Stargazing Guy

… at the beginning.

Stargazing is a gateway to astronomy and astronomy is one of the few sciences that remains open to the amateur or citizen scientist – where real science can be conducted.

For example, BOSS (more accurately, Backyard Observatory Supernova Search) are an amateur collaboration of 6 friends from Australia and New Zealand who have worked together as a group since mid-2008 to search, discover, record, and report new supernovae in the southern sky.

When I last checked they were credited with discovering 194 supernovae – for professional astronomers and their resources to investigate further.

Another example is the UK Meteor Network. This is a network of over 200 detection cameras recording meteors and fireballs over the United Kingdom.

“UK Meteor Network played a crucial part in a successful recovery of the historic Winchcombe meteorite.”

Dr. A. King – Natural History Museum London

Anyone can buy a meteor detection camera and be part of the network – subject to availability.

Click here for an example of a bright fireball seen from Hampshire on Tuesday 4 April 2023 (22:36).

Not forgetting the movie fantasy world (where you are the hero) and discovering earth-shattering comets and asteroids – Deep Impact and Armageddon for example.

I can’t promise instant discoveries but I can give you a start, with some stargazing tips and help you appreicate what the eye can see – and what it means.

A good example of what you can observe – as a guide against expectations – can be see below. These are a few photos of 2026’s total solar eclipse (taken from Santa Ponsa, Mallorca):

… and this is a professional’s version (sorry, no credit available):

A lot of material on the web and social media is from professionals with amazing hardware and software – so, manage your expectations.

Seeing an astronomical event in real-life with your own eyes more than makes up for the average photos you could take. My advice, take a handful of photos and then sit back, relax and take in the natural awe-inspiring beauty of the Cosmos!

If you want to take the next step and have a deeper insight into what you can see at night – click below my free stargazing guide – Ten stargazing tips for beginners.

PS: I love coffee. BuyMeACoffee, leave a message with a date and time and we can share it, remotely, at the same time, and think about the Cosmos.

In the meantime, take care of yourself and if you can, someone else, too, because as Adam Smith said, “we naturally desire not only to be loved but to be lovely”.