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Observing with Your Eyes - Introduction
Home » Astronomy » Observing with Your Eyes » Observing with Your Eyes - IntroductionThe best astronomical equipment you can own is your eyes. With nothing else, you can see all kinds of wonders in our Universe...from galaxies a million light-years away to a Moon that’s only a quarter of a million miles distant. There are many wonderful things that you can observe with no special equipment: star clusters, planets, meteor showers, satellites and aurora await you!
The most important thing to remember is your eyes need time to adjust. This is called dark adaptation. If you’re in a very bright room and walk into one with no light, chances are you’ll trip over that sofa you can’t see—even when it is right in front of you. This is absolutely true of observing the stars. If you go from a brightly lit house to the dark outdoors, you’ll trip right over that star cluster you can’t see! Everyone’s eyes adjust to the dark at a different rate, so give yourself plenty of time to “see in the dark.”
Now where’s that sofa? Ouch! There it is!
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