One of my favourite things to do on a clear night is stargaze. It is one of the most common aspects of our lives, yet never fails to be fascinating.
On any given night, given a good clear sky and a location free of too much light pollution, one can easily find the band of the Milky Way, stretching all the way across the sky, our neighbour galaxy Andromeda (or M31), various meteorites, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus (only around dusk/dawn), and of course the Moon. Occasionally it is even possible to see Mercury, although its postion as nearest planet to the Sun makes it only visible close to Sunrise/Sunset, and succeptible to being drowned out by the light of the Sun.
Observing the planets requires a favourable position in both our and the planets orbit, but a lot of the time at least one planet is visible.
Taking this fascination with the night sky further, one can observe with a telescope (or a good pair of binoculars). This then allows an observer to see even more objects, various star clusters and nebulae are faintly visible, but definately there.
The best thing to do if you get the chance to stargaze with an instrument is to study the Moon. The Lunar surface is riddled with impact craters and vast mountain ranges, many of which are clearly visible, even with a small pair of binoculars. Just scanning over the Lunar surface can make hours of fascinating observation time.
More distant than the moon, the planets offer another fantastic observation opportunity. Venus waxes and wanes as it goes along its orbit, the rings of Saturn are distinguishable, and even the four moons of Jupiter, Galileo’s very own observation, are visible.
Another thing which immensely fascinates me is Astrophotography. For this to be done best, it requires a good digital SLR camera with a long exposure on a nice clear night. I, however, lack this equipment, so am forced into taking pictures of the Moon. Still, some very good pictures can still be taken, showing the detail on the surface of the Moon.
Here’s a picture I took of the Moon with my telescope and a standard digital camera.
For better pictures, head over to Astronomy Picture of the Day.
