"The Stars at Night Are Big and Bright.........."

One of the reasons behind my move back to the country was the view of the sky from outside the city limits. I've always loved gazing at the stars, and the prospect of better stargazing was certainly exciting.

To share a little of this fascination with you, I present:

The Basics of Astronomy

Most people find astronomy to be a daunting hobby, picturing the need for expensive telescopes, confusing star and planetary charts, dozens of calculations for every heavenly body, and the like. But while advanced astronomy does, indeed, involve quite a bit of expense and number crunching, it's simpler forms can be enjoyed by anyone. All you really need to get started in astronomy is to have a deep and abiding love of the night sky in your heart. Everything else follows.

At the start, the only thing you'll need to pick up, at most, will be a blanket to lie down on, a small map of the constellations, a pair of binoculars, and a notebook. Most astronomers start out just lying on a sandy beach or a hilltop and looking up at the sky, gazing out at their favorite constellations. From there, they move on to studying the constellations, moon study, or to another, equally amusing hobby, that of watching out for shooting stars.

You can start out this way, and some people are actually content to restrict their astronomy hobby to this, it's simplest level. But if the astronomy bug bites you, where do you go from there? The first step I'd suggest would be to add a little something extra to your itinerary of skywatching. The moon. You can check the internet or books for scheduled changes in the moon, as these are quite an experience to watch. View the moon during her different phases, and especially at times when she's brighter than usual like at the solstice, or when she changes color like the rare but impressive lunar eclipse.

Once you want to branch out even further, you can expand your hobby in one of two ways. The first is to pick another celestial subject, like a planet or far away galaxy, and add it to your aky study itinerary. By taking this slow but steady approach, you add another something to the list until you wind up keeping an eye out for most of the major celestial figures, eventually buying a telescope for enhanced viewing.

The second approach is one you can take at any time. Astronomy, contrary to popular belief, isn't a solitary hobby for loners and contemplatives. There are actually hundreds of astronomy hobbyist groups out there. One quick way to expand your knowledge and skills in this fascinating hobby is to go out and find those other groups and join one.

These basics let you learn the ropes. Once your skills get better you'll be able to exchange ideas with your group mates as an equal. Where you go with your hobby from that point on is up to you.