Humans have been looking at and learning about the night sky since the first days of ancient civilisation. Understanding the night sky allowed early humans to navigate across land and sea. It also allowed us to invent calendars and think beyond the experiences of the everyday.
The scientific study of what we see in the night sky is called astronomy. Astronomy has helped us understand that what we see in the night sky are enormous, but very distant, objects moving around in space. These include stars, comets and planets. We also now know that we live on just another one of these planets and we call it the Earth.
There is a lot we can learn and appreciate with our eyes alone. This provides an excellent starting point to learn more about astronomy.
STARS
When you look at the night sky, almost all of the shining dots you see are stars. Stars are enormous balls of gas, held together by their own gravity. A process called nuclear fusion occurs within them. Nuclear fusion releases a lot of energy in the form of heat and light.
The nearest star to us is the Sun. The light it produces is the only source of heat for the Earth’s surface. Without it, our world would be nothing more than a frozen rock. The Sun is 1.3 million times bigger than Earth and 147.23 million kilometres away.
Most stars are much further away. The nearest star after the Sun is Alpha Centauri and that is 41,300,000,000,000 kilometres away!
Stars still inspire scientists today. They are developing ways in which nuclear fusion (similar to that performed in stars) might be used on Earth as a new source of energy.
GUIDANCE FOR STARGAZING
Stargazing is best done on clear nights. Clouds and dust will obscure the stars, making them harder to see.
Stars are also harder to see if there are other sources of light, such as fires or torches. They can make it harder for your eyes to adjust to the stars’ level of brightness.
The best stargazing is done away from cities. They can produce a lot of light which is scattered by the atmosphere, making many stars invisible.
One way to help you spot faint stars is to look away from where you think the star is. Your eyes are actually more sensitive to light at the edges of your vision, meaning you will find it easier to spot stars!
It is important to remember that you should never look directly at the Sun. It is too bright. Doing so will damage your eyesight and might even blind you.
