Discover the “Secrets of the Deep Sky”

“I don’t understand it.  It should be right there in the eyepiece.  But I can’t see a thing.”

GB was struggling.  I could just barely see him in the faint glow of the sky, about 20 feet away.  He was holding a little star atlas, his gaze sweeping back and forth across southwestern sky.

I’d exchanged a few words with GB earlier in the night.  He was new to astronomy, and came out for the first time to the little site owned by our local astronomy club for members to set up their own telescopes.  He’d retired about four months ago, bought himself a little 100 mm reflector, and loved looking at Saturn and Jupiter and the Moon.

But he was having a tough time tonight.

“What are you looking for?”, I asked.

“I’m trying to find M16.  In Sagittarius, I think.  I’ve been looking for 20 minutes, but I can’t seem to find it.  I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”

I was surprised, because the sky was clear and steady… the best night in weeks.  And M16, the Eagle Nebula, isn’t usually too hard to find.

“Mind if I have a look?”, I asked.

“Sure, be my guest.”

I took a quick peek through his eyepiece.  The nebula was right in the center of the field of view, as plain as day.

“Yup, there it is”, I said.  “It’s a beauty… a great nebula in a small scope.”

“What?!”, he gasped.  “But… there’s nothing there… I can’t see a thing!”

I wasn’t surprised.  Many new stargazers have trouble seeing deep-sky objects for the first time.

“Well, it’s a little hard at first to find some of these fainter objects”, I told him.  “Here, let me show you a few tricks.”

I showed him three tips right out of Secrets of the Deep Sky, our new report on finding and seeing deep-sky objects like nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters.

First, I asked him to tap on the side of the telescope as he looked.  This causes the image to jiggle and stimulates the eye’s innate ability to detect motion in faint objects.  He tapped a couple of times, and the image jumped right out for him.

“There it is”, he said.  ” I can’t believe it was right there all along!”

Then, I suggested he try averted vision.  “Look anywhere but right at the nebula.  Move your eye around a little… from side to side, up and down.  See what works best.”

“Oh”, he exclaimed.  “I see it!  This nebula is huge!  But you’re right… only when I don’t look right at it.”

“Exactly.  Now you’re using the most sensitive part of your eye.”

Finally, I pointed out that his flashlight, which was just a regular flashlight covered with orange-red plastic, was letting too much white light through, which ruined his dark-adapted vision.  I suggested he get a deep-red LED flashlight specially made for astronomers.  “The deeper red won’t affect the most light-sensitive part of your eye”, I told him.  “And you’ll see a lot more.”

He thanked me, with a big smile on his face.  He’d gone from seeing absolutely nothing a few minutes before to seeing the full splendor of the Eagle Nebula, as lovely as a spring flower, spread out before him in his eyepiece.

“I’ve been having trouble seeing anything fainter than the Moon through this telescope”, he told me.  “I thought I wasn’t cut out for astronomy.  Maybe there’s hope for me after all.”

I assured him there was.  You see, like most new amateur astronomers, he had the right equipment and the right maps.  He simply needed to learn how to use what he had, and to gain a little confidence finding his way around the heavens.

That’s what Secrets of the Deep Sky is all about.  This new report helps you find your way around the sky, select and use your equipment to best advantage, and find some of the most beautiful (and in some cases, under-rated) deep-sky objects in the night sky, in both the northern and southern hemispheres.

And the best thing is… as a subscriber to One-Minute Astronomer… you can get Secrets of the Deep Sky for 25% off until midnight (EDT) September 28.

If you’re ready to move past the easy stuff and see deeper into the Milky Way and beyond… then click here to learn more.

And my new friend GB?  He wasn’t done yet that night.  “Hey”, he said.   “Do you think you can help me find the Lagoon Nebula?”

“Sure”, I said.  “It’s not hard to find at all.  It’ll just take one minute…”