Who hasn’t admired the beauty of the night sky? There is magic to the night’s majestic picture, and they way people have perceived it throughout the ages of history. Most ancient civilizations devoted a great attention to the study of the sky map and planned their lives and activities respecting the cult of the asters: cults of the sun, ritual astronomic sites, calenders and even legends and myths gravitate around constellations, stars and other celestial bodies. And all these start from the premises that Earth is a unitary element in the harmony of the universe. Modern man is no longer paying that much attention to the night sky.

Why Do We Search The Night Sky?

The night sky is presently scrutinized with other scopes in mind: we search for scientific evidence to support the theory of UFO visitation, we now admire major cosmic events through huge telescopes that get to peek in the inner life of the galaxy or we sheerly want to admire the majesty of the universe.  Even a telescope for beginners can give a person a whole new appreciation for the stars and planets.

Depending on the time of the year when one watches the night sky, different constellations are visible as the Earth orbits around the sun. The map of the night sky as we see it today was first envisaged by the Greek who actually gave the name to many of the constellations.

Where To Search The Heavens For The Best View

A major factor that prevents the proper observation of the night sky is pollution. You’d be disappointed about how little of the night sky you can see in a crowded city with all the smog blocking the view. Many people say that the mountains are the perfect place to watch the sky, where the altitude increases panorama viewing because of the rarer atmosphere. The clearer the sky, the better the visibility of the night sky. For those who take a great pleasure in astronomy, the study of the constellations with the help of various softwares and all levels of telescopes is really fun.  If you have children, why not get them involved by purchasing them a beginner telescope to peak their curiosity and provide them an appreciation for the wonders of the universe?

Are The Signs Of The Zodiac Associated With The Stars And Planets?

One other dimension of the sky night study is the creation of the personal horoscope and the study of the zodiac signs. Every sign of the zodiac corresponds to a constellation, and the study of the sun and earth moves as well as the position of the planets and the stars in the night sky influence the zodiac. This is in fact the astrological explanation why people born under the same sign share a set of similarities. All in all, the fascination the night sky has on mankind transgresses curiosity, scientific interest and mythological explanations, there is simply something more than that.

Astronomy is a popular subject.  Some are serious scientists who study it for a living, or who even teach it.  Others are regular people who enjoy it as a hobby.  Hobbyists have even made many amazing discoveries.  Even those with beginner telescopes have made a difference.  

For the longest time telescopes or at least binocular were the tools of choice.  But now thanks to astronomy software, everyone with a computer can take part in this interesting and at times exciting endeavor.  Here are some of the programs available.

Help Find Extraterrestrial Life From Home

SETI@Home home is very popular.  the point of this software was to use all the idle time on peoples home computers.  SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, scanned through space with a radio telescope seeking intelligent patterns.  Supercomputers on site were used to analyze the data.  But now it’s all being done during the spare cycles on people’s computers at home and the office.  There won’t be some kind of alert if intelligent life is found.  But people can take pride in being involved in the search for intelligence outside our home planet.

Have Fun At Home With Astronomy Software

A 3-D screen saver is another type of astronomy software.  These programs kick in when a PC is idle, and show various space objects rendered in spectacular 3D computer graphics.  This can include simple views as well as navigable planets, solar systems or other objects that the user can explore from any angle and distance.  A search engine like Google can help you locate one of these programs.  This can be a great way to get your kids interested in trying one of the kids telescopes to explore the universe.

Most people don’t know about F.I.T.S.  It’s NASA’s flexible image transport system that delivers data including 2-D and 3-D imaging.  Many programs use this standard.  These include freeware FITSview and AVIS and programs for sale like AstroArt and AIP.  A web search will find many more.  Duke’s physics website lists many more.

Useful Software For The Beginner Astronomer

Software such as Aberrator allows an amateur astronomer to view images of stars through various telescopes with aberrations in the lens.  Images seen through the telescope are compared with those shown by the software and adjustments can be made. This can be very useful if you are buying a child telescope and want to give your fledgling astronomer a helping hand.

There is a lot more astronomy software out there in the world.  Web search for it, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

The science of Astronomy is interesting and varied.  Many people get involved with it when they are very young.  Astronomy for kids is a thought provoking pursuit that can teach them about the sciences in general.  This is why selecting the right telescopes for children is so important.  If its too difficult to operate for your youngster they will become frustrated and become bored with the hobby – so choose wisely!

Kids naturally gravitate to many aspects of astronomy.  Movies like Star Wars only serve to increase this attraction.

The Moon

The moon is Earth’s only satellite.  It orbits our planet once every 27.3 days.  Being so near, it has hosted the only human footsteps on a space object other than the Earth.  The moon is important for the Earth because it causes the tides through gravitational forces between the Earth and the moon.  Because it’s close enough to see clearly with the naked eye, and viewed even better with one of the telescopes for kids, kids are often drawn to astronomy by it.

The Sun

Then there’s our sun.  The gap between our home and the sun is very large.  The distance varies between about 146 million kilometers and 152 million kilometers.  That’s because Earth’s orbit around the sun isn’t a circle, it’s an ellipse.  If there were no sun, we wouldn’t be alive.  Our light and heat comes from the sun.  Over 98% of the total stuff in our solar system is in the sun.  Talk about the big bully on the block.

The Milky Way Galaxy

We live in the Milky Way Galaxy.  Like all other galaxies it’s a collection of gas, dust, stars and planets.  Even with all this stuff to fill it, it’s mostly empty.  That means most of 3,000 light years high by 100,000 light years wide, the size of our galaxy, is empty.  Our sun is over 30,000 light years from the center of the galaxy.  The nothingness is broken up by over 100 billion stars.  In fact the galaxy takes its name from the appearance of the band of stars that shine from the main section of the galaxy.  People thought it looked like a stream of milk, so called it the Milky Way.  There are four types of galaxies – elliptical, lenticular, irregular and like the Milky Way, spiral.

Astronomy for kids and beginner telescopes is well covered online.  In fact there are so many star charts, charting programs, images, videos, and other resources that a kid would be a senior citizen before seeing all of it.