How to watch the stars?

Begin to explore the sky with Meduza. Asked to write about what can be seen in the sky and how to do it. It turned out a good manual for initial astronomy. Study on health!

01 What happened?

Nothing special. Just summer is coming, the nights are getting warmer, and it's time to remind everyone that everybody can go out into the courtyard on a clear night and see the cosmos.
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02 What can be seen in the night sky?

Compared to the scale of the Universe, not much: only a small part of the Milky Way galaxy, located close to the Sun.

03 You can watch from anywhere?

Yes, but it depends on the place of observation that you can see. Large cities are poorly suited for observation, because artificial lighting makes it difficult to look. But bright stars (Sirius, Vegu, Betelgeuse) and close planets (Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) can be seen from any megalopolis. And, of course, the moon.

04 And if you go somewhere out of town?

So much better. You can see the strip of the Milky Way, to distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar constellations. It may be possible to see the furthest object visible to the naked eye — the big Andromeda galaxy, located two and a half million light years away — but it's better to go somewhere in the mountains or the desert. There electric light will not interfere at all.

05 Falling stars can be seen?

Can. They are closer to us than many other objects. You just need to remember that falling stars are, in fact, not stars, but meteors, cosmic grains of sand, burning in the upper layers of the atmosphere. When the Earth crosses the orbit of a comet, you can watch the meteor shower.

06 What else can be found in the sky?

Sometimes with the "falling star" you can confuse the falling and burning space debris, but, as a rule, its speed is two times lower than the falling stars. Similarly, in the sky one can observe the passing satellites and the International Space Station.

A very beautiful phenomenon is the northern lights. About once a decade, it “finishes” even to Moscow, for example, it was in March 2015.


Northern (Polar) Radiance in Moscow 03/17/2015

At about the same altitudes as the meteors, in the summer you can see noctilucent clouds. Such clouds consist of the finest ice crystals and are much higher than normal. They are illuminated by the Sun, which is not visible to observers from Earth at night, so that the silvery clouds look like a luminous shroud hanging in the northern part of the sky.

Every few years, bright comets fly up to the Earth, which can be observed with binoculars or with the naked eye, although it has recently been bringing more luck to the Southern Hemisphere.

07 How to distinguish a planet from a star?

By the stability of the glow. The light of a star, even bright, slightly fluctuates, flickers, from atmospheric flows. The planet shines with a more stable light due to the fact that it is closer. The best of all, the planets are visible during the so-called confrontations , when the Earth and the planet converge in the nearest points of the orbits. This opposition is called because the planet stands exactly opposite the Sun for an observer from Earth, although sometimes the maximum convergence of the planets does not coincide with the opposition. So the confrontation of Mars was May 22, 2016, and the closest meeting - May 31.

The brightest planet in the earth's sky - Venus. During the convergence of our planets, individual observers may even see it in the form of a thin sickle, although for most it will simply look like a very bright star. Jupiter is visible very well and very long before and after the confrontation, which was in early spring. Saturn is also quite bright now.

08 How to observe satellites?

Flying in space, the satellite is visible in the form of a dim, unblinking white star. If something is blinking, you most likely see the plane. A separate category of satellites - telecommunications "Iridiums". Due to the shape of its antenna, they throw bright sunbeams to Earth, which look like a slowly moving star, which appears, quickly inflames, dims and disappears. Now begins the evening time to observe the International Space Station. It looks like a very bright - brighter than any planet, except Venus - a star, white or bluish in color, which crosses the southern part of the sky.



Sometimes the ISS may disappear half way when hiding in the shadow of the Earth. If you're lucky, you can see not only the station, but also the cargo or manned ship arriving to it. Then they will look like two stars, very different in brightness, following a single course.

