FAQs
Q. Do I need a telescope to look at the night sky?
A. Not at all! Here are some things you can observe without any optical aid.
Constellations. Cconnect-the-dot star patterns are called asterisms. Examples are Orion and Scorpius. stardate.org/nightsky/constellations
Bright stars. Many easily visible stars have been, and still are used, for navigation. www.universetoday.com/45775/famous-stars/
The Moon. As the Moon orbits the Earth, it changes position in the sky and visible shape. Visit this page for more information. www.timeanddate.com/moon/phases/
Planets. The naked eye planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn look like bright stars that do not twinkle. Sometime planets move position quickly from night to night, and they are interesting to track.
Meteors. Particles from comets or asteroids enter the atmosphere fast, and make streaks.
DSOs, A few deep sky objects beyond the Solar System can be seen naked eye, if you are at a dark enough site, and no Moonlight fills the sky. These are M45 the Pleiades star cluster in Taurus, M42 the Orion Nebula, and M31 the Andromeda Galaxy, As a person becomes a more experienced observer, other DSOs can be detected with just the eyes.
Comets. Naked eye comets are rare, but they appear once or twice a decade. Here is some information. skyandtelescope.org/observing/celestial-objects-to-watch/comets/
Auroras. These are rare in Missouri, but exciting when they occur.
Satellites and aircraft. The ISS, International Space Station, often passes by, looking like a bright moving star. www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=25544
The Sun? Never ever look at the Sun without proper protection. If you don't know what that is, then don't do it. The damage caused by looking at the Sun can not be repaired by eye doctors.
Q. What can I expect to see in a telescope?
A. Nice views of sky objects can be observed with optics. But be warned, the views will not match photos found in books, magazines, or online. The eye is much more feeble than a camera at catching and holding light. Binoculars can show many deep sky objects and the Moon nicely.
3 Q. Are there any telescope stores in the St. Louis Metro area? Check out a self-survey to see what kind of optics you might want (bottom of this page).
A. Telescope stores near St. Louis? Sadly, no., there are none. Sometimes stores like Costco sell telescopes for the holidays. These tend to be low quality. For beginners wanting to buy a telescope, there are options.
Borrowing. In the St. Louis metro area, astronomy clubs have loaner telescopes for members. By becoming a member of ASEM Astronomical Society of Eastern Missouri, you can borrow one of the many scopes availble for loan. Yes, for a $50 annual fee, you can try out telescopes costing thousands of dollars.
Library Loans. Public libraries in the St. Louis metro area loan out telescopes just like books for two weeks. Contact your local library for details. You need a library card to do this and be over 18 years of age.
Buying used. There are many sites like FaceBook Marketplace and Craigs List where telescopes may be found for sale used. If you know very little about telescopes, it would help if you had someone experienced look one over for evaluation before spending money.
Buying new. Reputable astronomy vendors have been serving the observing community for many years. Buying from one of them gives you customer service and repairs that Amazon can't do. Some of these vendors are Astronomics https://www.astronomics.com/( Oklahoma), AgenaAstro agenaastro.com/ (California), B&H Photo www.bhphotovideo.com/ (New York), High Point Scientific www.highpointscientific.com/ (North Carolina), and Orion www.telescope.com/ (California). Due to COVID and global supply chain issues, stocks have been low (as of November 2021).
4. Q. What kind of telescope should I get?
A. It depends. Here are things to consider.
Age of the user and physical abilities. Some scopes can have complicated mounting mechanisms. Some are very heavy and awkward to carry. Some are very delicate and some are robust.
Budget. Scopes under $200 can have problems. The optics might be ok, but the optical tube may be on a shaky, week mount and tripod. This can make observing frustrating if a planet can't be easily sited or magnified well. Save up for something better. Or buy used.
Will viewing be done from an apartment balcony, a backyard, or a dark site in the country?
It is best to find an astronomy club like ASEM that does free public telescope viewing. You can look through a variety of instruments and ask the owners questions about the gear.
See the survey at the bottom of this page.
5. Q Is the Moon always visible at night?
A. No. The Moon orbits the Earth in what looks to be around 29 days. We can see the Moon because it reflects Sunlight. As the Moon goes through its orbit, Earthlings see different parts of the Moon illuminated and it appears in different parts of the sky. The Moon is visible in the daytime as much as at night. We just don't notice it.
6. Q. What are DSOs?
A. Deep Sky Objects. These are objects outside our Solar System. Examples are reflection and emission nebulas (large), planetary nebulas (small), open star clusters (new stars), globular clusters (old stars), supernova remnant nebulas and galaxies beyond the Milky Way.
