BBC Stargazing LIVE: Get started in astronomy with our tips and tricks this week
To celebrate BBC Stargazing LIVE, we’ll be giving you advice to begin your hobby in astronomy throughout this week.
Tonight at 8pm the latest series of BBC Stargazing LIVE begins on BBC Two, culminating this Thursday. It’s a great way for amateur astronomers to get started in the field, and to compliment the BBC’s show we’ll be giving you tips and tricks throughout this week to help you become an amateur astronomer. Whether you’ve just received a shiny new telescope for Christmas, or you’re rekindling an old hobby, we’ll have some great advice from our experts to help you make the most of your time observing the night sky.
There’s a treasure trove of astronomical objects brimming from near enough every degree of the 20,000 square degrees that make up the night sky above your head at any one time. Standing under a dark cloak pitted with a vast number of twinkling stars, galaxies and planets along with the occasional appearance of the Moon and satellites which navigate their way through the vast blackness on their orbit around Earth, we are almost looking out of a great dome-shaped window whose fixed constellations and stars seem to wheel from east to west as our planet pirouettes on its orbit around the Sun.
So, make the most of our fantastic vantage point in the universe and tune in to our astronomy week. Here’s hoping for some clear skies so you can enjoy the wonders that the cosmos has to offer!
Part One: Five tips and tricks for your first night of observing
Part Two: Choosing your equipment
Part Three: Understand the celestial sphere
Part Four: How to use a sky chart
Part Five: Naked eye astronomy