Getting Started

If you are a beginner, this page is for you. If the tables of numbers in the back of the Yearbook seem a little daunting, forget them. You don't need them (yet). Nor do you need a telescope to discover the most spectacular show nature has to offer, the night sky. You just need this book to guide you along on your voyage of discovery of the Universe.

This page will concentrate on the first part of this book, the 'Monthly Sections', for this area has the most to offer the novice.

Although the information in Part I has been calculated for Sydney, NSW (latitude 33^o 54'S, longitude 151^o 15'E) it is useful for anywhere in eastern and central Australia (some of it is common for the world). The change in the appearance of the sky between cities and towns - even across a country as vast as Australia - is not large (see also 'Effect of Latitude'). The rise/set graphs are useful since they give an approximate local time of rising and setting - no matter where you live!

Times are given in Australian Eastern Standard Time (in Part I). No adjustment has been made for daylight saving time.

Part I is designed as a quick reference section for anyone who wants a summary of tonight's sky, without having to refer to lengthy, complicated tables. Precise data, like the exact rise/set time or position (RA and Declination) of the planets is contained in Part II.

The night sky regularly puts on displays for us called conjunctions. Since the planets, including Earth, are moving round the Sun, their positions change constantly with respect to the background stars. As seen in the sky, the planets seem to pass by each other and bright stars. When a planet is near another, the Moon or a star, it's called a conjunction. When the Moon joins the scene, it's a wonderful sight.

Conjunctions can be spectacular events. An example of a good conjunction this year is the one between Moon, Saturn and Aldebaran on March 20 (see Sky View p. 35). These celestial dwellers all lie within a 5 degree circle in the NW evening twilight sky. This is simply a chance alignment of these celestial bodies. They only look close together; in space they are still separated by enormous distances. When talking distances, beyond the Earth, it is difficult to use normal scales such as metres or kilometres because the numbers would be so large. Instead, let's use the time it takes for light to travel from these objects to get a feel of the true separations. At the time of this conjunction, the light from the Moon takes a little over 1 second to reach us, Jupiter is 38 minutes, Saturn 73 minutes and Aldebaran 60 years. If you include the open star cluster, the Pleiades, we are out to 400 years. Distances in astronomy do challenge the imagination and, on the scale of the Milky Way, this cluster is just in our neighbourhood!

Conjunctions are fun to watch, free, and entertaining. The equipment needed to see conjunctions? You guessed it... nothing!

The best times to see conjunctions are shown in the Sky View diagrams (there are 4 or 5 such drawings for each month). Each Sky View shows you an area of the sky that contains a conjunction or another interesting feature. The horizon is shown at the bottom of most Sky Views along with any useful notes. At the top of each Sky View is the date you should look. Since the planets move fairly slowly in the sky, many conjunctions occur over a number of days. This means you can often see the planets and stars starting to take their 'places' days before, and then drift apart for days after the event. The Moon is the only exception. It moves quite a bit each day against the background stars. This is why the Moon's position for more than one day is sometimes shown on the same diagram. All the planets visible in a Sky View are labelled, as are the brighter stars.

To use a Sky View, simply go outside under the night sky at the time given and face the direction shown on the Sky View horizon. What you see in the Sky View will be a temporary map of the sky in front of you. Incidentally, if you don't know the directions around your house, use a street directory to show you which way is north.

There is more to the night sky than conjunctions. There are meteor showers, comets, minor planets (asteroids) and constellations. Not to mention the fascinating movements of the planets as they wander against the background stars. All are described in Part I of this book.

Part I is divided into months. At the beginning of each monthly section is a curious looking graph called a rise/set chart. This series of squiggly lines is your guide to knowing when the planets, Sun and Moon rise and set. To use the chart, simply look at the current date on the bottom of the chart and follow that line upward until it intersects the object of interest. The rise or set time of the object can now be read on the left-hand edge of the chart. For example, on January 28, The Moon and Venus set together around 9.15pm. Incidentally, when you see objects rising or setting together look for a Sky View on that date. There is a Sky View for this conjunction

Each of these monthly sections also has diagrams showing the relative size and appearance of each planet, as seen through a telescope. There is also a description of celestial happenings and highlights - kind of like a celestial movie goer's guide - and in plain English! Want to know what Venus is up to in March? The description will tell you. A diary of events is also included that summarises the month's features. To see some of these celestial events, you'll need a pair of binoculars or a telescope.

There is one piece of equipment that every sky watcher should have - a red tinted torch. Any torch will do. Simply tape some red cellophane over the end of the torch so that it gives off a dull red glow. The aim is to preserve your night vision, or 'dark adaptation'. When your eyes become used to the dark, they won't react to a red light and so you can use the charts and illustrations and still enjoy the night sky.

While on the subject of lights, make sure as many lights as possible near your observing site are turned off. The less glare around you the easier it will be to enjoy the night sky. Encourage neighbours to turn off their outside lights, too. A major modern threat to the night sky is light pollution; stray light scatters upward into the night sky where it drowns out the stars. So, the more lights we all turn off, the less light pollution, the more power we save and the less natural resources we consume. Perhaps it is time the environmentalists had a look at this. After all, it is the only form of pollution where it costs less to fix!

The Sky Views don't show all the sky. By their very nature they mostly concentrate on the ecliptic or zodiac regions of the sky i.e., where the planets and Moon wander. A good companion to this publication would be a basic star atlas or a planisphere. These will show all of the sky, but not the Sun, Moon and planets because they move. The planisphere is useful by showing at a glance all of the constellations visible at the time you are observing. Once you start to look around the sky with a planisphere, you may be pleasantly surprised how easy it is to recognise a few of the constellations. These star patterns will quickly become familiar and will soon be like old friends.

Part II of our yearbooks contains more specialised data generally designed for the more experienced enthusiast. The novice however should not miss the appendices. If you wish to pursue the hobby further, the authors strongly recommend that beginners check out the local amateur community. Learn from these experts and look through their equipment, before spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on a telescope that may not suit you or your needs. The public observatories, planetariums and courses can also be great resources. Use them.