If you’re new to stargazing but eager to learn, this article will guide you through the basics. You don’t need any fancy equipment to begin with. You just need to understand the visible celestial objects in the night sky and a good location to observe them. To get started, follow these four simple steps:

Find dark places and be comfortable

Before you start your stargazing journey, it is advisable to do a couple of things. First, you can go around and mark several areas that are quite dark and free of tall buildings and trees. You can either stargaze through your bedroom window, in your backyard or you can go to other places.

It’s common sense to wear comfortable attire depending on the surrounding temperature while stargazing. You also can bring along a friend or dog to accompany you, to make you feel safe. Another thing to consider if you plan to stargaze for a longer time is to bring a reclining chair. Standing too long will wear your leg out, hence stargazing won’t be enjoyable. It is also a good idea to bring along mosquito repellents.

Download a stargazing app or a starchart

Using a stargazing app is not compulsory. However, it can help you to know the direction (north, south, east, west, etc.) and show sky objects that appear in that direction at that time. You also can use a starchart which you can free download on the internet. Most stargazing apps have night mode, which would dim the screen and not distract your eyes with bright screen light.

It is very important to avoid light as much as possible. This is because your eyes take time to adapt to the darkness and see the sky objects more clearly. It is advisable to not use a torchlight or phone light to read the starchart. This is because the light is too bright. Instead, you can use a red LED headlight specifically for stargazing. Alternatively, you can wrap your torchlight mirror with red paper and fasten it with a rubber band.

Notice the bright objects

Night sky objects are divided into several categories. This includes planets, moons, stars (variable, double, etc.), constellations (star patterns), deep sky objects/messier (nebulas, galaxies, open clusters, globular clusters, and comets), and meteor showers. For a complete beginner, you can start by noticing the phase (wax and wane) of the Moon.

A couple of planets including Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn also can be seen with the naked eye. Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are too far to be seen directly without a telescope. Planet Venus also called the “Evening Star” is the brightest object in the night sky after the Moon. You can easily see it on the west horizon during sunset.

 When observing the planets, Mars appears as a star with a reddish tint. On the other hand, Saturn and Jupiter appear as yellow stars. A general rule to distinguish between stars and planets – planets appear brighter and larger but do not twinkle. In the sky, Jupiter and Saturn are located near each other, while Mars is close to Venus. Please note that the brightness of planets varies depending on their distance from Earth. The closer they are, the brighter they will appear.

Getting used to the star pattern (constellation)

If you gaze up at the night sky, you’ll notice that stars form patterns known as constellations. Asterism is a subset of constellations. It is a pattern of a group of bright stars. One example of an asterism is the “Big Dipper,” which resembles a ladle and consists of seven bright stars. It is located in the northern sky and is part of the Ursa Major constellation. Ursa Major is known as “the great bear” in Greek. Additionally, underneath the Big Dipper, you’ll find the Little Dipper, which is smaller but still resembles a ladle. The Little Dipper belongs to the Ursa Minor constellation. At the end of the Little Dipper handle lies Polaris, also known as the North Star.

Looking towards the southern sky, you will simply identify the Crux constellation. It resembles a cross and has four noticeable stars. Alongside the Crux, lies the Alpha Centauri, a triple star system. It is located at the leg of the Centaurus constellation, which depicts a centaur. Amongst the three stars, Proxima Centauri is the nearest star to us after the Sun.

Planning Ahead

There are more easily recognizable constellations, and they will show up at different times and directions in the sky. If you plan to watch particular night sky objects at a specific time, you can install Stellarium on your laptop. In this app, you can predict the time and date the object will appear in your sky.

This article gives you an overview of how to start stargazing. It can be overwhelming at first for a beginner. You can start slow and add up your knowledge as you stargaze more. You’ll not run out of options to watch because the sky is so vast. Stargazing can be a lifetime hobby for you.