Meade114EQAR 3/28/07 9:52 AM Page 14
Almost all the stars you can see in the sky are part of our galaxy. A galaxy is a
12 large grouping of stars, containing millions or even billions of stars. Some
galaxies form a spiral (like our galaxy, the Milky Way) and other galaxies look more like a large football and are called elliptical galaxies. There are many galaxies that are irregularly shaped and are thought to have been pulled apart because they passed too close
You may be able to see the Andromeda galaxy and several others in your telescope. They will appear as small, fuzzy clouds. Only very large telescope will reveal spiral or elliptical details.
You will also be able to see some nebulas with your scope. Nebula means cloud. Most nebulas are clouds of gas. The two easiest to see in the Northern Hemisphere are the Orion nebula during the winter and the Triffid nebula during the summer. These are large clouds of gas in which new stars are being born. Some nebulas are the remains of stars exploding. These explosions are called supernovas.
When you become an advanced observer you can look for other types of objects such as asteroids, planetary nebula and globular clusters. And if you’re lucky, every so often a bright comet appears in the sky, presenting an unforgettable sight.
The more you learn about objects in the sky, the more you will learn to appreciate the sights you see in your telescope. Start a notebook and write down the observations you make each night. Note the time and the date.
Use a compass to make a circle, or trace around the lid of a jar. Draw what you see in your eyepiece inside the circle. The best exercise for drawing is to observe the moons of Jupiter every night or so. Try to make Jupiter and the moons approximately the same size as they look in your eyepiece. You will see that the moons are in a different position every night. As you get better at drawing, try more challenging sights, like a crater system on the moon or even a nebula.
Go your library or check out the internet for more information about astronomy. Learn about the basics: light years, orbits, star
colors, how stars and planets are formed, red shift, the big bang, what are the different kinds of nebula, what are comets, asteroids and meteors and what is a black hole. The more you learn about astronomy, the more fun, and the more rewarding your telescope will become.
SOME OBSERVING TIPS
Eyepieces: Always begin your observations using the 25mm
Fig. 10
eyepiece
barlow
Looking at or near the Sun will cause irreversable damage to your eye. Do not point this telescope at or near the Sun. Do not look through the telescope as it is moving.
