When you have a packed and ready stargazing kit, you’re more likely to take advantage of spontaneous urges to spend time under the stars. I love having mine prepared so I can throw it in the car for overnight trips out of town, a nighttime walk around the neighborhood, or an evening dinner in a friend’s backyard. Many of these items can be kept in a small bag in the car because you never know when the opportunity will arise.
NAKED EYE
Your eyes are the only equipment you need for a stargazing experience, so there’s no excuse to turn down an opportunity to gaze upward. With a little bit of preparation, you can improve your naked-eye experiences.
GET NIGHT ADAPTED
It can take up to thirty minutes for your eyes to adapt to the dark. If you’re at home, turn off the interior and exterior lights and let your eyes adjust. If you’re out in nature, turn off the car lights and find a spot away from the headlights of other cars.
PHONE SETTINGS
Ideally, you’ll leave your phone indoors and have an unplugged experience. However, your phone can double as a tool for stargazing, so you’ll want to prep it before you go outdoors. Set it to night mode, which gives the screen a reddish hue instead of a blue screen, and turn the screen brightness to the lowest setting to preserve your night vision. Turn the ringer and notifications off because all those noises break the spell when you’re having a moment of awe.
LIGHTING
You’ve already turned off the night vision-busting lights in your home and on your car, but you still need to see to move around safely. The right light makes all the difference in the world, but your cellphone light is the worst of them all.
RED FLASHLIGHT
A red flashlight is your stargazing friend. Red causes the least disruption to your night vision, which is why astronomers everywhere use it. You still want to use them with care, though. Even a bright red light can ruin night vision when you point it directly into someone’s face. Red headlamps are best used when carried in your hand and pointed downward.
LASER POINTER
Have you ever tried to point at something in the sky, and the person next to you has no idea what you’re pointing at? It’s doubly difficult when it’s dark outside. A laser pointer is an excellent tool if you have more star knowledge than the other people stargazing with you. I’m not talking about the red laser pointers used for presentations in a closed room. I’m talking about a green tactical laser. These super powerful lasers help you pinpoint a single star so that a small group gathered near you can see exactly what you’re pointing at. You can trace constellations and point at celestial objects like planets, nebulae, and quick-moving satellites.
Warning: Never point a laser light at an airplane, wildlife, or your fellow humans!
UV (BLACK) FLASHLIGHT
A UV flashlight can add another layer of fun to your evening outdoors. It’s useless for pointing at the sky, but it might help you find interesting things on the ground. I live in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, where we use them to find scorpions at night. Scorpions have a fluorescent glow under UV light. Certain types of lichen glow under UV light, as do some flowers and fungi. Certain gems and minerals like opals, calcite, fluorite, and sodalite glow under a black light. Even everyday things sometimes glow, including petroleum jelly, rock salt, turmeric, some plastics, and spots on bananas.
IDENTIFY & RECORD
You don’t need knowledge about the constellations, stars, or planets to identify and record what you see. Some simple, inexpensive tools make it easier than ever.
STARGAZING APP
A free stargazing app can help you identify constellations, stars that catch your attention, planets, and fuzzy spots that might be nebulae or star clusters. Remember to set your phone’s settings in advance and turn off the app’s background music. Nobody enjoys it.
PLANISPHERE
You can go analog by identifying constellations and bright stars with a planisphere. A planisphere is a wheel made of heavy paper that you can rotate to match the date and time you’re stargazing, giving you a map of what’s in the sky that night. You’ll need a touch of red light to see it, and if you’re like me, you’ll need your readers to read the small fonts.
STARGAZING JOURNAL
Whether you prefer writing, drawing, or both, a stargazing journal is a fun way to log your nighttime experience. In addition to what you see, you might want to note some of the following: date and time, sky conditions (cloudy, clear, etc), amount of skyglow from light pollution, what you heard, what you smelled, who you shared the experience with, if you saw any shooting stars or satellites.
ZOOM IN
I want to reiterate that you can have an incredible stargazing experience with nothing but your naked eyes, but you can take it to the next level with a couple of pieces of equipment.
BINOCULARS
Binoculars are a great alternative to a telescope for impromptu stargazing opportunities, especially away from home. They’re easy to pack for a night hike, can be stored in your car, and come in handy during the daylight hours, too. The moon is the best object for binocular viewing. If you want to look at smaller celestial objects, holding the binoculars still is a challenge. Hold your elbows close to your body or lean your elbows on something solid, like a fence, a short wall, or the hood of your car. If you want a really steady view, mount them on a tripod. Use binoculars you already own, or shop for a pair specific for stargazing.
TELESCOPE
My number one tip is never to buy a cheap telescope or a telescope marketed for kids. You’ll be frustrated, and it will gather dust, just like your treadmill. Instead, save your money and get an affordable telescope that is super easy to use. For a beginner’s telescope, I recommend a Dobsonian and then replace the viewfinder with a Telrad viewfinder. The telescope can be ready for viewing in 20 seconds, and with just 2 minutes of training, even an 8-year-old can use it. In addition, no matter how good you get at stargazing, you’ll never outgrow a Dobsonian. I have other fancier telescopes with motor mounts and go-to capability, but my Dob is still my favorite and works great in every situation.
SEATING
You can stand to see the stars, but if you want to relax and enjoy the experience, bring some chairs. You can get inexpensive, fold-up camp chairs to throw in the back of the car, and that will work just fine. If you want a little more luxury, get a fold-up zero-gravity chair. Just be careful because you’ll get so relaxed that you might fall asleep.
OTHER AWESOME STUFF
I’ve published a few Night Sky Tourist episodes that might be helpful for you as you think about curating your own stargazing kit.
- Create a Backyard Stargazing Oasis with Mark Derksen- Episode 18
- Sketching the Night Sky with John Muri Laws- Episode 22
- Buying a Telescope with Ted Blank- Episode 25
- How to Create an Epic Stargazing Experience – Episode 47
