Operation Manual

30
INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY
Didyouknowthatwiththenakedeye(underidealviewingconditions)itisonlypossibletosee
2000to3000stars?Withbinocularsoratelescope,thenumberisendless.Beforeyoubeginwith
observations,youshouldknowseveralthings
1. Findadark,indisturbedarea,awayfrombrightwindowsandstreetlamps.Closethecurtains
andswitchoffanyunnecessarylight.Familiariseyourselfwithyourtelescope,sothatyoucan
operateitinthedark.Astandardtorchcoveredwithredplasticishelpful.
2.Giveyoureye15-30minutesoftimetobecomeaccustomed tothedark(thisisknownas
Adjustingtothedarkness).Yourtelescopewillalsoneedtimetocooldowntothenightair.
The importantfactor,theweather,willprovide theamateurobserverwithachallenge, in
relationtoasometimeunclear,foggedeyepiece.
3. Avoidareasofthesky nearthehorizon.Turbulencesintheatmospherewillmakeprecise
observationsdifficult.Rememberthatwiththepassingoftime,objectsneartotheeastern
horizonwillrisehigherinthesky.
4. Lookafteryourtelescope. Avoidtouching thelensormirror(especially theMirror).Use a
suitablebrushforthelens,inordertoremovedust,ifnecessary,oruseamicrofibrecloth.
5.Afteruseoutdoors,temperaturedifferencesoccur.Thetelescopemustbecomeaccustomed
totheroomtemperatureagainandcondensationmustevaporate.Onlyusetheobjective
lensagain,whenthishashappened.
6. Proceedmethodically.Itisagoodideatokeepadiaryofyourobservations.Adiaryprovides
arecord,aconversationpointanditisfuntoreaditafteraperiodoftime.Rememberthat
manydiscoveries weremade byamateurs.Asupernova (arelatively rareevent)wasonce
discoveredbyanobservingpostman.
Manycometshavebeennamedaftertheiramateurdiscoverers.
Whentheeveningsungoesdowninthewesternsky,thestarsbeginplayingawonderfuldrama
onthedarkscreen.Lookingupintothenightsky,theoldRomansandGreeksspoketothestars,
allowingscopefortheirimaginations.Approximately5000yearsago,Mesopotamianshepherds
namedtheconstellations,whentheysawpicturesingroupsofstars,andcomparedthemwith
objectsandanimalsoftheGreeksandRomans.