Are you new to astronomy but don’t know where to start? Stargazing and observing the night sky may seem daunting, but by following a few simple steps you’ll be amazed at the stars, constellations and planets that are visible, provided you know when and where to look.
Watch the sky move
The night sky changes in appearance over time. Stars keep the same positions relative to one another, but seem to move as a whole.
Earth spins on its axis once every 24 hours, so the globe of the sky revolves 15º to the west every hour.
Earth also orbits the Sun in about 365 days, so stars are in slightly different positions at the same time each night.
Stand in one spot at 9pm and watch a star rising above a rooftop to the east, then look again at 10pm and the star will be 15º higher.
Fourteen days later, it would be close to that position at 9pm, as the sky will seem to have moved 1º west each night.
Observing this change will give you a good sense of the motion of our planet and how it affects our view of the heavens.
Use binoculars
If you’ve not used binoculars very often, they take some getting used to.
Practice by looking at the Moon first.
Look at the Moon, then lift the binoculars to your eyes and focus while looking through them.
To help hold them steady, give them added support other than your arms.
When standing, rest your thumbs on your cheek bones, and when sitting or reclining, much of the weight of the binoculars can be rested against your face.
For the steadiest views, you can buy L-shaped brackets that will attach any good pair of binoculars to a camera tripod.
This lets you see the most detail, and you can share the stable view with others.
What stars and planets you’ll be able to see in the Fujairah’s night sky.
- Mercury: Until Wed 20:41
- Venus: From Thu 04:42
- Mars: From Thu 00:30
- Jupiter: From Wed 21:28
- Saturn: From Wed 21:47
- Uranus: From Thu 02:53
- Neptune: From Thu 00:30
| Planetrise/Planetset, Thu, 11 Jun 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Planet | Rise | Set | Meridian | Comment |
| Mercury | Wed 07:02 | Wed 20:41 | Wed 13:52 | Slightly difficult to see |
| Venus | Thu 04:42 | Thu 18:06 | Thu 11:24 | Not visible |
| Mars | Thu 00:30 | Thu 12:09 | Thu 06:19 | Average visibility |
| Jupiter | Wed 21:28 | Thu 08:08 | Thu 02:48 | Perfect visibility |
| Saturn | Wed 21:47 | Thu 08:31 | Thu 03:09 | Perfect visibility |
| Uranus | Thu 02:53 | Thu 15:50 | Thu 09:21 | Difficult to see |
| Neptune | Thu 00:30 | Thu 12:16 | Thu 06:23 | Very difficult to see |