09 In the sky, there are billions of stars. How to learn all this and find out where to look?

Do not worry, now for this you no longer need to sit over reference books for a long time - convenient applications for computers, tablets and smartphones allow you to quickly navigate the night sky. The first step is to put the planetarium program Stellarium on your computer. It is enough to specify your city, and the program will calculate the location of the stars, planets and constellations visible in the sky at any time. The program may even show which satellites fly by, although it is sometimes mistaken. Stellarium is available in versions for tablets and smartphones. For Android, there is a good Google Sky Map application, for iOS - StarWalk . They are arranged like this: you point the camera at a part of the sky and on the screen you see it, only as a detailed map - with the names of the constellations and planets.

10 What technology is needed to observe space?

You can start with a simple 20-fold binoculars. It is quite enough to consider the satellites of Jupiter, dimly discern the tilt of the ring at Saturn in the period of confrontation and the shape of the ISS. With binoculars, you can even see from the city the Andromeda Galaxy (as a foggy cloud) or the Orion Nebula in winter. The moon through the binoculars looks great, especially against the background of clouds: you can distinguish between large craters and a rather complex structure of the surface, which is visible to the eye as a few spots.

11 And if I want to see more?

Then you will need more complex devices: astronomical binoculars on tripods, amateur telescopes. When choosing a telescope, you should not chase the size and multiplicity, if you are not going to take it out into the countryside, outside the city. When viewed from a balcony or roof, substantial air distortions will bring in warm distortions that rise from the walls of the building, so by spending a powerful telescope you can use only a small fraction of its capabilities.

12 You can also look at the sun?

Yes, but neat. To observe the Sun, either light-shielding films or special Coronado telescopes are needed. They are expensive, but only with their help you can see the solar protuberances and the structure of the solar surface. If you watch the Sun through a telescope without protection, you can lose your eyes - and ordinary sunglasses here will not help.

13 How to find out about ISS overflights, satellites and other interesting things?

Also with the help of applications. There are applications for warning about overflights of the ISS or outbreaks of the “Iridium”. Advanced users may need the website heavens-above.com - it will help to monitor the spacecraft. Thanks to these applications, some virtuosos start racing for the original frames and try to catch the ISS and other large satellites against the backdrop of the Sun or the Moon, and even planets. In the VKontakte community, “ Observational astronomy ” will always tell about upcoming interesting events in the sky: about oppositions, flying comets and asteroids, meteor showers, polar flares, rocket launches, falling pieces of space debris and much more.

14 What technology is needed to photograph the space?

For astrophotography is suitable any camera that allows you to set a long exposure. This is almost all the mirror semi-professional and professional cameras. Now even some "soap trays" can give a good picture. In addition to long exposures, you will need a fast lens - one that can collect the most light while the camera shutter is open. Choosing such a lens, you need to focus on the number after the letter f / - the smaller the number, the better the luminosity, but the more expensive the lens. Brand expensive lenses are not always required, with enough experience and diligence, you can make excellent astrophoto and Chinese Samyang.

The next important characteristic of the camera is the photosensitivity (ISO): the higher the indicator, the more details the camera sees in the dark, but the pictures are very “noisy” - with noise. Accordingly, the higher the ISO and the less “noise” - the better. Now the best ISO / noise ratio is shown by Sony and Nikon DSLRs. Of course, astrophotography requires a tripod. You can start shooting with wide-angle lenses and panoramic shots. A standard tripod and long-focus lenses allow you to shoot only very bright objects: the moon and the planets in opposition. For more complex surveys, guided mounts, start-trackers, filters, astrocameras, remote controls, and many other equipment will be required that divert costs to cosmic infinity.

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15 How to see a UFO?

Look at the sky and do not understand what you saw there. We remind you that a UFO is an unidentified flying object. Bird on the background of the night sky - UFO. A plane that is falling towards you, which is visible in the form of a bright object hanging at one point - a UFO. Venus, against which the clouds are moving - UFO. Chinese lanterns, and a new fashion for helium balloons with LEDs - UFO. And now it's time for the drones to come ... The more you take interest in the sky, follow astronomical events, compare your observations with electronic applications, and discuss with the same enthusiastic astronomers, the less UFOs will appear in the sky and the more interesting discoveries will be.