The journal · The real sky
Practical stargazing
Getting outside and looking up, first with no equipment, then with the right equipment.
10 articles.
Stargazing for complete beginners: your first night out
No equipment. What to bring, what to look at first, and the mistakes that ruin most first nights.
4 min read
Binoculars vs telescope: what to buy first
Binoculars first, in nearly every case. I'll say it twice.
4 min read
Light pollution maps: finding dark skies near you
Bortle 1 to Bortle 9. Most of us live at 7 or worse. An hour's drive changes everything.
4 min read
What you can see with the naked eye
Five planets, two other galaxies, about 4,500 stars. No equipment involved.
4 min read
How to find the North Star (and why it matters)
Find the Plough. Follow the Pointers. That's the whole trick, and it works from any trailhead.
4 min read
Astrophotography with just your phone
A recent phone, night mode, held dead still. The Milky Way is achievable. Saturn's rings are not.
4 min read
Why red flashlights? Dark adaptation explained
Rhodopsin takes twenty minutes to rebuild and one white torch to wreck. Red light leaves it alone.
4 min read
How to read a star chart
East and west are swapped. Once you know why, the rest makes sense.
4 min read
Star party etiquette and what to expect
The fastest way to learn, and the cheapest way to try gear before buying it.
4 min read
Choosing a beginner telescope: what matters
Aperture and mount decide everything. Magnification is the number that sells telescopes and the one that counts least.
5 min read
More in the real sky
The sky ahead · 2Sky events · 8Solar system · 9Stars · 8Deep sky and cosmology · 8Instruments and missions · 7All sections