How to stargaze

You don't need to buy anything to begin. Get somewhere reasonably dark, give your eyes time to adjust, and look up. Everything below is in the order most people grow into it — start at the top and add gear only when you're ready.

Protect your night vision

Protect your night vision: give your eyes 20–40 minutes to adapt to the dark (the NPS figure). A bright phone screen wrecks it instantly — a dim red flashlight beats a bright phone even in 'night mode.'

Start with your eyes

Start with your eyes. Find the Big Dipper, then follow it to Polaris; spot Orion and the Orion Nebula in winter, or the Summer Triangle and the Milky Way in summer. Watch for the ISS — a bright, steady 'star' gliding silently across the sky (a free app tells you when) — and satellite trains.

Add binoculars

Add binoculars. A 7x50 or 10x50 pair is the best first instrument: the moon's craters, Jupiter's moons, the Pleiades, Milky Way star-clouds, and the Andromeda Galaxy, 2.5 million light-years away.

A telescope, when you're ready

A telescope, when you're ready. A Dobsonian (a simple reflector) gives the most view for the money — aperture (the width of the mirror) matters more than magnification. Skip the cheap '600x' department-store scopes, let the telescope cool to the outside temperature, and look through other people's scopes at a star party before you buy.

The smartest move before buying a scope is to look through a few at a star party — clubs around the state hold them, and seeing the difference between a $100 scope and a good one through the same eyepiece will save you money and frustration.

Use a chart or an app

Use a chart or an app — the free Stellarium, or a paper planisphere — plus a clear-sky forecast.

Get comfortable

Get comfortable: a reclining chair or blanket, warm layers (it gets cold and dew sets in), bug spray, water and snacks, and your red light.

Try astrophotography

Astrophotography: you can catch the Milky Way or a meteor with a phone on a tripod, or a camera with a wide lens and a 15–30-second exposure. Deep-sky imaging needs a tracking mount — learn from the clubs' astrophotography groups.