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Steve Owens
Steve Owens is a freelance science writer and presenter with a passion for astronomy. He has been the recipient of the 'Campaign for Dark Skies' Award for Dark Sky Preservation, and he was nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award for public science engagement.
Articles & Books From Steve Owens
Cheat Sheet / Updated 07-03-2024
Stargazing is a fascinating hobby, but there’s an awful lot to gaze at up there. Eighty-eight constellations and hundreds of other objects both bright and faint mean that wherever you look when you’re stargazing, there’s something to see. If you want to make sense of it all, and make sure that your kit is properly set up, this Cheat Sheet is here to help.
Article / Updated 07-03-2024
If you use binoculars for your stargazing, you need to get them into focus before you begin. Once your binoculars are focused, the stars you see should look incredibly sharp. You can focus most binoculars in the same way. Just follow this simple step-by-step guide:Adjust the separation between the two eyepiece lenses so that they’re at the same spacing as the distance between your pupils, called the interpupillary distance.
Article / Updated 07-03-2024
Orion is great signpost constellation to use for your stargazing. In fact, it may be the very best, because you can use the stars of Orion to find seven other constellations immediately around it.The objects you can find using Orion as a signpost are:Orion’s Belt to Canis Major: Picture Orion as a hunter standing upright, with the stars Betelgeuse and Bellatrix marking out his shoulders, and Saiph and Rigel marking out his feet.
Article / Updated 07-03-2024
One of the great signposts in the northern hemisphere sky is the Big Dipper, also known as the Plough, an asterism in the constellation of Ursa Major. If you can find the Big Dipper, then you’re well on your way to finding lots of other constellations. ‘Dipper’ is an American word for a large ladle for scooping liquid.
Article / Updated 07-03-2024
When you use a telescope for your stargazing, it usually comes with a finderscope, a small attachment which allows you to focus on the correct part of the sky. To align your finderscope and telescope:Get your alignment target in the centre of the field of view of your main scope.Your scope may have come with a cross-hair attachment that you can fit to your eyepiece to help you get the target exactly in the centre.
Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016
As an excited newcomer to stargazing, you’ll want to get outside and start straight away. Here’s a quick list of targets that you can tick off on your way to mastering the night sky. If you’re hunting dark-sky targets, you’ll need to wait for a night when the Moon isn’t in the sky.Stargazing target: The MoonEarth’s closest celestial neighbour is a splendid sight in the night sky, even if it does spoil the view of fainter objects.
Step by Step / Updated 03-27-2016
Following are ten things to look for the next time you’re lucky enough to be out stargazing under a dark sky. You will have to travel to see everything discussed here: some are only visible from certain parts of the Earth and at certain times of year.Dark-sky stargazing: So many stars!The first thing you’ll notice as you move from city to countryside is the sheer number of stars overhead on a clear night.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Just as you can mark the Moon’s position each night against the fixed stars and constellation patterns, you can mark the planets, too. The planets also make paths against the fixed stars. Over the course of a year, these paths join into one line that circles the entire sky. This line is known as the zodiac, and its more scientific name is the ecliptic.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
Maybe you have two different stargazing sites in mind and want to figure out which one will work best. Or perhaps you want to keep a record of how your sky quality changes over time. You can, of course, buy a light meter and take measurements, but a much simpler way of calculating sky quality is to count stars.
Article / Updated 03-26-2016
The first time you take your binoculars out stargazing, you may be disappointed to find that all the stars, planets and faint fuzzies that you’d planned on observing are dancing all over the place when you look through the eyepieces. Don’t worry, the universe isn’t moving; it’s just you.
No matter how still you try to hold your binoculars, small wobbles in your arm, hands or head, and even your breathing, will cause the stars to move to such an extent that you may struggle to see much.