice. Be sure to only stargaze from a comfortable angle, as staring upwards will not treat your neck well.
Like stated prior, these are only recommendations for correct ways to do it and not enforced. Stargazing is an action meant for casual and calm people everywhere. It presents you with an entirely new world to explore and learn from and only you will see what will come next, enjoy your observations with the stars that await you!
DISCLAIMER: photos online of the galaxy were mostly taken with professional equipment. Below are images that I took myself, however they aren’t the best photos as they were taken with my built-in iPhone camera.
Astron Original Document:
In this picture, many stars are visible. Even the arm of the Milky Way can be seen! This photo was taken in Port Aransas, Texas.
In this picture, you can see many stars and the light pollution that bleeds from the side of the photo. This picture was taken in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Stargazing
Nov. 22, 2023 - Kevin Jie
Stargazing is the act of observing the stars with nothing else but your eyes. However, there are correct and incorrect ways to do it, regardless of whether they’re enforced or not. Things such as when, where, and how stand as important factors of stargazing. Throughout this article will also be my own personal images of stargazing and what it brought. The factors mentioned before can significantly affect how well and how much you will be able to see.
While stargazing, it’s important to know that light pollution is a real thing and has visible effects on your experience. In continuation, observation should be done away from city lights and without unnecessary light sources. If you were to travel outside of the city to observe the stars, for comfortability, traveling to a flat land to lay down and observe is often a preferred option. Furthermore, there are places that you should absolutely not go to for stargazing unless you are authorized or physically capable of going to and back from that place. These places include: mountains, sides of roads or trails (especially busy ones), and other places that do not guarantee security while in a visibly dormant state.
Aside from where to stargaze, there are also many times to do it too. Stargazing at night is self-explanatory and most likely the only option you would have in order to stargaze. However, how long you would want to stay stargazing is your own choice. Often the most exciting events in eye-visible space that happen are meteor showers. Every shower will have its own designated time and date, but it's very possible to see one without preparation if you were to blankly stare into the sky for an extended period of time. The average meteor shower rate is around 15 per hour, however this rate does vary, extending to 120 an hour in some cases. With this being said, the chance of not seeing a single meteor for your stargazing time period is very low. It's recommended to stargaze for at least 1-2 hours before leaving in order to give the sky a chance and who knows what you might
Above are two photos displaying low percentage meteor showers and high percentage meteor showers in long-exposure photos.
It should be noted that objects such as binoculars and telescopes can be used to observe specific celestial structures in the sky. However use of these sight magnifying objects should be limited to 20 seconds every 1 minute at maximum in order to prevent eye damage (this effect has happened to me after overuse so don’t make the same mistakes!). Telescopes are one of the most used objects for observation of specific structures due to their accuracy and varying magnification. They waver in complexity, as more complex ones are not for the faint of heart. If you are a beginner or more casual stargazer, you might not even want a telescope, but owning one is always nice. Be sure to only stargaze from a comfortable angle, as staring upwards will not treat your neck well.
Like stated prior, these are only recommendations for correct ways to do it and not enforced. Stargazing is an action meant for casual and calm people everywhere. It presents you with an entirely new world to explore and learn from and only you will see what will come next, enjoy your observations with the stars that await you!
DISCLAIMER: photos online of the galaxy were mostly taken with professional equipment. Below are images that I took myself, however they aren’t the best photos as they were taken with my built-in iPhone camera.
Astron Original Document: